- December 9, 2015
- Posted by: @dmin
- Category: Uncategorized
Managing a condominium isn’t for the faint of heart. There are a number of serious issues that may come to your attention at any point of the day or night, and it’s your responsibility to make sure that those issues get dealt with immediately.
Serving as the director of a condo board doesn’t require any necessary qualifications, yet directors have been given the responsibility to be the residents’ voice on all matters related to maintenance, upkeep, and management duties.
With the average MLS national home sale price rising 8.7% since 2014, condominium owners are increasingly expecting that their every need is met in order to feel justified in their purchase price. The Canadian Real Estate Association expects home sales to increase by another 7.3% in 2015, so being on top of building management is going to be increasingly important.
If you’ve found yourself in the role of director or member serving on the board, you’re likely realizing the amount of time and effort condo property management requires It might feel as though you’re in over your head.
If you can acknowledge that any of these issues are keeping you from doing the best job you can do, hiring the right condo property management company may be in your best interest.
Poor Record-Keeping
CondoInformation.ca provides information and feedback from condo owners, and 49% of the letters they receive relate to the lack of communication received from board members. These communications can relate to everything from key meeting minutes to communications about scheduled repairs or the management of money.
Records must also be kept on inspections, units rented, tenant lists, payment schedules, liens enacted, and the list goes on. The Ontario Condominium Act, 1998 requires easy access to these records, and that the open book concept of access be adopted by all boards. Providing access to your books is required by law, and the last thing you want is to get up in arms with a resident because of poor record keeping habits.
Finances
Chasing down maintenance fees can be a full-time job all on its own, and that doesn’t even include keeping track of the financial records for contract workers. Often poor record-keeping will result in accounts going into arrears or the depletion of the reserve fund. Further, creating and sticking to a budget while organizing multiple funds such as the Operating Fund and Reserve Fund requires a special accounting mind.
Management of the books can be a complicated task, but mismanagement of the condo’s finances is a serious issue that could result in legal issues. Collecting money and the charging of special levies presents a lot of legal issues regarding proper notice through to arbitration. Getting involved in a lengthy court battle over special levies required for certain upgrades takes months or years out of your life.
You Can’t Keep Up With Maintenance Schedules and Regulations
There are a number of common maintenance issues that require constant upkeep to prevent them from becoming emergency maintenance issues. Keeping track of all the contractors and their invoices, as well as keeping accurate records of their visits requires a keen sense of organization.
Aside from the record-keeping aspects of proper maintenance, understanding the regulations regarding every aspect of maintenance can be hard to wrap your head around. Ensuring that your building is fire, electrical, and accessible compliant for example require professional insight that you or your board may not possess.
Inundated by Resident Requests
Any time of the day or night things can go wrong and tenants want things fixed immediately. While your sleep schedule may be between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM, things can and will go wrong at 2:00 AM. Ensuring that there is someone on call 24/7 to manage tenant requests or deal with reports of broken amenities is just one of the benefits of working with a condo property management company.
One of the most common resident concerns revolves around noise concerns. CondoInformation.ca reports that 23% of feedback from condo owners is that they’ve reported noise issues that have gone undealt with. Whether these are faulty machinery or other tenants, these are concerns that must be dealt with in order to maintain a harmonious condo community.
No Time
Remember when you had time for your friends and family? It was probably a time before you were on the condo board and inundated by tenant requests and maintenance issues and chasing down those rent cheques.
While you’re trying to manage your personal life, possibly on top of your business or career, the needs of the building continue.
It can seem impossible to climb out from underneath the mountain of your to-do list, and you feel like you’re never going to be able to get things done. If you’re feeling like you don’t have the time to complete your to-do list, hiring a project management company may be the best way to get your free time back.
ICC® Property Management has been managing condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area since 1992, has contacts with a number of contractors, and truly embodies open communication among condo boards. Fighting the stress of day-to-day condo property management can tear some condo boards apart. Once you leave the above tasks to us, your board will be able to focus on future developments and create those winning community events that make your building so desirable.
