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  #921  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 4:41 AM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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Just found this listing for a condo building at 2518 Fish Creek Blvd SW. It states:

"Special assessment on the building coming. Seller willing to add this to the price to assist buyer with purchase, so the buyer can include this in their mortgage. Condo board plans to refinish the exterior, a special assessment is coming to all owners in the complex. The seller of this unit agrees to hold back $20,000 from the sale and pay any special assessment deemed within one year."

https://www.justinhavre.com/listing/...y-4t5/go-tour/
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  #922  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 4:56 AM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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This post is from a few years ago, but thought it is extremely relevant to the discussions about the "costs" of being in a condo:
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...8&postcount=24
Quote:
As a 4 year former board member, first time condo owner, backround in accounting and my own research has led me to believe that special assesments are reasonable if proven, but 60% of time time is undetectable fraud. "the board" is like a NoLimit poker table. i.e. there is 5 (board members) people who come in with even buy-ins. But what happens when 1 of the board comes in with stacks? Essentially is bullying the board. and then you add in the dealer (prop manager) is in on it. now the votes are coming in at 4 board members vs 2 $$( greedy people) (yes i understand the property management cannot vote- but that doesnt prevent them from prograngda -spewing hot air to gain votes thru fear and not numbers). Now say the dealer brings in a friend (their own engineer for the reserve fund study (conflict of of interest)) its now turned in to 4 board vs 3 $$$ greedy. How much proganda do you think the 3 of them need to spew out before you need two votes to switch your vote in favor of billing yourself $5K?

As i was noticing this i started to say things during the meetings such as "You are not an engineer so i want to get an engineer report" "Youre not a plumber so everything youre saying is an opinion and not a fact - facts are numbers and when are you guys going to get me numbers to validate these votes""I would like to see the utility data and not what you think the gas is compared to your other rental units"

There are certain "shenangians" that they play to prey on board members/homeowners alike at the AGM.

example they bring in an uninvited guest not in the agenda. The first opening lines he has to say is "you folks are lucky - the last condo i had was a $40K special assesment, but dont worry you guys are just at $5K". JUST AT $5K...any salesperson knows that trick to make it sound immaterial.

Learning they types of laws it goes Condo Bylaws, Alberta Condo Act, and the Another legislation. The laws are too loose which then make the rich richer by stating balconies need to be repaired.Its going to cost $15K, assess everyone, balcony does NOT get done, rekey the locks and charge an invoice of $8K, (cost of rekey is $300) and voila you now have $7,700 split between the bully, prop management, locksmith, engineering faculty, and any other board members that were invited to the dark side. and rinse and repeat for next year to milk more. and if no one complained about $5K its time to up it by another $3K and blame it on cost of materials, inflation and business.

By the end i was quoting the alberta condo act and quoting certain references as a board member and a homeowner that i need basic information such as invoices, financials, analysis of one time costs etc., They pretty much gave me the middle finger.

On my resignation letter to the board and prop managemnet i stated to the board "i cant protect you anymore, once i resign, they will assess you all $5-10K and no work will be done" a week after i resigned - $6,600 special assessment to be paid within 10 months.

I resigned as they wanted me to sign finacnials, and when i asked basic questions from the people who did the "financial review" and the board (backup, invoices, gas usage) they instead pointed the finger at me 2 months later stating the treasurer is not doing his job and needs to blindly sign or our values in our homes drop. I resigned as they charge a bunch of one time items, and build it in the budget stating that its inflation. My condo fees jumped from $298 to $535 - 180% in 5 years + about $11K in special assesments.

Until the laws change i would recommend never getting a condo.

Last edited by suburbia; Feb 20, 2019 at 5:14 AM.
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  #923  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 5:01 AM
Corndogger Corndogger is offline
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Originally Posted by suburbia View Post
This post is from a few years ago, but thought it is extremely relevant to the discussions about the "costs" of being in a condo:
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...8&postcount=24
Why did you provide a link that isolated that one post? Read the entire thread and you get a very different and much more accurate picture.
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  #924  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 5:13 AM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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Originally Posted by Corndogger View Post
Why did you provide a link that isolated that one post?
Because that post was the most relevant.

Earlier this evening you stated that special assessments were very rare for condos, yet I pointed out that just in the current single example we've been talking about, it is hitting 288 homes IE 288 units. Instead of defending your stance that it is extremely rare and 288 units "are not that many" you're jumping away from your own words. Sad.

Every year, over 500 condo units in Calgary get hit with a special assessment over $20,000 that they must pay pronto - so if you own a condo in this city, it comes with 500 chances to win *every year*.

Last edited by suburbia; Feb 20, 2019 at 6:08 PM.
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  #925  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 5:46 AM
Corndogger Corndogger is offline
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Originally Posted by suburbia View Post
Because that post was the most relevant.

Earlier this evening you stated that special assessments were very rare for condos, yet I pointed out that just in the current single example we've been talking about, it is hitting 288 homes IE 288 units. Instead of defending your stance that it is extremely rare and 288 units "are not that many" you're jumping away from your own words. Sad.

Every year, over 500 condo units in Calgary get hit with a special assessment over $20,000 that they must pay pronto - so if you own a condo in this city, it comes with 500 chances to win *every year*.
No, that post was not the most relevant. The one after it was for more relevant and put things in perspective.
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  #926  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 6:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Rollerstud98 View Post
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...was/ar-BBTNnrr

I think this issue fits in here. Pretty sad.
Here is a link to the original CBC article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...suit-1.5018766

This is a great example of risks associated with purchasing a condo, because there are extra layers between the new unit owner and the developer / builder, as well as and renovator / service provider.

Quote:
Leaky roofs, windows and walls and defective balconies — all symptoms of the shoddy construction of four condominium buildings in northwest Calgary, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Alberta Court of Queen's Bench.
This above part is pretty standard fair. It is extremely common with condos, but now the issue is what will happen about it.

Quote:
The people who bought the 288 units at the Panorama West project are facing massive bills. And they've been told to keep quiet by the people whose job it is to protect them: their condo board and their lawyer. They were told in writing that speaking out could jeopardize any potential settlement.
It is a complex scenario, as given the layers, there will be massive overheads for both lawyers and condo board expenses here. Lawyers have to deal with complex ownership, and will charge for that. They will also have to deal with the complex builder / developer structure.

Quote:
On top of all that, the company many of them thought built the complex isn't named in the $6.5-million lawsuit.

Cardel Homes, the company that marketed the project and the company many thought developed and built it, created a separate company and a limited partnership to oversee construction.
While the article suggests this is novel, it is actually quite standard for most developments IE each project gets its own development company spinoff.

Quote:
Testing done last year on the buildings determined that windows, roofs, eavestroughs and downspouts weren't installed or built properly and waterproofing measures were not done correctly, according to an engineering firm hired by the condo corporation.
I don't doubt any of what was in the report, but given these buildings are a decade old, I do question the emergency scenario that requires all unit owners to pay thousands of dollars by March 1st. I very much sympathize with the lady quoted in the article, who is required $7,600 as her first installment and will need to use a line of credit to make that payment.

Quote:
It's very common because this is a special purpose where eventually the limited partnership can dissolve once the project is complete. And that would allow the limited partner, which would be typically the operating arm, where there is liquidity, to not be liable in the future
This is a major major major issue for condos. This scenario rarely if ever happens with single family homes or even duplexes. My home builder was X and not a shell company. If I have issues, I go after them directly. They will not have made the extra headache to create a shell company, and thus they would have also designed and built properly, knowing I know who they are and where they are.

Quote:
"What's likely stated in the statement of claim is that the general partner has no assets. So even a victory of sorts won't be successful in terms of actually collecting a quantum of compensation because without the partnership and without the limited partner, it's likely the general partner is just a shell and there's nothing to collect on," said Bone.
Yup. Good luck is all I can say. It is like recovering your bitcoin after QuadrigaCX went belly up and files were lost, destroyed or whatever.
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  #927  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 6:12 PM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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Originally Posted by suburbia View Post
Here is a link to the original CBC article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...suit-1.5018766
One of the interesting aspects of this story is how it has not shown up in the Calgary Herald or Calgary Sun, while at the same time, we know that most of the builders and construction outfits have substantial long-term marketing contracts with Post Media.
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  #928  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2019, 6:27 PM
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Originally Posted by suburbia View Post
This post is from a few years ago, but thought it is extremely relevant to the discussions about the "costs" of being in a condo:
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...8&postcount=24
There were a LOT of specifics in that post, so let me pull out a particular thread. The person posting was on the condo board he is sharing the inside scoop on, and his role was treasurer. He provides a real example:

Quote:
rekey the locks and charge an invoice of $8K, (cost of rekey is $300) and voila you now have $7,700 split between the bully [IE corrupt member(s) of the condo board], prop management, locksmith, [consultant]
He stayed on the board for four years, trying to understand what exactly was going on. He says:

Quote:
By the end i was quoting the alberta condo act and quoting certain references as a board member and a homeowner that i need basic information such as invoices, financials, analysis of one time costs etc., They pretty much gave me the middle finger.
Earlier in the post, he says, and this is really important:

Quote:
special assesments are reasonable if proven, but 60% of time time is undetectable fraud
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  #929  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2019, 7:01 PM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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Over 300 balconies needed repair or complete rebuild in yet another mega special assessment of ten year old condo complex home to over 300 families

Leaky condo owners wonder: Where's the accountability?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...ions-1.5034644
Quote:
At Lighthouse Landing, a notice was taped to the front door of one of the buildings last week warning residents that demolition and inspection work would start the first week of March.
<>
A woman who identified herself as a member of the condo board was upset after seeing the CBC taking pictures and video of the building.

"If you're not invited by the board, you can get off the property!" she shouted.

According to a report that looked into the problems in 2016, the estimated cost of repairs was $3.2 million. The condo board imposed a special assessment, requiring owners to foot the bill.
Quote:
The condominium corporation filed a civil lawsuit against the builder, Cardel Homes, the architecture and engineering firms and several tradespeople. But according to Cunningham, nothing has been resolved.
Quote:
She says a handful of people haven't been able to pay the assessment and the board has said it could move to foreclose on those properties.
As I had suggested previously for condos ...

Quote:
"I think the big learning for a lot of us from incidents like these is that very soon after a condominium is created and the first board gets involved, it would probably be prudent to get an independent professional engineering assessment of the building," said Terry Gibson of the Condo Owners Forum.

But what does it say when a condo owner is being asked to pay to assess a new building?

"It says to me that a consumer has to look out for their own interest," said Gibson.
Once again, this story is not being covered by the construction mafia affiliated PostMedia group.
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  #930  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2019, 7:27 PM
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One of the first things that stands out to me in that story is all the digging required to determine who inspected what, and even by the end there's no reveal of who signed off on the waterproofing. Perhaps a good step for all construction projects would be a single sheet provided to purchasers/condo board listing each type of inspection along with the name of the inspector and their associated company who signed off.
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  #931  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2019, 8:07 PM
Corndogger Corndogger is offline
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Originally Posted by DizzyEdge View Post
One of the first things that stands out to me in that story is all the digging required to determine who inspected what, and even by the end there's no reveal of who signed off on the waterproofing. Perhaps a good step for all construction projects would be a single sheet provided to purchasers/condo board listing each type of inspection along with the name of the inspector and their associated company who signed off.
I agree.
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  #932  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2019, 8:29 PM
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240glt 240glt is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DizzyEdge View Post
One of the first things that stands out to me in that story is all the digging required to determine who inspected what, and even by the end there's no reveal of who signed off on the waterproofing. Perhaps a good step for all construction projects would be a single sheet provided to purchasers/condo board listing each type of inspection along with the name of the inspector and their associated company who signed off.
When I first started in construction, all my submittal drawings were reviewed and approved by the engineers. The drawings were stamped as such. Over time they stopped using the word "approved" and have replaced it with "reviewed". There is less responsibility being taken by the professionals in the industry and it's trickled down to poorer quality projects.

We had a condo downtown in Edmonton, Standard wood frame construction built in around 2005, and the year after we sold it they discovered a problem with the way the balcony membrane application tied into the exterior wall at the base where the balconies recessed into the building. It was a stupid mistake and someone should have caught it. It cost the owners thousands each in assessments to repair.
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  #933  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2019, 9:02 PM
suburbia suburbia is offline
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Originally Posted by 240glt View Post
We had a condo downtown in Edmonton, Standard wood frame construction built in around 2005, and the year after we sold it they discovered a problem with the way the balcony membrane application tied into the exterior wall at the base where the balconies recessed into the building. It was a stupid mistake and someone should have caught it. It cost the owners thousands each in assessments to repair.
Wow! Unfortunately that type of story is wayyyyyy too common when it comes to condos, and unfortunately, it comes down as debilitating special assessments for condo owners. As I've shared previously, annually there are 500 winning Calgary tickets in the condo (large) special assessments lottery, and condo owners or prospective condo owners need to understand that.
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