Vancouver leaky condos are costly to fix
According to an estimate by the British Columbia's Homeowner Protection Office, there is a total of about 65,000 dwellings in British Columbia that are "leaky condos". As of 2002, 50,000 of them had been identified. The cost to a home owner for complete remediation with "rain screen technology" may be from $25,000 to $60,000.
In spite of all the safe guards and disclosures required since 2000, a home buyer cannot be 100% certain that he or she is safe from buying a condo with water-damaged problem. The strata meeting minutes of a strata corporation are important documents for a buyer in gaining insight on operations of the corporation. Most mortgage lenders require 12 to 24 months of minutes to ascertain a strata condo is not having water-damaged problem.
Some investors are known to be buying at "bargain prices" Vancouver Leaky condos for investment. The average home buyers or first time home buyers should stay away from such bargains. In a booming Vancouver housing market buying a leaky condo can be profitable as reported by William Boei in The Vancouver Sun, "Condominium Silver Linings".
