Who this article is for
Buyers and buyer’s agents
Lot owners and committee members
Conveyancers, solicitors and advisors
Anyone reviewing a building in Cohabit and wanting a clearer picture of how it’s tracking
What is the Building Snapshot?
The Building Snapshot gives you a clear, structured view of how a building is performing across its most important areas.
It brings together information about things like:
Financial health
Insurance
Compliance and safety
Building condition and maintenance
Liveability and sustainability signals
The Snapshot is built using authorised building records, expert interpretation where available, and ongoing updates for buildings with Building Intelligence enabled.
How to access the Building Snapshot
When you open a building in Cohabit, select Building Snapshot from the top navigation.
All users see the same core building information.
Some actions and insights are only available to owners connected to a lot, which are noted below.
Overall context and summary
At the top of the Snapshot, you’ll usually see a written summary that provides context about the building.
This highlights:
Overall performance
Notable strengths
Any areas that may require attention
It’s designed to give you quick orientation before you explore the details further.
Financial position
The Snapshot includes a clear view of the building’s financial position based on available records.
This may include information about:
Levies and how they’re structured
Fund balances
Arrears
Special levies or strata loans
Buyers, owners and advisors often use this information to understand whether the building appears financially stable or under pressure.
Building insurance: visibility and comparison
The Snapshot also shows key details about the building’s insurance, such as:
Current premium
Sum insured
Policy expiry timing
In addition, Cohabit benchmarks the building’s insurance position against similar buildings with comparable characteristics.
This comparison is available to all users and helps answer questions like:
“Does this policy look in line with comparable buildings?”
“Are there potential gaps or inefficiencies?”
Insurance insights and actions for owners
For owners connected to the building, the Snapshot may also surface additional insights, including:
An estimated potential saving if the building were to renew insurance through Cohabit
Options to compare insurance policies
The ability to flag the opportunity to the strata committee
Identify potential savings early
Share data-backed insights with their committee
Start more informed conversations ahead of renewal
Estimated savings and committee actions are owner-only, while insurance benchmarking remains visible to everyone.
For owners wishing to explore this feature further please see:
Compliance, condition and liveability signals
The Snapshot also highlights how the building appears to be tracking operationally, based on the records available.
This can include visibility into:
Compliance status
Maintenance history and known defects
Security and building services
Liveability indicators such as cleaning, pest control or building management
This helps users quickly understand whether the building looks well managed day to day.
Sustainability signals
Where information is available, the Snapshot may also show sustainability-related indicators such as:
Solar
EV charging
Energy-related signals
These provide context rather than formal ratings or recommendations.
How people typically use the Snapshot
Different users rely on the Snapshot in different ways:
Buyers and buyer’s agents use it to guide due diligence and identify follow-up questions
Owners and committees use it to stay informed and prepare for decisions
Conveyancers and advisors use it as a fast orientation before reviewing supporting documents
The Snapshot is most useful as a starting point — helping you decide what to explore next.
How this connects to Expert Reports
If a Cohabit Expert Report exists for the building:
The Snapshot shows how the building is tracking at a high level
The Expert Report explains the detail, context and risks behind the data
Many users review the Snapshot first, then move into the Expert Report for deeper insight.