Are you thinking of buying an apartment located close to where you work, or maybe a unit in a new high-rise development? Before you start looking all the for sale property ads, at Bay Strata our advice is that you should firstly become familiar with strata and community titles. These are the two kinds of Strata titles you’re likely to encounter as the owner of an apartment. Before buying a property, You should talk to one of our experienced Strata managers at Bay Strata, who will happily explain everything you will need to know.

One of the key things you need to understand is what kind of title you are buying. A strata title and a community title are similar but there are differences between the two that you should know about before committing to your purchase.

A community title scheme is similar to a strata scheme in that when you buy a lot, you own that lot and share ownership and responsibility for common areas on the property. A community title in NSW relates to properties with at least two lots that share a common area, such as a driveway or recreational land. It usually refers to large estates which could include several residential lots as well as commercial and retail outlets.

1. Community strata schemes – the boundaries of each title (known as ‘lots’) are defined by reference to parts of the building, much like strata title.
2. Community land schemes – the title or lot boundaries are defined by surveyed land measurements and are unlimited in height and depth unless otherwise specified on the plan.

A Strata title allows individual ownership of part of a property and it’s subsidiaries (usually a unit or townhouse), together with shared ownership in the remaining land known as the ‘Common Property’. An example of common property is driveways and gardens, but this is different from property to property.

In a Community title the boundaries for each lot in a community scheme are defined by land measurements. The owner of each lot is responsible for the maintenance and insurance of any building on their lot. Like a strata title, there is also common property that is maintained by the body corporate.

A community title gives you shared ownership of common areas. Some benefits of this include:

• Use of facilities like swimming pools, gardens, and recreational areas
• Greater input into the management of common facilities
• Standardised building and landscaping which add value to your property
• Community lots and facilities are covered by insurance

Bay Strata comprises of a high motivated and dedicated team who specialise in all aspects of Community title management. We help all our clients better manage their property possession or investment property by providing a systematic and central point of contact for all their administrative dealings, compliance requirements, financial management and property maintenance for their Community titled complex.

If you have any questions or require any help regarding your current Community title or if you are planning to buy into a new Community strata scheme and need help understanding the in’s and out’s, we are here to take your call and help you in every way we can. Please call our office on (02) 9599 6555 and get professional advice from a team with 30 years experience in Community strata management.