Crossbridge Condominium Services Ltd.
Year entered the profession: 2012
Year RCM obtained: 2017
Other education: Leading Responsibly (Humber 2014)
Mentor(s) in the industry: Rebecca Di Melo, Laurie Adams
Licensing for condominium managers is now a reality. How will a licence benefit your career as an RCM? What impact might this have for all condominium managers in Ontario? Licencing of condominium managers will raise the standards of this carrier in the industry. Property managers must now have the required mandatory education in order to perform their daily duties, and are expected to continue furthering their knowledge of the industry through resources provided by ACMO, their employer and otherwise. This gives the re-assurance to owners and Board members that their investment is being well-managed and protected by a true professional, in the best interest of all stakeholders.
What path brought you to a career as a condominium manager? I worked in the customer service industry for well over 20 years, and when the last company I worked for decided to downsize, I thought of amalgamating my people skills with something I always had my eyes on since the time I had achieved my real estate licence years before. I always had a passion of being around people, to help out in any way possible in order to resolve issues and embrace new challenges.
How has your membership in ACMO helped you in your career? I started out with ACMO as a student, taking all courses and venturing out to the luncheon seminars whenever possible, taking the opportunity to meet prospective employers, learn more about the industry and networking. ACMO always helped me to broaden my knowledge, familiarize myself with what’s new in the industry and keep myself in tune with any new legislation and industry ethics which I would then be able to share with the Board members to further educate and assist them with making the right decisions when required.
Tell us about a personal success story on the job. I currently work in a demographically seniors’ building and one exceptional owner, Bob Miller, approached me to enquire if there’s anything we can do to create some sort of an alternative outdoor activity, besides tennis, for those owners who are not so agile. I suggested Italian Bocce and Mr. Miller seemed to like the idea. With the approval of the board, I went and bought a set of Bocce and notices were posted. Response was greater than we had expected, to the point that we had to buy another set. A Bocce League was formed and games started on a weekly basis. It was such a feeling of pleasure and fulfilment seeing all these seniors out in the warm summer months, enjoying the sunshine and the company of their new friends. They were so grateful that I had helped them to make this happen. We also organized an end-of-the-season barbecue and this is when we decided to organize indoor games for the winter. We now have ping-pong, billiards, darts, toss-a-beanbag and shuffleboard leagues on a weekly basis until Bocce starts again in May.
What’s your biggest challenge as a manager? What’s your favourite part of the job? My biggest challenge is saying ”no” to ownerss’ requests. As I mentioned, most are seniors and on their own, so I go out of my way to help them out in any which way possible. The building itself is fairly old too so there’s always projects and retrofits presenting themselves to upgrade the building to code. My favourite part is making owners happy and accomplishing projects to ease their needs, such as installing of door operators on each and every door, back and front, leading to the lobby elevators, making it easier for them to handle when using walkers and wheelchairs.
Best business advice you ever received. Being a property manager is not easy. A lot is expected of us, more than we ever imagined. One just needs to keep abreast of what’s going on in the industry, take it day by day and do one’s best to ensure that we are prepared for what’s to come in order to serve our clients in the best way possible. It is more of a passion than a job or a pay cheque. At the same time, remember to lead a balanced life – make time for your family and personal well-being.
