A Board’s Ultimate Guide To Condo Parking Garages

condo parking garage

Your condo parking garage has structural and water management components requiring maintenance. Understanding the most common components makes it easier to plan your maintenance budget. Here we provide your ultimate guide to common parking garage components and risks. Understanding Condo Parking Garage Slabs In most cases you will have a combination of the following “slabs”:…

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How To Keep On Top Of Your Condo’s Garage Maintenance

condo garage maintenance

If your condo’s parking garage is over 20-years old, you should develop a five-year schedule for condition assessments. This proactive approach allows you to make incremental repairs resulting in more manageable garage maintenance costs. Here are the tests you should be applying every five years. Delamination Testing: Chain Drag and/or Hammer Tap Survey While this…

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The One Critical Skill Setting Outstanding Property Managers from the Rest

The One Critical Skill Setting Outstanding Property Managers from the Rest

Although condo property management is a licenced profession, many condo boards seek property managers with supporting MBAs. While you need to run your condo corporation like a business, the one critical skill that makes more sense in property management focuses on a different area of expertise: Engineering. Here’s why property managers with an engineering background…

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Inflation: How to Prepare for 2025 Reserve Fund Study Sticker Shock

Inflation: How to Prepare for 2024 Reserve Fund Study Sticker Shock

Construction inflation is putting pressure on condo boards to find strategies to make up for significant cost increases in refund studies. Inflation could mean making some hard decisions, including introducing common element fee increases or special assessments, putting further financial strain on condo owners. Here we offer tips to help your condo board prepare for…

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Building Restoration: Does Your Condo Board Know Who Does What?

Condo Building Restoration

When your condo board is about to embark on a building restoration project, you want to have the right experts on the job. Do you need an architect, an engineer, a building envelope contractor, or all three? Here, we look at the key players in building restoration to ensure you have access to the most…

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Condo Life Stages: What Makes Buildings Vulnerable at Each Life Stage

condo life stages

Condo buildings go through five life stages, each with its own vulnerabilities. Here, we look at what makes condo buildings vulnerable at each stage of the aging process to help you create a more predictive maintenance plan.  Under a Year: The Pre-Natal Life Stage  Feeling confident your reserve fund won’t be needed during the pre-natal…

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What’s a Healthy Reserve Fund?

condo reserve funds

Your condo reserve fund sets aside money for non-routine repairs and replacements. However, if your board isn’t careful, you can make critical errors that make it impossible to cover these necessary capital expenditures. As a result, your residents face the risk of special assessments.  Here we look at what is considered a healthy reserve fund…

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3 Hidden Condo Damages Every Board Should Know About

hidden damage to condos

Your building envelope is susceptible to direct and indirect damage. Direct damage is obvious and occurs to the building envelope itself. Indirect damage is hidden and results when direct damage is not addressed. As a result, indirect damage ends up costing your condo money as it is slow and progressive. Here, we look at three…

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