Insurance and Strata with an Apartment

Hi all,

I have a single IP which is an ex-DHA freestanding home. I pay $150 per quarter (which goes towards the communal playground) as well as for building and landlord insurance (single policy with NRMA).

I'm looking at purchasing a second IP, which would be a unit or apartment in a complex. With the strata payments, what does that cover? Is it standard across NSW (where I live) or does it differ building to building.

My understanding is that I would still get standalone landlord insurance (to cover tenant damage, loss of rent, etc), but would I still need some form of building insurance? Does the strata cover me for the building burning down? Is this a straight forward yes or no, or does it depend on a building by building case.

Secondly, does the strata cover anything to do with water? Would I still need to pay for the water connection and usage separately? With my existing one, I pay the connection and usage, then pass the bill to the agent to collect the usage.
 
Strata fees should cover building insurance.
Water usage you'll have to pay and it's likely that the units won't be separately metered so you also won't be able to pass that on to the tenant.
 
As above, your admin fund levies will cover building insurance, you will still need contents and landlord insurance.

With water, you will pay the rates per normal. With usage, there will be two ways it is charged

1) If seperately metered, water usage can be charged to tenant so long as water saving devices are installed
2) If not seperately metered, the owners corporation pays a flat usage charge based on the dimension of the mains pipe, and the owners pay usage via the admin fund per their unit entitlements. Water usage cannot be charged to the tenant in this scenario.
 
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