Sectional title levies: the four line items that predict a special levy

The monthly levy on a sectional title unit is not the number that will hurt you. The number that will hurt you is the special levy that lands eighteen months after you take transfer — for a roof, a lift, a boundary wall, or a legal dispute nobody warned you about.

Four documents will tell you whether that's coming. Ask for all four before you sign an OTP and treat any refusal as a decisive no.

First, the audited financials for the last three years. You are looking for a reserve fund that is growing, not shrinking, and you are looking at the ratio of reserves to annual operating expenses. Under one is a warning. Under three months of cover is a red flag.

Second, the arrears schedule. High arrears mean the paying owners will eventually be levied to cover the non-payers. If more than 15 percent of units are more than 60 days in arrears, walk away.

Third, the last twelve months of trustee meeting minutes. This is where planned major maintenance shows up — long before it becomes a special levy notice. Read every line item under 'maintenance' and 'legal'.

Fourth, the 10-year maintenance plan, which the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act requires. If the scheme doesn't have one, that is itself a legal breach and a signal about governance quality.