Walk into almost any condominium board meeting and ask what protects the long-term value of the building, and the answers sound familiar: reserve fund studies, preventive maintenance, capital planning, qualified contractors. All of them are essential, well-funded, and regularly discussed. But every one of those initiatives depends on something that rarely appears on an agenda: the practical knowledge that builds up over years of running a building. Not the technical knowledge found in engineering reports and manufacturers’ manuals, but the working knowledge. Why a repair was done a certain way. Which contractor delivers and which one needs supervision. Where the recurring problems live and what has already been tried.

Unlike physical assets, this knowledge is rarely captured in a way that allows it to stay with the corporation. It lives in emails, in handwritten notes, and mostly in the memory of an experienced manager. And when that manager changes roles, retires, or moves on, the building can lose far more than a familiar face.

What Actually Leaves

Every manager has taken over a property and discovered that something important cannot be found. A warranty expired because nobody knew it existed. A recurring leak was investigated three times because earlier findings were never recorded. A boiler or building automation system has a fault that only one specific restart sequence fixes, and if that is never written down or shared with the team, it leaves with the manager who knew it. None of this reflects bad intentions or a lack of professionalism. It is simply what happens when valuable information is not consistently captured.

It shows up in small, expensive ways: consultants repeating investigations that were already completed, boards revisiting decisions without knowing the circumstances that shaped them, and preventive work slipping while a new manager rebuilds the picture from scratch. A reserve fund study assumes components will reach their expected service life. Preventive maintenance is what gets them there. Neither works as intended when the people carrying out the plan keep starting from zero.

Turnover is Inevitable. Losing Knowledge is Not

Manager changes cannot be eliminated. People are promoted, relocate, retire, or move into new roles, and no corporation should build its future on the hope that one individual stays forever. The real question is not how to keep the same manager indefinitely, but where the building’s knowledge lives: in one person’s head, or in the corporation itself. That distinction is what separates a disruptive transition from an invisible one. 

In my experience managing condominiums and overseeing teams of managers across the GTA, the difference comes down to three practices, none of which requires expensive technology.

Decisions documented with their reasons. 

Board minutes record what was decided. Future managers and directors also need to know why. A short note explaining why one roofing system was chosen over a cheaper alternative, or why a vendor was replaced, takes ten minutes to write and can save weeks of research years later. Future boards often inherit choices made years earlier. Understanding the reasoning behind them helps prevent unnecessary debate, avoids repeating work that has already been done, and allows them to build on past experience.

Maintenance records that tell a story.

 Dates and invoices are not a history. Photographs, inspection notes, warranty terms, engineering recommendations, and a record of what was tried before, organized consistently in a single accessible digital system, enabled a new manager to build on previous work rather than repeat it. Action lists, weekly reviews between the site manager and regional manager, and regular reports and executive summaries for the board go a long way.

A management structure that carries continuity. 

This is where a management company shows its strength. When a regional manager or supervisor is already involved in the building, attending key meetings, reviewing contracts, and walking the property, a manager change becomes a briefing rather than a mystery. The incoming manager inherits open issues with their history, active warranties with their dates, and an introduction to the contractors who know the building. Done properly, boards should not be able to see a transition in their maintenance results.

What Boards Should Ask

When boards select or review a management company, the discussion usually centres on fees, staffing levels, and response times. But one question deserves equal attention: how does your organization preserve what it knows about my building when people change roles? Specifics matter here: documentation standards, a structured handover process, supervisory involvement before and after a transition. A company that can describe them is protecting the corporation’s asset, not just filling a position. That answer says more about long-term building care than most fee comparisons do.

As condominium communities age and their systems grow more complex, asset management has to mean more than concrete, steel, and financial planning. Buildings do not last simply because roofs are replaced on schedule. They last because each generation of managers and directors leaves the next with better information than it inherited.

Preserving a building is about more than maintaining its physical structure. It is also about preserving the experience, knowledge, and understanding that allow every maintenance decision to be made with confidence, and about keeping that expertise with the corporation rather than with whoever happens to hold the role at the time. A condominium’s greatest asset is not only its building but also the collective knowledge accumulated while caring for it. Corporations that preserve this knowledge make better decisions, spend money more wisely, and are better positioned to protect their buildings over the long term. Concrete, roofs, and mechanical systems can all be replaced. Years of operational experience cannot.

Gorica Borcic, RCM, OLCM is a Regional Manager with ICC Property Management, responsible for condo communities across the GTA. She works with boards and management teams on the day-to-day of running buildings and is focused on modernizing condo management through better process, stronger handover when people change roles, and consistent service.
www.iccpropertymanagement.com
 

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