We have been looking to buy a flat and saw one we love in the town we want, 1/3 less the price of other apartments. The catch - it is a condominium.
I have been reading about this and from what I understood - you also own part of the land and become a member of the community, which community can vote and decide on structural changes, renovations, etc. For example the building has a pool and I suppose we will have to pay for the maintenance of it, whether we like it or not. Also, we have a small garden, but we can only alter it if the condominium agrees.
So what are really the downsides of a condominium? Does the lower purchase price would actually mean higher yearly costs for maintenance contributions to the condominium?
And how is that actually different than normal ownership? Let's say we own an apartment and the building is past guarantee. If the roof starts to leak, would not all owners contribute together for a repair? How such matters are normally arranged in non-condominiums?
You will own so many parts per mille depending on your flat size. All the flats added together then make up 1,000 parts.
Basically you own the interior of the flat, and as a community all the common parts including garden, pool, structural walls, passageways etc.
Each year you will receive an invoice from the administrator for the charges, including heating and water as well as costs for the common areas, such as a lift, maintenance, electricity, lighting and cleaning.
If the costs are CHF 100,000 and you own 50 parts / 1,000, then the cost will be CHF 5,000 Some places include the heating and water as a communal charge and some are calculated individually according to use, though there can be a standing charge of about 30% (varies) weather you use the heat or not.
There will be an annual meeting to which all owners can attend and vote. The majority can decide or the majority of millesime can decide. It depends. Some things also need unanimity. At this meeting the annual budget is presented and any increase notified. You will also be told if there are any planned works or renovations to be done. To this extent there is usually a renewal fund to which you contribute every year. It's important to know how much is in this fund.
And yes, whether you use the pool every day, or not at all, you will still pay your share!
That is what confuses me. I do understand there are expenses outside the expenses for the apartment alone. But isn't that the case with all buildings, condominium or not?
It being cheaper makes me wonder if SwissNoobie means that it is "in Baurecht" (sorry, don't know the English/French terms), rather than just an ordinary apartment.
If it is cheaper than other apartments it will be on land lease only (Baurecht). You will only own part of the building put not the land it is built on. Instead you will pay an annual lease. An important aspect is how long this lease lasts and what will happen at the end of it.
The difference between Stockwerkeigentum and Baurecht (leasehold) is that in the former you own a percentage of the land. With the latter someone else owns the land, and you all pay ground rent to that person on a long lease.
Apartments are one or the other - though sometimes it can be like five attached houses. I saw a barn conversion like that. Baurecht can apply to houses as well. With Baurecht there's a significant price difference. If the OP would also own the land, then why would there be a price difference?
This is what I am looking at. I know the building up close as well. Looks pretty cool to be honest. Like an old sanitarium turned into apartments. It reminds me of this emblematic architectural masterpiece near Bern
May I ask in what canton the condominium is? Condominiums can work out in all thinkable ways, from really bad to not having to worry about anything. Before buying you should try to meet your fellow apartment owners to figure out their motives.
Check the Grundbuch (cadastre) to get the names of the other owners. In some cantons you can do this online, in some you might have to go to the Grundbuchamt (land registry) in person and explain why you need this information. Interest in buying in is your reason.
This way you can figure out what is going on in the building: Are the other owners actually living there? Do they plan their future in this building? Do you think they have money or are they living paycheck to paycheck? Are the actual owners living somewhere else and renting out? Then they have probably different interests than you: Profit over comfort. Is there a Karen among the owners? How do they all talk about each other? Ask them about their last gatherings, what they discussed and how it went. Are their maybe one or two parties rallying for a luxurious renewal of the pool? Are their parties that oppose the much needed renewal of the heating system? Things like this.
If you have doubts you could also try to get Betreibungsregisterauszüge (records of debt collection) to see if your fellow co-owners even have the money to support the building in case you need a new roof, heating system or whatever. If not, they might oppose such measures. A lot of important decisions have often to be made unanimously meaning that one bad apple can cause you severe headaches.
At the Betreibungsamt you'd have to reason why you need to see into the financials of them. Having a serious interest in buying in is again your reasoning. Betreibungsämter can be weird and arbitrary. Always be kind, polite. If one employee tells you that this isn't enough to get a Betreibungsregisterauszug of a potential fellow owner, just try again on a different day in the hopes of being able to deal with another person.
Hire a specialist to walk through the building to learn about the condition of the building. This is absolutely necessary and the Stockwerkeigentümerschaft (the other owners) should allow you to do this. If they decline this it would be a big red flag. You probably don't have to check every single apartment, but check with your specialist the heating system, the roof and other fundamentals.
The ad doesn't mention Baurecht and in 1980 (when the place was built) that was rare. It is simply a Stockwerkeigentum, therefore as Luganopirate described.
Oh and don't get hung up on the English words used. The ad will have been written in German and the machines have translated.
Basically, has to do with ownership. However, believe that this distinction is not made in CH. Every rental apartment and condo is simply called an apartment.
- Eigentümerversammlungsprotokolle (at least 3 years, the more the better)
- Nebenkostenabrechnungen (same)
- renovations over the years
- how much money is in the renovations-fund that everybody pays in.
My guess, if it's not Baurecht to begin with is that the fund is very low and a lot of stuff needs to be done.
Also: no lift, from the looks of it.
(Which is actually positive in that one maintenance nightmare less on a 40 year old house).
In any case, expect to replace the roof, the building-insulation, the windows and the heating-system over the next decade and budget for it, due to accelerated sunset of fossil-fuel heatings.
The pool is nice but probably costly to maintain - pools are a staple of 70s and 80s houses. Luckily, this one is outdoors. The indoor-pools are the worst. They lower the value of the house.