Articles

Most people who join the board of their condominium corporation aren’t experts. Rather, they are well-intentioned, dedicated volunteer-leaders who want to protect property values and ensure their community continues to be a great place to live. If you’re a new board member – or even a seasoned one – it’s important to get the training you need to govern effectively and address the issues you may face.

Your role as a board member involves a lot of communications. Whether it’s speaking with a board member or drafting up and email, you may be looking to learn or refine some communications skills.

Effective communication fosters better relationships among board members, your residents and property management company, and keeps all parties well informed. Here are the 4 components of a successful communication plan that create effective outreach to all members of your community.

Condominium board members are an important part of the property management team, and play a vital role in the success of the community. If you serve as a condominium corporation board member, it is inevitable that you will run into conflicts with other board members at some point. Understanding how to avoid damaging conflict, work effectively with other board members and gain consensus on solutions to your community's issues will benefit everyone in your community.

At one time or another, every condominium corporation has to spend money on replacing equipment or making major repairs. Whether that means replacing a roof, installing a new ventilation system or any other big-ticket project, they are a necessity. But how should your condo corporation pay for them?

If your community is managed by a property management company, you probably have an after-hours number you can call for urgent issues. But what if you simply want to take care of day-to-day condo corporation business? “People don’t operate in normal business hours anymore,” says Rolando Hernandez, national customer care director at FirstService Residential. “Residents and board members need to be able to take care of condo business how and when it’s convenient for them.”

If you're like many board members, one of your most challenging jobs is running your condominium corporation board meetings. Keeping everyone on task and addressing board member disagreements is not always easy. So what can you do to manage your meetings more effectively?

When your community considers a new manager, having the right experts on your management team can make for a smooth transition.

Do the unit owners in your community understand how the condo maintenance and repair responsibilities are divided between themselves and the corporation? Creating a responsibility matrix will ensure everyone from residents to board members understand who is responsible for what.

Cold weather will soon be upon us, so now is the time to make sure your condominium maintenance program is on track. As brutal as Ontario’s winters can be, you certainly don’t want to discover a leak in your roof during a heavy snowfall or have a boiler stop working during a record cold spell.