Andrew Robinson
New Member
- 1
Note that I live in northern Canada (not Alaska)
A friend and I have built a 2-unit residential building on a piece of land that we both own and we want to condo-ize so that either of us can sell our unit.
The units share a single wall, and are basically "townhouse style" but 1 unit is behind the other when viewed from the street so it is not possible to divide ownership of the land, while providing both with street access. It sounds weird, but there were good reasons for building like that - the views in both units are amazing.
Creating a 2-unit condo is not common, but possible. Insurance comes in when deciding how much should be included as common property. If we go with standard condo model, condo corp will need commercial insurance for shared land & most of the building and unit owners just need condo-unit insurance. Asking around, we are finding that commercial condo insurance is relatively expensive per unit - 2 or 3 times more than what we currently pay. With our current ownership model (all property jointly owned) we are able to get separate residential insurance packages for $600 per unit per year. Similar levels of deductibles & coverage.
SO - what if we went with a condo model that was essentially a "freehold condo" - absolute minimum held in common (just land and some stairs) and each unit responsible for their own insurance? It appears to me that insurance rates in the "residential" category are lower than the "commercial" category ... so is it better to create the condo to take advantage of that?
Sorry for the long question - hope I've described things clearly?
Andrew
A friend and I have built a 2-unit residential building on a piece of land that we both own and we want to condo-ize so that either of us can sell our unit.
The units share a single wall, and are basically "townhouse style" but 1 unit is behind the other when viewed from the street so it is not possible to divide ownership of the land, while providing both with street access. It sounds weird, but there were good reasons for building like that - the views in both units are amazing.
Creating a 2-unit condo is not common, but possible. Insurance comes in when deciding how much should be included as common property. If we go with standard condo model, condo corp will need commercial insurance for shared land & most of the building and unit owners just need condo-unit insurance. Asking around, we are finding that commercial condo insurance is relatively expensive per unit - 2 or 3 times more than what we currently pay. With our current ownership model (all property jointly owned) we are able to get separate residential insurance packages for $600 per unit per year. Similar levels of deductibles & coverage.
SO - what if we went with a condo model that was essentially a "freehold condo" - absolute minimum held in common (just land and some stairs) and each unit responsible for their own insurance? It appears to me that insurance rates in the "residential" category are lower than the "commercial" category ... so is it better to create the condo to take advantage of that?
Sorry for the long question - hope I've described things clearly?
Andrew
