Twelve things to review before making an offer on any Toronto condo. The unit gets most of the attention. These items cover the building.
This checklist covers what to look at before you make an offer and during your conditions period. Some items you can check yourself, before submitting an offer. Others require the status certificate, which you typically receive after your offer is accepted. Work through this list with your agent and your lawyer — the status certificate review in particular needs a professional eye.
Before you make an offer, ask your agent to pull the maintenance fee per square foot for this building and compare it against three to five comparable buildings in the same neighbourhood, built within five years of this one, with a similar amenity package. A fee significantly above or below comparable buildings warrants explanation. A high fee on a well-run building is often reasonable. A low fee on a building with a pool and concierge may signal the reserve is being underfunded to keep fees artificially attractive.
Before submitting anything, walk the lobby, the hallways on the floor where you're buying, the elevator interiors, and the parking level if you can access it. Look for deferred maintenance: worn carpet, peeling paint, water-stained ceiling tiles, cracked concrete in the garage, rust on exposed metal, or elevators with dated or damaged interiors. A well-maintained building shows it. A building where maintenance has been deferred for years shows that too. Physical condition and financial health usually correlate.
The status certificate is your legal window into the corporation's health. Once your offer is accepted, order it immediately — you have a ten-day review period once it arrives. In Ontario, the corporation must provide it within ten calendar days of request. Have your lawyer review it before the period expires. If problems are found — underfunded reserve, pending special assessment, active litigation, material arrears — you can withdraw during this window without penalty. It's the most important $100 you'll spend on this purchase.
The reserve fund study is attached to the status certificate. Your lawyer should compare the current reserve fund balance to the amount the study says it should be at this point in the funding schedule. A building funded at 90% or more of the recommended level is healthy. Below 70%, ask your lawyer to calculate what the likely special assessment would be per unit if a major capital repair arrives in the next five years. A severely underfunded reserve is a financial liability that transfers to you as a buyer.
The status certificate discloses any approved special assessments. Ask your lawyer to also look at AGM minutes for discussions of upcoming expenses or reserve shortfalls that haven't yet been formally assessed. A special assessment approved in the past three years doesn't automatically disqualify a building — it depends on why it was issued and whether the reserve is now back on track. A pattern of repeated special assessments, or a pending one that isn't explained by a one-time event, is a different matter.
Look at the annual operating budget attached to the status certificate. Identify what percentage of total collections is going into the reserve fund. Responsible buildings are contributing 20–30% of total fee revenue to the reserve. Buildings contributing less than 15% in buildings older than ten years are underfunding. A building with a pool, underground parking, and aging mechanical systems that's putting only 10% into the reserve is not running its finances honestly. This is something your lawyer may not flag automatically — ask them to check it.
Litigation is disclosed in the status certificate. Your lawyer should identify any active or pending actions against the corporation and assess the potential financial exposure. Ask specifically: is the action covered by the corporation's insurance? What is the worst-case per-unit financial impact if the corporation loses? Construction defect litigation against a developer is common in newer buildings and often resolves positively for owners. Litigation by owners against the corporation, or environmental actions, requires more careful evaluation.
AGM minutes are attached to the status certificate and are a narrative record of what the board and owners discussed at each annual meeting. Read two to three years of minutes if they're available. You'll learn: who runs the building, whether there are recurring complaints, how the board handles financial decisions, whether there are ongoing disputes, and whether the building is well-organized or chaotic. Minutes where owners raise the same unresolved maintenance issue year after year are a red flag. Minutes that reference recent capital projects completed on time and on budget are a positive signal.
Look through the status certificate attachments and AGM minutes for evidence of management company changes. A building with one management company for more than five years, with positive owner feedback referenced in the minutes, is a good sign. A building that's had three management companies in the past eight years has a governance problem. The board may be difficult to work with, management may have been removed for cause, or the board may be prioritizing cost-cutting over continuity. Stable management correlates strongly with building quality.
The rules attached to the status certificate govern how you can use your unit and the common elements. If you plan to rent the unit out, check whether short-term rentals are restricted — most declarations now prohibit Airbnb or rentals under a minimum term (often six months). If you have a dog over a certain size, check the pet policy before buying. If you want to do significant renovations, check what requires board approval. The rules can be changed by the board without owner vote, so also check whether there's anything in progress or recently proposed that could affect you.
Ask your agent to pull sold listings for this specific building over the past two years and compare average days on market and sale-to-list ratio against similar buildings in the neighbourhood. If units in this building are sitting significantly longer than comparable buildings, or selling significantly below asking where others are selling above, that's worth understanding. Building-specific resale underperformance usually has a cause: management reputation among agents, known maintenance issues, high investor concentration, or a special assessment that's circulating in the market before disclosure.
Most lenders and CMHC have criteria that can make certain buildings ineligible for standard financing. Buildings with very high investor concentration, active litigation involving structural defects, or severe financial distress may be flagged. Before making a firm offer, confirm with your mortgage broker that the building qualifies for the financing you plan to use. If you're buying with less than 20% down (requiring CMHC or Sagen mortgage insurance), ask the broker to confirm CMHC eligibility specifically. Finding out after your offer is accepted that your financing doesn't work for this building is an expensive surprise.