Showing Articles from Issue 'Fall 2021'
Balancing the Right to Privacy & Protection in Condo Communities
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Winston Stewart
Condo security concierge and patrol teams are still a crucial part of a property’s security strategy. Still, their effectiveness has been drastically enhanced with the addition of HD surveillance camera systems, biometric access controls and other high-tech tools that were once the stuff of science fiction.
Criminals Live in Condos Too
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Chuck Garneau, RCM
Most days, life in a condo management office is mundane. Process invoices, solicit quotations, prepare board meeting packages; the list goes on. But every so often, your day goes sideways. And it frequently involves crime and the police.
Cybercrime: Protecting your Corporation’s Digital Assets from Threats and Thieves
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Brian Bosscher
Have you ever received an email where your boss or colleague asks you for a weird favour? One of the most common odd messages is a request for iTunes gift cards, but other variations either ask you to make a purchase with your own money and send PINs to the requestor or share your personal information.
Is Fraud Really a Problem in Condominiums?
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Eric Plant, RCM
It is no secret that our industry can be a magnet for fraudulent activity. If you’ve spent any time in the industry, you may have seen it firsthand or heard about it on the news. From the large-scale con jobs to more minor discreet thefts, condominiums seem designed to be targeted for this kind of activity.
Fob Cloning in Condominiums
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Michel Lauzon
In recent years condominiums have been facing a significant new threat; the cloning of access control credentials, also known as key fobs and fobs.
Fraud and Financial Crime in Condominiums
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Brian Antman
Financial crime in condominiums is not as common as in other organizations, but it has severe and often disastrous consequences when it occurs.
How to Protect Your Condo Community from Crime
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Francesco Deo
Crime in condos – there is some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad. There is no silver bullet to prevent crime. It can happen anytime, anywhere, and can take various forms, such as theft, vandalism, break-ins, burglaries, assaults, trafficking, and more. However, the good news is that condominiums have several measures and tools to implement to prevent crime by their very nature.
How to Spot and Avoid Fraud in Your Next Renovation Project
Your Condo: Renovation
Your Condo || Adriana Mot
The two most common methods of renovating an existing condominium building are hiring one team that does both design and construction or hiring a designer first and then tendering the contractor afterwards. It sounds easy. Yet, under this apparent simplicity lies a web so intricate and complex that boards can rarely cut through all the fine print with confidence and ensure a reliable service for their owners.
How to Use Education to Reduce Conflict of Interest Risk
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Vadim Koyen
Property managers play a crucial role in assisting and educating board members on capital improvement best practices. Unfortunately, the learning curve is steep, becoming even steeper when dealing with board members who are either inexperienced or corrupt. When a property management company is willing to drive accountability, they can successfully steer boards away from unethical conduct they may either knowingly or unknowingly commit.
Minimizing the Risks of Fraud & Crime
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Babak Ardalan, RCM
Like any community, condominiums are exposed to threats from individuals who look for easy ways to achieve their selfish goals. This article aims to share some information on ways to protect the condominium community against fraud and crime.
Preventing Fraud in Your Condominium with Electronic Voting
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Ben Zelikovitz
The overwhelming majority of property managers, board members and owners are good, well-intended honest people. Regardless, the integrity of condominium governance needs to be ingrained into all of the processes used to make decisions at the board level, especially when it pertains to elections, AGMs and other matters requiring input and voting from owners.
Proper Building Maintenance Can Avoid Catastrophic Failure
Your Condo: Maintenance
|| Mitchell Gerskup
In the wake of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Miami, Florida, many condominium managers and boards find themselves asking what they can do to make sure their buildings are properly maintained.
The Florida Condo Tragedy A Board of Director’s Perspective
Fraud & Crime
Feature || Martin Denheyer & Marvin Ens
Most media coverage of the Champlain condo collapse focuses on the human tragedy and the lives lost – and rightly so. However, understanding what went wrong and what role the condo board played is also relevant, especially to board members of other condos. This article summarizes some information and thoughts relevant to that perspective.
Viewpoint
The Sealed Bidding Process
The Back Page || Laura Lee, RCM
One bad apple can spoil the batch for the rest of the Property Managers in the industry. Board members who have experienced or read about an unfortunate situation during the procurement process in another building may distrust their manager and make accusations of price-fixing or receiving a kickback. Don’t take it personally.
RCM Profile
Mohammad Sheeraz Pathan
RCM Profiles || Mohammad Sheeraz Pathan
Mohammad Sheeraz Pathan RCM, OLCM
Dove Square Property Management
Year entered the profession: 2012
Year RCM obtained: 2016
