21st Annual Condominium Conference

The on-call manager receives a telephone call on the emergency line at 9:30 Saturday night. He is deeply engrossed in an action movie and is reluctant to hit the “pause” button. After a couple of rings, he answers and hears a frantic senior on the other end of the line reporting water coming from the unit above through her light fixture over the kitchen sink. The manager yawns audibly and replies that this is nothing to worry about and quite common in a stacked townhouse. 

Top performing companies strive to deliver consistent and efficient services through systems, infrastructure, policies, and on the front line by hiring and training the right people with the personality and attitude suited to positive interaction with customers on a daily basis.

I’ve been in the property management industry for the better part of two decades. When I started my career in the summer of 1989, property management was much easier, the pressure was lower and the expectations were reasonable. Over the years, I have seen the industry grow, change and evolve in many different ways and subsequently, so have the roles and responsibilities of a property manager. 

Condominium managers are responsible for people’s greatest investment – their homes. Because the stakes are high, sometimes condo owners can be demanding, argumentative or hostile, and the condo managers are on the front line. You need strong customer service skills to manage your constituency with excellence.

Service recovery occurs when an organization is able to resolve a client issue and regain his or her trust following a breakdown in service delivery. A service breakdown occurs when the service delivered fails to meet a client’s expectations. In some cases, the product or service functions as it was designed or intended; however, the client has misunderstood how the product or service functions resulting in a service breakdown.

Celebrating 40: Forty years ago, a small group of condominium managers found themselves at the vanguard of a relatively new and exciting industry in Ontario. The time was right in 1977 to mobilize and organize with a formal association to represent the goals of this collective alliance. No one could have foreseen the tremendous growth of condominiums that we’re witnessing today. But the founding members of ACMO did anticipate and establish the RCM designation for professional property managers that is now recognized and requested by corporation boards.

When I was 19 years old starting out in this business I saw the opportunity for growth and a career in this industry. Under the guidance of my mentor I was encouraged to take my RCM courses, and within 1.5 years I had completed all four courses and wrote the RCM exam.

It is clear in this time of urban sprawl that natural green spaces are becoming fewer and farther between. Now, more than ever, we need to maximize on the limited space we have in our urban settings.

Newly installed high-efficiency boilers at a Toronto Community Housing Corporation project financed by The Atmospheric Fund. Project: Trethewey and Kendleton retrofits

The Ontario Building Code is administered by the Building and Development Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and has a place in the operations of every condominium in Ontario.

Considering Window Replacements in the Next Few Years?

Environmental issues are affecting every nation around the globe. By employing innovative practices using technology to drive our business solutions, management companies can use our example and reduce their use of finite resources and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Fats, oils and grease (FOG) are a common problem for many businesses, condominiums/highrise buildings and homeowners. If they are poured down the drain, they will cool in the pipe, harden and eventually cause a blockage. This can be very costly as it can cause sewage to back up into a building, house or business. The easiest way to prevent blockages from forming is to stop FOG from getting into the pipes in the first place.

With energy costs at the forefront of property managers’ thoughts, finding and introducing new energy efficient and green initiatives is becoming imperative. The practice of energy management through a sub-metering system is rapidly growing throughout management sectors of the multi-residential industry, and the results that come from implementing the fair and cost-effective, user-pay system are vast.