Not a good story for the owners involved in this situation where owners were all special assessed to raise $2.3 million.

I feel for the owners of this building but this comment from the story is particularly important.

Owners would have known about the eventual repairs had they read condo minutes from the past five years and gotten a pre-purchase inspection, he said.

These are small steps Conforti said could save other condo buyers a lot of headache.

“I always try to think ‘Where did I go wrong?’” she said. “That’s the hard part, coping with the fact that we bought something that’s in need of so many repairs.


1 hour reading through the minutes might have prevented her loss sadly.   This is one of many tips in our articles on what to consider before buying a condo.  


~CondoSensei

An interesting article in the Globe today about the glass curtain walls used as exterior walls of condos being a potential nightmare in the future:

Link to Article

Overall, I agree with the article - operating costs will certainly be higher but you'll see that on day one.  There are some interesting numbers in the article related to the lifespan of windows. A number of 25 years is suggested.  That seems a bit short to me - the commercial building I work in is 40 years old and while it's certainly not as efficient as newer buildings I've worked in - it hasn't completely failed.  Of course, quality of the glass, and the contractor doing the installation has a tremendous impact on overall life.

So what does that mean for reserve fund reports in buildings with glass curtain walls?  Consult an expert is always your first step of course.  After that it'll be a question of judgement and reasonability.  If your reserve fund report has 100 years listed for exterior glass - that's probably too long.  Same with 75 years.  15 years?  Probably too short.  At the end of the day, glass curtain walls become yet another item in the reserve fund report for you to scrutinize: 1) the cost to replace and 2) estimate the lifespan.

~CondoSensei

Click for link here:

In short, BC's requirements for Depreciation Reports (Reserve Fund Study to much of the Rest of Canada) coming into force this year is forcing many stratas (condo boards) to deal with issues they may have let sit for years.  It's important to note the underlying problems have been there for years, but it's only now they're being forced to deal with them financially.

~CondoSensei

Q: Can you explain the difference between a special assessment and a levy?

Q: Does the board have to provide specific information about what the monies collected for a Special Assessment are being used for? 

Q: Our condo board is considering buying one of the units in the building as an investment. Is this allowed?

Q: Our condominium corporation elected a new board at its AGM, consisting of nine directors (six returning and three newly elected). I recently discovered that one of the board members is not an owner, but a renter. Is this allowed? Can renters attend or participate in the AGM without a proxy?

~CondoSensei