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Not all office buildings are retained by a singular owner, as units or portions of some commercial spaces can be held and sold by other title-holders.
As the supply of developable land becomes increasingly limited in highly urbanized areas, vertical property developments have become the norm in addressing cities’ rising property demands. The most typical vertical property developments are condominiums, which are sold to a rising home-seeker population that jointly owns the land where the development is situated.
Although not as common as single-owned residences, multiple-unit ownership is widely applied on commercial and office properties, where spaces are in demand by businesses who desire to be located in the city’s main business district. In this edition of Lamudi Q&A, we discuss what are a strata-titled office for sale and its benefit to buyers/investors and occupants.
Q: What Is a Strata-Titled Office for Sale?
A: Believed to have been originally conceptualized in 1961 in New South Wales, Australia, strata titles are separate individual titles for units of houses, apartments or offices jointly built within a development with shared facilities and common areas. These include elevators, swimming pools and car parks; and are governed by a common deed of mutual agreements, otherwise known as the “strata scheme.”
Although applicable to plots of land, strata titles are more commonly applied to multi-story buildings. Each stratum/layer/story (or portion of such) has its own title, and can be sold separately by the owner. As previously mentioned, the scheme is most common with condominium units, as developers would be best served to sell units of their projects to individual homeowners. However, the increasing demand for office space has also allowed for strata-titled offices for sale to be more common.
Benefits of Strata-Titled Office
Consider your obligations as a lot owner while determining whether a strata title property is good for you. Here are a few main benefits of having a strata title for your home.
The advantage is that you may leave on vacation confident that the strata manager will handle any problems arising while you’re away. Title holders of the offices collectively own the common areas and share the expenses incurred in their maintenance, paying a levy.
Living in a strata-run building implies that the owner’s corporation maintains the common areas. You often only have direct management responsibilities for your own lot.
Facilities like a swimming pool, gym, landscaped gardens, and outdoor entertaining areas are frequently found in contemporary strata buildings. There are luxuries that most first-time homebuyers couldn’t anticipate, and everything is kept up to date.
Another reason for purchasing a strata property is location and affordability. First-time homebuyers and elderly persons can buy a property in a neighborhood where they want to reside but couldn’t otherwise afford it.
Strata-Titled Office for Sale
Like strata-titled residences, strata-titled offices are business spaces that have individual titles but are located within one commercial complex. Title holders of the offices collectively own the common areas and share the expenses incurred in its maintenance, paying a levy to do so.
Seeing varied mix of occupants, strata-titled offices differ from office towers typically constructed for, and rented out to, business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology (IT) firms and other third-party companies by property developers.
They can be bought by individual investors and buyers, who then have them rented out to companies. Business themselves can opt to buy the strata-titled office, avoiding incurring rental expenses while operating an office, as well as having an investment that can also be rented out to other firms or hold onto until its value capitalizes and is sold later on.
Strata-titled offices for sale are ideal for investors looking to diversify their property portfolios due to the limited availability of office spaces in many of the Philippines’ major cities, especially in their central business districts, which in turn has placed upward pressure of present rental fees.
Some notable strata-titled offices currently available in the market include the Alveo Financial Tower in Ayala Avenue, The Stiles in Circuit Makati, Century Spire in Century City, Capital House in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), One World Place in BGC, and Parkway Corporate Center in Alabang.
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