StrataSense was born of a fateful day in 2002 when I decided to buy my first condo. It was billed as a bargain in an "up and coming" part of town... marketing code speak for "this land was cheap because it's pretty sketchy". Perhaps the empty condom wrappers on the ground outside should have been a sign.... unfortunately I didn't see those wrappers until it was too late. Regardless thus began an almost 15 year journey into condos that has taken me from concerned owner, to Board President, and to most jobs in between.
I ended up joining the Board of my first condo not because I wanted to, but because of the urgent need to. Put simply, bad things were happening and no one was willing to step forward to make things right. After meeting my wife and moving in together, we became landlords after renting her condo out - a whole new source of lessons learned.
After years of being involved with Board I began to wonder why better resources didn't exist to help Owners, Board Members, and Prospective Buyers in what is becoming a very important part of the housing market in Canada. Hence - StrataSense was born to help everyone benefit from the knowledge gained from these hard fought years.
What have I brought to these Condo Boards? I have 15 years of experience in senior finance and accounting roles at multi billion dollar corporations in Canada, and am a designated Chartered Accountant. Typically this makes me the least desirable person at a party, but not surprisingly, these skills are of interest to Condo Boards (bad trade off - I'd rather be desired at parties anyday....)
In my almost 15 years of being actively involved in Condo Boards, my tales of woe include:
What's my goal in all of this? My hope is that all parties reading this site will be better prepared to live, manage, and purchase what should be a wonderful form of property ownership in Canada.
~CondoSensei
I ended up joining the Board of my first condo not because I wanted to, but because of the urgent need to. Put simply, bad things were happening and no one was willing to step forward to make things right. After meeting my wife and moving in together, we became landlords after renting her condo out - a whole new source of lessons learned.
After years of being involved with Board I began to wonder why better resources didn't exist to help Owners, Board Members, and Prospective Buyers in what is becoming a very important part of the housing market in Canada. Hence - StrataSense was born to help everyone benefit from the knowledge gained from these hard fought years.
What have I brought to these Condo Boards? I have 15 years of experience in senior finance and accounting roles at multi billion dollar corporations in Canada, and am a designated Chartered Accountant. Typically this makes me the least desirable person at a party, but not surprisingly, these skills are of interest to Condo Boards (bad trade off - I'd rather be desired at parties anyday....)
In my almost 15 years of being actively involved in Condo Boards, my tales of woe include:
- Improving security in an never-ending battle against the homeless, drug addicts and petty criminals outside (and occasionally inside) our building.
- Lived in, or have been involved in Boards of multiple types of Condos, ranging from three unit townhouses to high density apartment style towers.
- Been a part of a coup to take over the Board of a grossly mismanaged condo.
- Dealing with countless water leaks.
- Having reserve fund studies done, both by hiring engineers and doing one for a small self managed townhouse complex.
- Working with difficult Board Members.
- Defending against nuisance lawsuits.
- Renting condo units as a landlord.
- Renovating units inside a condo.
- Obtaining sufficient insurance coverage, and filing claims.
- Firing and hiring new property managers.
- Budgeting for Condo Boards.
- Revising bylaws.
- and so much more....
What's my goal in all of this? My hope is that all parties reading this site will be better prepared to live, manage, and purchase what should be a wonderful form of property ownership in Canada.
~CondoSensei