Company-Stratum

Strata OCM specialises in the management of Company and Stratum Title and can assist with the process of managing your property through Strata Conversion.

COMPANY / STRATUM

Unlike Strata which is governed by the Owners Corporation Act, Company and Stratum Title have Service Company's that have their own rules called a Memorandum and Articles of Association, or Memorandum for short.

The company is registered with ASIC, and every owner of the company is allocated shares. It will have a minimum and maximum number of Directors that are required as stated in the Memorandum. Company and Stratum properties have a board of Directors and elect a Chairman of the board.

It is very important at settlement that the owner instruct the conveyancer / lawyer to complete a transfer of shares form and present to the Owners Corporation manager to activate the transfer.

COMPANY TITLE

The majority of Company Title properties are dated pre 1961, the company is registered on the certificate of title as the sole owner of the land which has a group of units. Buying shares in Company Title entitles the shareholder to the exclusive use and habitation of their unit and also allows the shareholder the use of common property.

STRATUM TITLE

Buying shares in Stratum Title entitles the shareholder to the use of the common property and each unit or flat has it's own freehold title.

LEASE HOLD

The ownership of a unit under lease hold originates from being the registered owner of a share of the land that holds the group of units.

CO-OPERATIVES

Housing co-operative is a legal entity that owns real-estate, this is membership based with members granted shares in the cooperative. This is similar to Company Title as each shareholder is granted the right to occupy one of the housing units. Information for the co-operative is lodged with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

CONVERTING TO STRATA TITLE

Owning a Strata Title property gives you an official title of real-estate unlike purchasing a Company Title / Co-operative / Lease Hold property where you own a share in the Service Company giving you access to your property.

All the above style properties are more complex and not as widely accepted by banks as security for a home loan, they generally require a larger deposit.

Strata Conversion increases the number of lenders available to purchase or refinance your property and allows for a reverse mortgage facility. It increases the buyer pool if selling and can improve capital value of your property by 10-20%.