Condominium Manager Magazine

Many condominium communities have had to grapple – or are currently grappling - with residents with hoarding disorder. This has proved to be challenging in most cases, given the safety risks hoarding can pose to the community. And predictably, incidents of dangerous hoarding have only increased during the pandemic, as people with hoarding disorder have become more anxious and mental health supports have become less easy to access.

Property Managers are not typically mindful of elevator codes and developments. However, incoming amendments to jurisdictionally adopted elevator codes (related to elevator safety and emergency features) will affect capital expenditure planning (CapEx) whether these are initially considered or not.

The last few years have been extremely challenging in many ways, especially as we have learned to adapt to a world turned upside down by Covid and how it has drastically changed our daily lives. Hopefully, one lesson we can take away from this is the importance of work/life balance.

I have been in the property management industry for 20 years, and I am an RCM and OLCM. I live with Complex PTSD, and this is my story.

Property Management can be a challenging job at the best of times, but with the pandemic and the associated increased stress of the past two years, the job often has been difficult for many managers. With an increasing number of young people and older retired people living in condominiums, there are two very different mental health issues staff and managers may find some of their residents trying to maneuver.

The increase in disputes and issues arising from, or exacerbated by, mental health issues has had – and continues to have – a powerful and negative impact on property managers, who are the direct interface between owners/occupants and boards of directors.

Condominium living can be a haven for seniors needing to down-size but are still active in their community, travelling or just enjoying all life offers. Although the owners and residents of condominiums vary, it is critical to identify all the needs of your community as a condominium manager. 

As managers, one of our primary functions is to identify and seek to resolve issues within the corporations and communities we are assigned to manage. Just as you would recognize a potential building condition that could lead to structural concerns, a manager must sometimes identify a burgeoning mental health crisis within their community. 

Condominium managers and their teams, including contractors, are often not thought of when “Essential Service Providers” are discussed. As such, they have felt excluded from pandemic recognition of essential workers. However, we know that the work of managing and caring for condominiums and their residents has not gone away. In fact, it has been complicated with supply-chain constraints, lack of resources, and navigating Public Health Guidelines, leaving condominium managers and their teams unable to meet the expectations of our important clients.

For many managers, the job is anything but simple. Despite being technical experts in their fields, the hardest part of the job for many managers is putting up with the people – and politics – that make up their day-to-day work lives.

ne of the many jobs a manager has is the tendering of the corporation’s contracts. From firsthand experience, I think we can all take a collective sigh and agree that this can be a challenging and time-consuming process. There is a lot to consider with potential vendors, including whether they are registered with ACMO, their overall experience level, and reputation in the industry, to name a few.

We all feel angry sometimes. Most of the time, we can deal with feelings of anger or irritability quickly. We may resolve the situation or look at the problem from a different perspective. However, anger can cause problems in our lives and the lives of those around us.

We all talk about stress, but we’re not always clear about what it is. Stress comes from both the good and the bad things that happen to us. If we didn’t feel any stress, we wouldn’t be alive! Stress may feel overwhelming at times, but there are many strategies to help you take control.

Shining the light on those in the condominium management profession.

Shining a light on an ACMO 2000 Certified Management Firm choosing to offer a higher standard of service to elevate their business.