Despite the age of a condominium corporation, the common issue is that financial shortfalls directly affect the individual owners within the community. When inflation and interest rates surpass income growth for most individuals, overcoming this challenge is more difficult.

When older communities were constructed, they did not benefit from the decades of cumulative condominium experience that we have access to now. It was indeed the “wild west,” with the first corporations, boards and various industry professionals planning a future with limited experience and few points of reference.

While there are certainly differences in managing older housing stock vs. new, there are also many similarities. The life cycle of a condominium corporation comes with unique challenges in managing each stage.

As condominium buildings age and land values continue to escalate, some condominium corporations are now considering the possibility of selling all the units and common elements of their condominium site when approached by condo developers with an agreement of purchase and sale.

Long-term performance, efficiency and the overall quality of a condominium strongly correlate with specific actions and procedures put in place early in a building’s life. From inception, a condominium must be guided in the right direction, and its future market value may be traced back to the actions taken or not taken during the pre-turnover period and the first couple of years following registration.

A well-executed construction project is a result of strong collaboration between the engineering consultant, the property manager, the board, and the contractor. This article discusses how to avoid common pitfalls.

Ask a property manager to explain what takes up most of their busy workday, and they will probably respond with a list of maintenance items. Most of a condominium manager’s time in any given week is spent working on the maintenance and repair of the condominium structure, equipment, and site. This includes preparation for scheduled items or dealing with those unscheduled emergencies on a Monday morning. So, where does a capital project fit into a manager’s work week?

An advice column where you can ask any question or share a difficult situation relating to condominium management anonymously, and we will endeavour to find an appropriate expert in the field and publish an answer with some advice. Ask the hard questions you may have been afraid to ask for fear of repercussions. Your full name or company will never be published or shared.

Large or small, the use of contractors is inevitable in the day of a manager’s life. It is part of the manager’s job to ensure quality control and value for the condominium’s money, which is done by managing contractors/suppliers and setting expectations.

One of the most often talked about subjects in recent years is the topic of procurement processes. They vary from condo to condo, manager to manager, and management company to management company. Part of that is due to the very nature of condominiums. Individual condos have the decision-making responsibilities of what work will be done, who will do it, what vendors will be used and even what type of contract will be issued. These realities fly in the face of the systemic approach to procurement that most would want to see in our industry.

Many moving parts need to be aligned to ensure everything in the residential community runs smoothly but the critical component is to have open two-way communication. But how do you achieve communication that results in high levels of trust, satisfaction, and engagement? How do you turn daily contact into stronger relationships?

The seasonal and infrequent services market is often tricky for property managers to maneuver. This article will shed light on some of the associated issues and give concrete suggestions for managers to succeed in dealing with service contractors in this space.

Managers are still faced with additional workloads, with continued delayed lead times on material, labour shortages, increased costs of material and labour, and a general lack of interest from some service providers. Some service providers who offered a vast array of services have reduced their scope and are now focused on more specific services.

Condo managers know this truth – some owners can be professional complainers and are the most frequent visitors to the management office. Should you lock the door and close the blinds? The CMRAO lists “responding to owner complaints” as a typical example of a condominium manager’s responsibilities. As a manager, you would not want an unresolved complaint or unaddressed owner inquiry to be escalated as an ethics violation to ACMO or the CMRAO complaint process.

A condominium corporation is required by law to communicate with its owners about certain matters. While it is easy to see prescribed communications as a ‘box-checking’ exercise, we would encourage managers and boards to view them as an opportunity to communicate with and educate their owners and, in some cases, to advance the condominium’s legal interests.