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COVID and the housing market
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
Hate our popcorn ceiling. It’s got some patterns on it. I believe that since we painted over it, it’s no longer easily removable.
Whatever we do in the living room, there will be a new ceiling.
Want an inexpensive condo under a quarter million? 4645 Jane Street.
This is disgusting: 14 million in repairs needed.
I've serviced condos most of my working life and this is what happens when the owners (Not necessarily tenants) don't want to spend on repairs and maintenance.
It's along read but worth it if you want to know how bad it can get.
This is disgusting: 14 million in repairs needed.
I've serviced condos most of my working life and this is what happens when the owners (Not necessarily tenants) don't want to spend on repairs and maintenance.
It's along read but worth it if you want to know how bad it can get.
8M in debt, $1.75 in reserve fund (no multiplier, not thousands or millions, a 351 unit condo building with less than a toonie in reserve). $800 a month per unit in condo fees. Yikes. It would be interesting to see the books to see what moronic items the board spent all the money on.
My money is on federal cash converting the whole building to a privately owned rental (marketed as affordable housing slightly below market rate). JT declares a victory for quickly bringing 350 new rentals online (ignoring the fact that it happened by displacing 350 families), federal cash gets turned to smoke and a property baron gets a building added to their portfolio on the cheap.
Someone dropped the ball. If Harris did anything right he tightened up the condo rules supposedly making sure reserve funds are there. It didn't happen. A study was supposed to be done every five years. Another article dated 2009 said the building was a disaster then, a dozen years ago. Where were the whistle blowers? How many went to the annual meetings? We had a hard time getting a quorum, even with proxies.
The condo act was supposed to put the government in charge if a viable reserve fund is not established. Where were the condo cops or who fudged the books. One dollar and seventy-five cents in the reserve fund. What can you fix with a pack of chewing gum?
It sounds like one investor with multiple units is suing. Investors are often a part of the problem. They want maximum rent and minimum overhead so next to no maintenance or repairs until the building is condemned. Then they stick their hands out.
It will take years until any coin, if at all, trickles into the hands of the resident owners, not enough to buy another decent place.
One condo I worked at changed property managers every year. The new manager took six months to make a list of needed repairs and when they presented it to the board they were advised their contract wasn't going to be renewed. Rinse, repeat.
I don't care if the investors lose their shirts and it's too late to preach common sense to the owners that live there. At some point you realize the direction the place is heading and you bail out.
It would be interesting to know how many owners live in the complex and if the government could arrange low interest loans for them. The small businessmen that own the rented units are free to go to the banks. Even if the repairs are done and the problem white washed the fees have to go up to build a reserve fund.
Renters won't lose equity but will have trouble finding low rents elsewhere.
This isn't the only condo with the problem. Ten years ago I passed on repairs to another one telling the new property manager how bad their systems were. She asked how the situation got that bad and I asked her how much they had in their reserve fund......."Nothing"
It would be nice if all the votes were recorded at the AGMs and when the crap hit the fan the cost cutters paid the tab.
D
Deleted member 50930
Guest
Why I am so weary of condos
When buying in, check the status certificate, reserve fund, reserve fund study, percentage owner occupied and percent rental. It's harder once you're in. If you see it going wrong do you pull the plug asap or try to ride it out and home things get back on track? They could have used recent market craziness to try to pass the buck to the next sucker.
I’ve attended my fair share of owners meetings at condos. They are always a **** show. Worse if the chairman can’t keep them on the rails. It inevitably boils down to people complaining how others are or are not spending “their” money. And lord save you if there’s a special assessment.
I remember after that big rain/flooding in ‘12? My ex’s downtown condo had an assessment due to units on upper floors taking water damage. I think every unit had to cough up $20k. The pensioners were furious. One poor woman had black mold in her unit and had been living in a hotel with 3 kids for 4 months while they dragged their feet fixing her problem. Oy!
I remember after that big rain/flooding in ‘12? My ex’s downtown condo had an assessment due to units on upper floors taking water damage. I think every unit had to cough up $20k. The pensioners were furious. One poor woman had black mold in her unit and had been living in a hotel with 3 kids for 4 months while they dragged their feet fixing her problem. Oy!
My moms condo appears well managed , but they have had hiccups , parking garage roof deck needed repair . Board was going to spend xxx , retired engineer in the building measured the lot and came back with “ the proposal includes about 15 thousand more sq ft than the parking lot measures , you may want a second look” , condo president resigns when it turns out his SIL is the project manager for the construction bidders . Greasy .
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Mad Mike
Well-known member
Something is wrong with this. At $800/mo /unit that's a 250K/mo for a maintenance budget. Annual condo maint costs should be between $1-2/sq'. The incidentals outside making, groundskeeping, heat should be less than $3000/year/unit leaving $6500 for general repairs.
My guess is the condo board has had pigs at the trough for a while. Condo boards make me grind my teeth.
We have that same finish on ceilings and walls, it can be seamlessly repaired. I did all I could to work around making holes in it but I had to in the end. Watched a couple of Youtube videos, it is actually easy to fix. If I had known I would have made more holes in it to make the job easier.
Patch the area as usual, get it "flat". Water down some drywall compound and apply it with a stiff brush to make the texture overlapping into the un-repaired area. Let it dry and knock it down with some light sanding. Took a little practice but you cannot see the repairs now.
If doing rim joists you could also just cut around the outside, just enough to get the foam board in and hide the repair with crown molding.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I can't stand Knockdown, when I lived in California almost every house had it on walls and ceilings.
It's easier than popcorn to remove, as long as it hasn't been painted with oil-based primer or paint. It's just drywall mud, soaking it with warm water and dish soap solution softens it enough that a 6" knife will scrape it clean off. It makes a mess but it's not hard work -- just takes a lot of time. After clearing the texture, sand then skim coat gouges and imperfections.
A depressing statement because the same logic applies to Canada.
Calgary this time. Paperwork came through too late and he's out $25,000 for a special assessment.
It used to be that it took weeks or months to sell a property. There was time for due diligence. Now if you see something you think you can afford you jump on it or it's gone in a few days. As is, no survey.
Too many sq ft and its carpet down there. If I get to the point of changing things, I will drop the board and put up tbar. Access to floor joists is too handy to lose.
You are lucky if you get a quorum at an AGM (Annual General Meeting) When I was on the board at my industrial condo two of us went around before the meeting collecting proxies so items could get passed. Actual attendance was 30% or less.
Nothing like a couple of retired CEO's micro managing the property manager.
A commercial / residential condo at Yonge and Davenport didn't maintain their garage catch basins and the garage flooded taking out the electrical room for IIRC about six months. The commercial ground floor was up and running in a day or two on generators but the residential part was out for the count, no elevators, power, fire alarms etc.
Content insurance wasn't an issue but many policies only had a couple of thousand coverage for alternate accommodation.
Snob turf wars:
An owner didn't want a pickup parked next to her Lexus so ban pickup trucks.
A property manager was stunned by my simple suggestion of how to save $150,000 in capital costs and $10,000 to $20,000 a year in hydro. The idea was rejected at the AGM because it would mean a slight traffic pattern change and Mrs. X would have to walk past Mrs. Y's social territory. Not a ghetto, they golfed at different clubs.
It's not just the old buildings. One of the newer ones near Lakeshore and Park Lawn has problems getting hot water to some units.
There are more.
Based on my limited experience. If you want people to show up, say the words ‘special assessment’.
A friend is an electrical contractor and he constantly reminds me of the PM's that are married to general contractors that do restoration work. Nepotism is rampant.
Even seniors homes with waiting lists are sick. If you have a house and want to move into a specific complex you get bumped up the list if the son of the manager gets to list your house for sale. (She lost her job)
What is with the utter hate for popcorn? I think it looks fine. I hardly even know it's there.
You guys would freak if you saw the ceiling in my bedroom. Remember the swirly staglactite sponge finish?
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