Problem

The challenges faced by condominium communities exist on two levels: Neighborhood Level (between condos) and Community Level (within a condo).

Neighborhood Level (Condo Corp to Condo Corp)

At this level, individual condo corporations struggle to collaborate and share information effectively with other condos in the same neighborhood or with similar situations. Condominium communities frequently encounter persistent challenges that undermine effective management and diminish resident satisfaction. Financial deficits are a common issue, often arising from a lack of informed decision-making or inadequate management practices—deficits that might have been avoided or minimized with better oversight and shared knowledge. Throughout the life cycle of a condo building, recurring problems emerge, especially during difficult economic periods. Despite being situated in the same neighborhood and facing similar circumstances, condo corporations often operate in isolation, making critical decisions without the benefit of collective wisdom. The sharing of knowledge and experience between condos is typically limited and costly through industry professionals like third-party management, vendors, lawyer firms etc which oftentimes prioritize their own profit and business over the condo corporations interest. The lack of a connected infrastructure hinders open participation and information flow between these corporations, leading to isolated decision-making, repeating mistakes and inefficiencies.

Community Level (Within Condo, Homeowner to Homeowner, Assistance to Condo Board)

Within individual condo corporations, a different disconnection exists. Information travel between residents (homeowners or tenants), superintendent, management office and the condo board are ineffective, resulting in misunderstanding of issues, fragmented community and poor decision-making. Homeowners may feel disengaged or underrepresented, while condo boards struggle to unify the community and address the diverse needs of residents effectively. Examples of these issues can include:

1. Lack of Transparency:

2. 1. Owners often have or feel they have limited visibility into condo matters and condo’s decision-making processes.

   2. Financial transactions are not easily accessible or understandable.

3. Poor Tracking and Accounting:

4. 1. Inadequate systems for tracking and managing maintenance tasks.

   2. Difficulty in keeping accurate records of past decisions and actions especially since many board members are termed volunteers and management teams also change from time to time.

5. Uninformed Residents and Owners and Limited Engagement:

6. 1. Many residents and owners are not educated about condo rules, laws, and the Condo Act.

   2. Unawareness about current condo issues and developments.

   3. Low levels of resident participation in community activities and decision-making.

   4. Limited feedback and input from owners on important matters.

7. Inefficient Decision Making or Mismanagement:

8. 1. Slow and cumbersome processes lead to delayed actions and poor responsiveness.

   2. Difficulty in reaching consensus among diverse stakeholder groups.

   3. Financial mismanagement due to lack of oversight, experience and industry standardized best-practices.

   4. Difficulty in making an accurate budget leading to unexpected expenses and financial instability.

   5. Single point failure where one bad management decision can result in many years of financial debts of the whole condo.

9. Limited sources of revenue for condo

10. 1. Most condo’s main source of revenue is the annually calculated maintenance fee paid by unit owners plus modest interest from low-risk investment like GIC from reserve funds.