The purchase of a strata apartment is slightly different to the purchase of a house, there are some procedures that are required to be carried out (as per the Act) which must be performed by the solicitors &/or conveyancing agent, some of these (but by no means all) are as follows:

• s109 certificate: The Act says that every strata apartment sold in NSW must be accompanied by what is called a s109 certificate. This certificate summarises the finances for the apartment as well as the strata scheme and must also list such things as by-laws and orders from the Tribunal.
• by-laws: Any registered by-laws must be attached to a contract of sale. It is clearly therefore vitally important to read the contract to make sure that there are no surprises.
• s118 certificate: The Act also says that at settlement the solicitor acting for the purchaser should send a s118 certificate to identify the new owner. Unfortunately it is common that this does not happen. Do it yourself.

Some of the major differences between buying a strata apartment and buying a house are as follows:

• If you buy a house, the sale contract normally covers debts that might be owed, in Strata most debts (e.g. unpaid levies) have to be paid by the new owner, be very careful. Check the s109 certificate.
• If you buy a run-down house, you can normally renovate it quickly as soon as you own it. The same is not necessarily true in strata, you must seek permission and you may need by-laws to be passed before you can renovate.
• In strata, you only own the air, the walls, ceiling, floors are owned by the 'owners corporation' and are not yours. With few exceptions you cannot knock down walls to create 'open-plan' living areas without permission.
• Mismanagement is unfortunately common in strata, there are many buildings in Sydney which are literally falling down because the executive committee refuses to act, carry out repairs and increase levies to pay for repairs. If the problem is in your apartment that can be a real problem.

Bottom line, seek professional help and consider the risks before you buy.