This prompt guide is locked.
Access to Day 20 requires starting the series. One new prompt unlocks every 24 hours.
Body Corporate Document Review.
The strata report is where apartment buyers find out what they actually agreed to buy. Special levies, building defect proceedings, sinking fund shortfalls, and proxy-dominated AGMs all live in those documents. This prompt generates the questions that turn a strata report from a folder of paper into a decision framework.
Why this matters
The strata report for an apartment purchase is typically delivered as a physical or digital folder of documents — AGM minutes, financial statements, correspondence, levy notices, and meeting outcomes — that buyers are expected to review before exchange. Most buyers do not read it. They receive it, note that it is several hundred pages, and file it unread.
The information most relevant to the purchase decision is in those documents. Whether the building has had water ingress issues discussed at committee level but not yet acted on. Whether a special levy has been proposed but not yet voted on. Whether a small group of investor-owned lots has been passing resolutions that benefit short-term rental income at the expense of building maintenance. Whether the sinking fund balance has been depleted by recent works and is now insufficient for the next 5-year maintenance cycle.
None of these things will be in the property listing. All of them will be in the strata documents, to anyone who knows what to look for.
**Real case study summary:** A buyer reviewing strata documents for a Brisbane apartment found repeated references across three consecutive AGM minutes to “ongoing waterproofing concerns on Level 3 car park.” No resolution had been passed. No rectification had been completed. No quote for works had been presented. The strata manager noted at each AGM that the committee had decided to monitor the situation.
She asked the strata manager directly: what is the status of the waterproofing issue and has any engineer been engaged to assess it? The engineer’s report, obtained through the strata manager, showed remediation would cost approximately $380,000 split across 24 lots — $15,800 per lot, a special levy that had not yet been passed but was likely inevitable.
She used the engineer's findings as a basis to negotiate a price reduction and disclosed the risk to her conveyancer, who added a condition requiring the vendor to pay any special levy passed within 90 days of settlement. She proceeded. Without reading the AGM minutes, she would have owned the special levy within 6 months of settlement.
“The sinking fund tells you the future. The AGM minutes tell you the history. Read both before you exchange.
What you're building
A strata report parsing framework generating targeted questions about: waterproofing and water ingress history, major structural defect proceedings, sinking fund capital works adequacy, and committee meeting proxy voting patterns.
Claude (free tier works), the strata search report, body corporate financial statements, and the most recent AGM and committee minutes.
Copy the prompt.Paste your details.Analyze the output.
Paste the prompt below into Claude or ChatGPT. Replace the bracketed fields with your specific property or portfolio details.
Always verify the AI's assumptions with qualified professionals. This output is a first-pass educational tool, not advice.
Strata report review
Body corporate AGM and committee minutes scanner · defect search
You are an Australian property education assistant helping a buyer interpret body corporate and strata report documents for an apartment purchase. I will describe what the documents contain and you will help me understand what it means, what flags to raise, and what questions to ask my conveyancer. PROPERTY DETAILS: - Property: [brief description — e.g. 2-bedroom apartment, level 4, building of 48 units, built approx. 2005, Melbourne] - State: [NSW / VIC / QLD / SA / WA / TAS / ACT / NT — note that strata law varies significantly by state] - Strata report obtained from: [I obtained the report myself / vendor-supplied / strata manager] - Administrative (operating) fund balance: $[amount] - Sinking fund (capital works fund) balance: $[amount] - My quarterly levy: $[amount] - Number of lots in the building: [number] WHAT I FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS: [Describe what is in the documents — paste key extracts, describe what the minutes say, note any special levies, building works, disputes, or anything that stood out. The more detail you give, the better the analysis.] Return a strata document interpretation with these 6 sections: ## 1. THE FINANCIAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT Based on the fund balances I have described: - Is the sinking fund adequately funded for a building of this age and size? A general benchmark: the sinking fund should hold approximately $[X] per lot per year of building age as a starting point. What does this imply for my building? - Is the administrative fund in surplus or deficit? A consistent deficit indicates the building is being under-levied. - What is my quarterly levy per lot relative to the total building running costs implied? Does it appear adequate? - Flag: a low levy is sometimes a selling point. It is equally often a signal that the building is underfunded and a special levy or levy increase is coming. ## 2. SPECIAL LEVIES — CURRENT AND RISK - Are there any current special levies? What are they for, what is the total amount, and what is my share? - Are there any proposed or discussed special levies in the minutes I described? - Are there building issues mentioned in the minutes (waterproofing, façade, lifts, common area repairs) that have not yet been resolved and that typically lead to special levies? - The building defects risk: buildings completed between approximately 2000 and 2018 in NSW, QLD, and VIC have a higher reported rate of building defects. Flag whether my building's age and state puts it in this higher-risk category. - My special levy exposure estimate: based on the information I provided, what is my potential special levy exposure in the next 5 years? Note this is highly speculative without a current sinking fund forecast. ## 3. GOVERNANCE AND DISPUTE FLAGS Based on the AGM minutes I described: - Are there any ongoing disputes between lot owners, or between the owners corporation and the building manager? - Are there any complaints about noise, pets, parking, short-stay accommodation, or by-law breaches? - Is there evidence of proxy farming or a small number of investors dominating the committee? - Is the building professionally managed by a strata management company or self-managed? What does this imply? - Are there any unresolved complaints to Fair Trading, NCAT, or the relevant state dispute body? ## 4. BUILDING WORKS AND MAINTENANCE - What significant works have been completed in the last 5 years? What were the costs and how were they funded? - What significant works are planned or discussed for the near future? - Is there a current 10-year sinking fund plan? If I have it, interpret the key figures. If not, flag that I should request it. - Lift, pool, and common facility maintenance: are these being maintained adequately based on the records? ## 5. QUESTIONS FOR MY CONVEYANCER Generate 10 specific questions I should ask my conveyancer or solicitor about the strata documents I have described. These should be specific to what I found — not generic questions. ## 6. OVERALL ASSESSMENT Based on everything I have described: does this strata appear financially healthy, average, or concerning? What is the single most important thing I should resolve before exchanging contracts? --- Educational analysis only. Not legal, financial, or strata advice. Strata law, body corporate obligations, and disclosure requirements vary significantly by state. Engage a licensed strata inspector and a qualified solicitor or conveyancer to review and interpret strata documents before exchanging contracts.
A buyer reviewing strata documents for a Brisbane apartment found repeated references across three consecutive AGM minutes to “ongoing waterproofing concerns on Level 3 car park.” No resolution had been passed. No rectification had been completed. No quote for works had been presented. The strata manager noted at each AGM that the committee had decided to monitor the situation.
In one illustrative scenario, she asked the strata manager directly: what is the status of the waterproofing issue and has any engineer been engaged to assess it? The engineer’s report, obtained through the strata manager, showed remediation would cost approximately $380,000 split across 24 lots — around $15,800 per lot, a special levy that had not yet been passed but was likely inevitable. She used those findings as a basis to negotiate a price reduction and disclosed the risk to her conveyancer, who added a condition requiring the vendor to pay any special levy passed within 90 days of settlement. She proceeded. Without reading the AGM minutes, she would have owned the special levy within 6 months of settlement.
Your first run is fine. Your fifth is sharp.
Paste recent AGM and committee minutes
Extract text from the strata report and run it through the prompt to search for unresolved leaks, defects, or litigation.
Track sinking fund balance trends
Model whether the building's current capital works fund matches the 10-year maintenance plan budget.
Identify proxy vote concentration
Look for signals of a single owner or developer holding dominant voting rights that could override owner decisions.
Save this document review framework in your Claude Project. Run it on any strata report you order.
What it still gets wrong.
Strata reports are not guarantees
A strata search only surfaces documented history. Hidden structural issues that the committee hasn't formally discussed will not appear.
Low levies indicate underfunding
A low strata levy is often a warning sign that the building is not building a sinking fund, leading to inevitable special levies later.
Proxy voting blocks override owners
In some buildings, a developer or single investor controls the majority of proxy votes, allowing them to block maintenance resolutions.
Defect claims can stall sales
If the owners corporation is in active litigation with the builder over defects, banks will refuse to lend, locking you out of refinancing.
How this stacks.
Day 20 audits strata report documents. Day 09 scans apartment red flags. Day 21 prepares contract review. Run them to catch building defects.
Before you sign the strata contract.
You'll have parsed years of AGM minutes for waterproofing and defect flags.
You'll have generated targeted questions for the strata manager about pending special levies, so you can surface the risk of inheriting expensive building repairs before you commit — and take it to your solicitor and a licensed strata inspector.
Contract preparation
Contract of sale review prep · special conditions and terms checklist
Read Day 21 ↗