Your Circle Is a Structure Too

A buyer can inspect every wall of a sectional title unit and still miss the part of the purchase that will shape life there for years: the other owners.

In a sectional title scheme the neighbours are more than people over the fence. They vote at the annual general meeting, they elect the trustees, and together they approve the budget that sets everyone's levy. If a large share of them are behind on levies, the owners who do pay end up carrying the gap. If the trustees keep putting off the roof repairs to hold the levy down, a special levy is waiting somewhere further along.

So the people are part of the structure, and they can be read before signing. The minutes of the last few general meetings show what the owners argue about and whether decisions actually get carried out. The financial statements show the levy arrears and how much sits in the reserve fund. A scheme with careful trustees and owners who show up is often worth a little more than the unit alone suggests, and a scheme at war with itself is often worth less, whatever the finishes look like.