Bare Land Strata vs Traditional Strata
Bare Land Strata vs Traditional Strata
COMMON PROPERTY: The main difference between these two stratafied developments is common property. Common property are the shared assets of multiple owners of the community. In a condominium strata the common property includes anything that is not on the interior of a unit: exterior walls, roofs, windows, lobbies, elevators, parking lots, landscaping, etc. A protion of your monthly strata fee goes towards maintenance of this common property. In a bare land strata, as the name implies, the bare land and improvements on it (your house) are not common property and are yours to do with what you like. The common property is typically just roads and infrastructure (sewer, water, etc). Your fees will go towards maintenance of the common property and sometimes even cover garbage, sewage and water, as is the case in Long Lake Heights.
USE OF THE PROPERTY: Because a most of the building is common property stratas tend to limit the use of the unit a lot more than a bare land strata. While all stratas may have restrictions on rentals, pets, age, parking, etc, there regulations are far more common in traditional condo stratas. Brannen Lake Estates in Nanaimo is another bare land strata and they restrict the number of homes in the entire community that can be rented. This number is quite large compared to the typical 10% of units most condos with restrictions have implemented.
STRATA FEES: As a strata, bare land statas are subject to strata fees the same way that condominiums are subject to fees. These fees are usually lower than a traditional fee. Most Nanaimo Real Estate that is bare land strata have fees under $100. As I mentioned earlier, these fees cover the minor operating expenses of the strata community as well as management of the company.
With these restrictions in place, you may be asking, "Why would a developer choose to build a bare land strata?" The main reason is that bare land stratas will often allow a developer to circumvent some variances on lot size and thus increase density, or allow more lots in the development.
Bare land stratas are often not even noticeable to the general public and are typically wonderful places to live. If you'd like more information on Strata Properties in Nanaimo, feel free to email us at info@mattanddoug.com .
See you soon,
Matt Scheibel
Nanaimo Realtor
 |
We
just recently listed a Nanaimo Home at 540 Summit Drive. The home is
in a bare land strata, pictured left, called Long Lake Heights. While
this home is a stand alone home, many potential buyers were concerned or
confused why this home has a strata fee and some were even adverse to
viewing the home because they "don't want to live in a strata" as
they've either had bad experiences or are warry of strata limitations. While this home IS in a strata, bare land stratas vary significantly from condominium stratas. We'll discuss the differences in this article. |
COMMON PROPERTY: The main difference between these two stratafied developments is common property. Common property are the shared assets of multiple owners of the community. In a condominium strata the common property includes anything that is not on the interior of a unit: exterior walls, roofs, windows, lobbies, elevators, parking lots, landscaping, etc. A protion of your monthly strata fee goes towards maintenance of this common property. In a bare land strata, as the name implies, the bare land and improvements on it (your house) are not common property and are yours to do with what you like. The common property is typically just roads and infrastructure (sewer, water, etc). Your fees will go towards maintenance of the common property and sometimes even cover garbage, sewage and water, as is the case in Long Lake Heights.
USE OF THE PROPERTY: Because a most of the building is common property stratas tend to limit the use of the unit a lot more than a bare land strata. While all stratas may have restrictions on rentals, pets, age, parking, etc, there regulations are far more common in traditional condo stratas. Brannen Lake Estates in Nanaimo is another bare land strata and they restrict the number of homes in the entire community that can be rented. This number is quite large compared to the typical 10% of units most condos with restrictions have implemented.
STRATA FEES: As a strata, bare land statas are subject to strata fees the same way that condominiums are subject to fees. These fees are usually lower than a traditional fee. Most Nanaimo Real Estate that is bare land strata have fees under $100. As I mentioned earlier, these fees cover the minor operating expenses of the strata community as well as management of the company.
With these restrictions in place, you may be asking, "Why would a developer choose to build a bare land strata?" The main reason is that bare land stratas will often allow a developer to circumvent some variances on lot size and thus increase density, or allow more lots in the development.
Bare land stratas are often not even noticeable to the general public and are typically wonderful places to live. If you'd like more information on Strata Properties in Nanaimo, feel free to email us at info@mattanddoug.com .
See you soon,
Matt Scheibel
Nanaimo Realtor