Condo Management Company

[FFR]

/Rant

My husband and I moved into our brand new townhouse in February of this year. In early May, we recieved our first letter from the Condo Management Company regarding the payment of condo fees and the board of directors and all that. Included was a form to return to set up the PreAuthorized payment as that is the only form of payment that they would accept. Fine. Anyways, they requested that we return the form by a certain date. The day before that date I realized that we hadnt mailed it yet so I called our specific community manager and asked if it would be alright for me to fax over the form instead and mail the original so that they would have the information in time. She said no problem. So off we go, faxing and mailing. Later that day, it occured to me that I had no idea when our first payment would be coming out so I emailed her and she said that because our form came in late, the first payment would come out the following month and would include all previous months. Great! Sounds good to me. Not a problem. Two weeks after the month end (not the one we were paying on) we get a notice in the mail informing us they were going to put a caveat on the house unless we paid them within 3 days. Well. I lost it. Not only did I have written proof from the Community Manager that we were paying in June, not May, but we had spoken to her on the phone regarding this issue. So we call her back and leave message after message for the next 3 days and we never get ahold of her and she never returns our calls. Finally, my husband gets ahold of her on the day that they are supposed to be issuing the caveat and she says that we were a low priority phone call and so she was going to 'get around to us.' We asked what could be more important than a LEGAL issue that could hurt us the next time we are looking to buy (as this is our first house) and she says, oh emergencies. Seriously? Three days of emergency phone calls? Unreal.

Anyways, we finally get everything sorted out (with her assistant, not her, becuse she is too busy) and once we prove we were not supposed to pay until June, their reason? On the form we sent in to authorize the prepayments, we had put May 1 as the first withdrawal date, and since they had missed that day, the form was invalid. I couldn't believe it. Maybe I'm crazy, but that has got to be the worst excuse I have ever heard. The form we sent said that we authorize payments to begin on May 1. June 1 is after May 1, so would it not be included? Ridiculous. So we send another form and include a letter authorizing them to withdraw for the total of all months oweing and a note saying to contact us if there are any other outstanding charges and they assure us that the caveat will nto be filed and they will not charge us the 100 dollars that they want to charge us for sending us the letter. Fine, we're happy. June 1, all oweing condo fees backpaid from February are withdrawn. July 1, next months condo fees withdrawn like normal.

Then yesterday, we recieve a bill in the mail from them for close to 100 dollars. No explanation what it's for, just a bill saying to pay them immediately. Once again. Not so happy. I'm fairly certain its the charges for the letter they sent us regarding the caveat that was supposed to be removed becuase we have paid all of our condo fees in full. But I can't get ahold of my Community Manager or her assistant. So I have no idea. But I'm pissed off. Not only have we been billed by them improperly now, twice, but both times, I've been unable to get ahold of anyone. We have been told that charges would be removed and they weren't. We sent them a letter asking them to inform us if there were any other outstanding balances. They have our email addresses and phone numbers. We spoke to them the day we sent in our form. We spoke to them after they recieved the form. The customer service is disgusting.
/End Rant

And unfortunately, we can't do anything about it. Because the Board of Directors for our community has chosen this company. I suppose we can bring up our complaints to the Board, but I don't think that us as one townhouse in a community of a couple hundred is going to mean anything.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with them? I don't want to bring up the companies name, but I've heard from friends that they are one of the worst in the city. Anyone else have any horror stories?

[Muta]

They used to manage my condo building.

They put my building $200,000 in the hole last year, for which Ozy_Flame and I had to issue those slimy pricks a cheque for $1600 because of a stupid City By-Law that states those kinds of expenses can be billed to, and incurred, by the tenants of the builidng.

We were paying for other people's damages to their doorframes, etc. for whatever reason. Absolutely terrible. I've never seen an uprising quite like that before.

[ah123]

I would gather "intelligence" regarding this management company and, together with the problems you're having, present that to the condo board -- it might not help immediately, but as complaints pile up (and from what it sounds like, they will), the condo board might be ready to "fire" the company.

And be ready to volunteer on the condo board when the opportunity comes; this will allow you to influence decisions with respect to this management company...

[dubc80]

FFR: Sorry to hear about your issues. Bring it forward with the board.

I just joined the the condo board in the townhouse complex I'm living in and every issue is brought forward to the board's attention for our review, consideration, and approval. Not sure about the rules in other complex's, but the condo consultant, or "community manager" has no authority to make decisions.

The condo board people are supposed to act in the best interests of the owners and spend the $$$ in the best interests of the whole complex according to the pre-established condo board bylaws.

You should join next time around. It's interesting to see what goes on on the inside and have a say in how the $$$ is spent.

Most of my friends who live in condos/townhouses are on the condo board, and frakly, I don't know why more people don't join their own!

Besides, if you're on the condo board, you can spearhead the effort to re-visit your contract with your condo association.

[pepper24]

I'd join your condo board.

[JD]

Condo management companies are worse than Telus, Bell, and Rogers combined. They have caused more anger and frustration for me than anything else I've ever experienced. Thus far in my life, I've dealt with three different companies, and they've all been impossible to deal with.

I think it must be in their mission statements to drive up costs and treat people as if they have no right to voice issues, no matter how legitimate they are.

I mean, the NERVE of someone wanting their name on the buzzer list at the front door!

[mykalberta]

What is the comapny name?

The builing I live in use Emerald, and they seem fine.

[COGENT]

wow.. that sucks.
I live in a building that is self managed and it works very well! After hearing many stories like this, I am very thankful that it is self managed.

Unfortunately you have no choice but to bring it to your boards attention and just hope that other people have had issues and perhaps they would consider changing companies.

You could also try contacting a news station that does stories on bad business's. Might be a shot in the dark but who knows.

Finally, maybe try contacting the better business bureau. It's there job to research companies like this.

again... that really sucks.

[Winsor_Pilates]

I would circulate this information to the rest of the strata, and join the board. Condo's are like a democracy where most people have no idea what's going on.

Everytime I go to a strata meeting, it's the same 2-3 people talking, while 40 people sit and listen and believe everything that is said.
Arm yourself with knowlege, find better alternatives to this company and present that at a council meeting. People will listen if you present it well.
Most people, don't have the time or care to really know what's going on with condo boards, so they will be happy to see someone like you has done the leg work and they will listen.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Muta

They used to manage my condo building.

What is the name of the company?

Our AGM is happening tomorrow and I was originally thinking about joining the board but didn't know what the time commitments were. It's a new complex so we haven't really had any problems thus far. Does sitting on the board actually give you some power as to what happens? What is the time commitment?

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by FFR

Rant I don't want to bring up the companies name, but I've heard from friends that they are one of the worst in the city.

Why not? Horrible companies deserve to be blemished with bad PR (just like good companies deserve recommendations). If anything, you are helping others avoid the pain.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Firstly, I just did a Google search for the word "naziically" and found out that it's not a real word!

Secondly, I own a townhouse, but I rent it out. Is it worthwhile for a landlord to join a condo board for a place he doesn't live in?

Edit: "Gangprobed" didn't turn up either...how unfortunate lol

[FFR]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

What is the name of the company?

Our AGM is happening tomorrow and I was originally thinking about joining the board but didn't know what the time commitments were. It's a new complex so we haven't really had any problems thus far. Does sitting on the board actually give you some power as to what happens? What is the time commitment?

I wonder if you are in the same community I am as our AGM is tomorrow night as well...And it's a brand new complex.

The company is Condominium First Management Company. I don't know if it's just us they hate, but I've heard bad things about them from other people.

Update on the situation however: I FINALLY got ahold of my community manager and informed her that I had left numerous messages. Her response..."Oh, I was busy". Well you weren't too busy to answer your phone now! Anyways, I explain my situation, she looks up our file and informs us that the bill we recieved was wrong. (Relief!) And then continues to tell me that we actually owe $750!! Again. Complete outrage. I explained to her that we have paid our condo fees in full and I can prove it by showing her our bank statement. She goes quiet for a minute and puts me on hold. She comes back a few minutes later and says that her company had put us into their system twice. So they've been attempting to withdraw our condo fees twice every month. It's a good thing we rarely put more money than is required into that bank account. So on one of our accounts, the money is paid, but there is still that $65 that we "owe" and on the other account, we haven't paid anything. So she tells me that for our "troubles" she will waive the $65 dollars we owe. Which is bull becuase we didn't "owe" anything to begin with. She says everything is taken care of, but I'm fully expecting either a bill or another notice of a caveat within the next week or two.

And thanks to everyone for your suggestions. If I can get off of work early enough tomorrow, I'll head over to the AGM meeting and express my concerns. I'm a little nervous, however, as I believe the community manager will be there as well.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

My condo uses Condo First as our management company. I haven't had any problems with them, personally. I had a neighbor kick in the doorframe to my apartment in a coked out fit of rage toward my tenant at the time and they took care of replacing it and billed the cost to the neighbor. They've been pretty quick about fixing damaged buzzers and stuff too and I've always received prompt replies to emails I've sent. I'd say it's more our condo board that can act like nazis than the management company.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by FFR

I wonder if you are in the same community I am as our AGM is tomorrow night as well...And it's a brand new complex.

The company is Condominium First Management Company. I don't know if it's just us they hate, but I've heard bad things about them from other people.

Lighthouse Landing @ Harvest Hills Church?

I haven't really had any problems with them, aside from a minor issue (basically, they didn't invoice us for condo fees until several months after we moved in (backdated of course), but then they wanted to charge us interest despite the fact that we didn't know how much we had to pay. After a couple of emails and voicemails, the problem was resolved).

Sorry to hear of your problems...

[FFR]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Lighthouse Landing @ Harvest Hills Church?

I haven't really had any problems with them, aside from a minor issue (basically, they didn't invoice us for condo fees until several months after we moved in (backdated of course), but then they wanted to charge us interest despite the fact that we didn't know how much we had to pay. After a couple of emails and voicemails, the problem was resolved).

Sorry to hear of your problems...

That would be the one! How funny. Maybe you got lucky and caught the community manager on a good day or something. Or else we're just really unlucky.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Condo management companies are brutal. They take gobs of cash for doing nothing. And if you make them do something they take more cash.

I really and truly think they are all crooks, but at the very least they sit in that special little bunghole of the corporate world reserved for companies with more power and less accountability then governments.

[JD]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Secondly, I own a townhouse, but I rent it out. Is it worthwhile for a landlord to join a condo board for a place he doesn't live in?

I would say, "yes", because, ultimately, how the complex is managed will affect your resale value. And that's a lotta commas in one sentence.

Condo management companies are brutal. They take gobs of cash for doing nothing. And if you make them do something they take more cash.

I really and truly think they are all crooks, but at the very least they sit in that special little bunghole of the corporate world reserved for companies with more power and less accountability then governments.

Wow, you have perfectly expressed my feelings towards these people.

But those who suggest getting involved in the board are right. I'm a total hypocrite because I get enraged over our management company but I have little to no involvement in my board.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by FFR

That would be the one! How funny. Maybe you got lucky and caught the community manager on a good day or something. Or else we're just really unlucky.

It was a different person back then (in December 2007 or January 2008 -- I can't remember), probably before you moved in. Neil Fawcett was his name. I haven't dealt with the current manager yet...

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by fotze

Why do condo boards sign deals with these arseholes that allow them to do things like this? REmember that thread a while back where they naziically gave out parking tickets?

On a new development the management company is set by the developer. A lot of them really don't care who they put in place, because as soon as all deals are done, they're out of the picture and don't deal with the building anyway.
It's up to the owners and board to make themselves aware and change things if needed. Management companies are only bad when they have too much power. A good board makes all of the decisions anyway, and the management company simply facilitates some services.