What Edmonton condo boards should be planning for five years from now

If your community is managed by a property management company, you probably have an after-hours number you can call for urgent issues. But what if you simply want to take care of day-to-day condo corporation business? “People don’t operate in normal business hours anymore,” says Rolando Hernandez, national customer care director at FirstService Residential. “Residents and board members need to be able to take care of condo business how and when it’s convenient for them.”
 

Social media can be a great communications tool for your condominium community. It’s a great way to inform residents, build relationships, keep people connected and strengthen their loyalty.  But what may be surprising is that using it effectively involves a whole lot of social media strategy.

Every condominium corporation needs rules and policies. But if your condo board doesn’t carefully think them through or doesn’t implement them properly, they can backfire. Rules that go too far or enforcement that is inconsistent or lax can lead to animosity among residents and can chip away at your condo’s sense of community. How can your board implement rules and policies that won’t cause these types of problems?

You and your fellow board members want what’s best for your condo corporation. You’re serious about your fiduciary duty and about protecting the corporation’s interests. Misunderstanding some important facts about insurance can actually put your community may be at risk.

Continually maintaining and improving your property is crucial if you want to protect your condominium corporation’s financial health. To ensure that these important responsibilities are well managed requires a long-term plan and a means of effectively handling day-to-day projects. Here’s how you can make that happen.
 

As a board member for your condominium corporation, you know that your community depends on volunteers to operate successfully. However, finding residents who are willing to be on your board of directors, join a committee or help at an event can be challenging.

Humans are social creatures. Since the dawn of time, we’ve had a deep-seated yearning for connection and community. This is particularly evident in a condo corporation, where a strong sense of community can be the difference between long-standing residency and high turnover. 
 

We can all agree there are many important elements to a housing structure, but your roof is probably the most important. Changing temperatures, snow accumulation, large amounts of rain, ice dams and high winds can all cause major damage to condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes. These harsh weather conditions can create all sorts of problems, from minor leaks to major cave-ins that can cost a condominium corporation thousands to repair.

A strong, healthy corporation requires every facet of property management to work in sync toward one common goal...true financial stability. 

Safeguarding a condominium corporation’s operating and reserve funds is one of the main fiduciary duties of all board members, not just the treasurer. This means that boards must protect the financial interests of the corporation and its members by making sure all funds are properly managed, invested and protected.