One-time bills for special repairs can be financially crippling for some condominium owners, but under the Condominium Act there isn’t a lot that can be done to fight them.
Walt Brooker is the president of his condo board, but he didn’t expect the tight spot the building was in financially.
So when the building needed a new roof, he had to decide whether to give owners a special assessment for several thousand dollars or increase maintenance fees.
“People want their fees to be as low as possible… fees can’t just be used for daily operations, they have to fund the reserve…To fund the reserve for the next 10 or 15 years we would’ve had to double our monthly fees.”
In the end, Brooker was able to deal with the situation by selling a unit to pay for the repairs.
But Bonnie Patteson wasn’t so lucky. Her condo board president delivered a special assessment of around $400 to each owner after the building was hit with a huge water bill.
The consequences were bad for two owners who couldn’t afford the special assessment.
“There was a lien put against them,” Patteson says, “That’s a sad thing for the board to have to do.”
Under the current Condominium Act, owners can plead their case to their board, but if that doesn’t work their only option is to take their own condo company to court.
Marilyn Lincoln has seen all the issues during her time as a property manager and now writes a column about condo issues.
She was one of the first in Kitchener to take out a condo loan to help avoid charging extra fees and keep monthly costs low.
Now she says buyers should avoid buildings with small reserve funds, “If you want to buy into there, you’re already buying into a condo that’s not properly managed.”
Lincoln also suggests asking for a Status Certificate or a record of the buildings finances.
Coming up in part three: With monthly fees continuing to rise, are condominiums sustainable in the long term?
