In a well run property i.e one where the OC saves for future major repairs / replacements through its Capital Works Fund “CWF”, the majority of levies would be going towards the CWF rather than the running costs in the Admin Fund.
In a poorly run property it is the other way round with most levies going to paying for running costs and little being saved.
If the owners corporation in their wisdom is reluctant to levy for the future in the CWF, they can get away with levying for just the bills they have to pay this year, so total levies will be low.
Trying to work out whether levies are high or low for a building – even taking into account its facilities – will in many cases be an exercise in futility viz. a building with superficially low levies that hits its owners every 5 years with a $20,000 Special Levy that does not show up in simple comparisons.
Any disclosure of levies needs at the very least to be shown side by side with the current balance of the CWF.
Even this doesn’t tell the full story, because lots of $’s in the CWF may still be small compared with the building’s future repair obligations.
Any conversation comparing levies or using rules of thumb runs the risk of owners becoming comfortable with a building’s financial position when there is no reason at all to be comfortable.