Buyer education tough to do

I like the idea of consumer education for condo buyers but any information that the Condo Authority publishes will be tempered by a fear that if they're told too much, many buyers will be scared off.

The developers, construction workers, sales staff, lawyers, municipalities and the existing condo owners have a vested interest in insuring that pre-built condos sell and re-sales change hands.

For those reasons, buyer education will cover the simple basics but cannot include complicated issues such as:

•	misleading status certificates.
•	real estate lawyers don't carefully examine the status certificate packages.
•	what tricks to look for in the audited financial statements.
•	reserve fund balances may include valueless receivables.
•	the difficulties in examining the corporation records.
•	the horrors and costs of the occupancy period.
•	the dangers of Section 134.(5) of the Condo Act.
•	how to read the declaration, by-laws and rules.
•	the dangers of low fees and special assessments.
•	condo election fraud.
•	why you shouldn't buy in a building that has too many renters.
•	why you shouldn't buy in a building that has low-income owners.
•	how to look for signs of mould, crumbling bricks and water leaks.

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