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Replacing a trusted vendor or finding a new one can be a challenge. How can you have peace of mind that the vendors you’re considering are right for you? Follow the tips below to help screen potential vendors and get the best fit for your association.

You want your community association to be successful. All board members do. You know that means watching the finances carefully and maintaining the property. But do you think about effective board communication as an ingredient in your recipe for success? It is!

You love your managed community or high-rise building! But obviously, living in proximity to other people can come with challenges, especially during cold and flu season. As a board member, you want to help keep your residents healthy and your community running smoothly. Read on to learn 4 ways to do that.

No board wants to raise fees. But costs go up – or do they? Learn how cost containment can help keep your DC HOA fees from increasing.

You want your community association to be successful. All board members do. You know that means watching the finances carefully and maintaining the property. But do you think about effective board communication as an ingredient in your recipe for success? It is!

You love your managed community or high-rise building! But obviously, living in proximity to other people can come with challenges, especially during cold and flu season. As a board member, you want to help keep your residents healthy and your community running smoothly. Read on to learn 4 ways to do that.

You want your community association to be successful. All board members do. You know that means watching the finances carefully and maintaining the property. But do you think about effective board communication as an ingredient in your recipe for success? It is!

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.

When your community is experiencing a spike in illness or viral activity, it’s more critical than ever. Communicate prevention steps like social distancing and any efforts the community is making, like the extra cleaning mentioned above, so that residents know you are putting them first.

Creating your condominium corporation’s annual budget is one of the most important responsibilities your board has. It takes a lot of hard work and may require spending decisions that won’t be popular with unit owners. Consequently, owners may voice strong objections or even question the board’s ability to manage the corporation’s money.

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?

What does a community manager do, and how do they work with condo corporations and boards? Learn what you need to know in our article, from specific manager roles to board positions.

It’s that time of year again – budget season is upon us. You know the things to consider when creating your budget, but what drives your process? Are you focused on achieving a particular vision for your community? Avoiding conflict in the community? Solely looking to avoid increasing dues/contributions?

Security risks increase exponentially during the holiday seasons for high-rise buildings. Many residents travel for the holidays, move to warmer weather during the winter months, or have an influx of guests and family members in and out. These factors make it easy for intruders to make it into the building, especially if there are no procedures in place to track the many people and deliveries in and out of the building.

Frozen pipes are an unwanted, but common, occurrence during Alberta's cold winters. The damage caused can be significant to condominium units and shared property. Our cold weather warning offers condominium residents tips to prevent frozen pipes and the water damage that results.

Everyone brings their own assumptions and methods of completing tasks to each group to which they belong. Condominium board members are no different. While the diversity of the group can be its greatest strength, it also can create difficulties between the individual members. It is important to structure condo board meetings in a way that creates a professional and positive working relationship. Here are some tips to help boards achieve this.

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.”

Like it or not, we have become very dependent on our technology. Whether it’s a cell phone, tablet or computer, our devices enable us to stay connected, conduct business and access information anywhere, anytime. Yet as convenient as these devices may be, cyber security is simply not a priority for the majority of tech users—despite the increased prevalence of cyber attacks. One recent attack even occurred in our own backyard at the University of Alberta. In part one of our two-part series, we look at why cyber security is so important to condo associations. We also provide important steps that residents in your condo community can take to protect their technology so that sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

In part one of this two-part series, we discussed the importance of cyber security to your condo association and the steps that residents can take to protect themselves and their association. In this article, we look at your board’s responsibility in preventing cyber attacks.

When your condominium board members (and your property management team, if you are working with a professional management company) have a thorough understanding of their rights and responsibilities, it helps to create a more inviting community. Your community is more likely to be effectively managed and well-maintained, which leads to happier residents.

We all know that “organizing paperwork” is not at the top of most people’s list of things-to-do. Most likely we also know that it suddenly achieves high importance when we have to ask ourselves “now where did I see/put that?” When speaking of the documents of a condominium corporation, it is imperative that these be accessible and up-to-date when they are needed. These six guidelines will help you get it organized.

To communicate effectively, the community manager and board members should first determine whether the discussion is most effectively handled electronically, or by phone or teleconferencing. For example, owners have the right to observe board meetings; thus, hosting one via e-mail is not appropriate. Almost everyone has a phone, but some people don’t feel comfortable with new technology.