Checking the building, not just the suite
Before your condition expires, your lawyer reviews the status certificate; you should read the highlights too. Look at the reserve fund balance against the age of the building, whether the last reserve fund study recommended fee increases, and if owners have been hit with, or warned of, a special assessment. In older Whitby low-rises, ask about windows, balconies, the roof and the boiler; in newer buildings near the station, ask how the first-year budget compared with actual costs and whether the developer has handed over the board. Establish how the parking spot and locker are held, deeded, exclusive-use or merely assigned, and whether the building allows the kind of tenant or pet you have in mind. Then walk the route to the platform or the bus stop at the hour you would actually use it.