The land included in a condominium plan together with buildings and the common property facilities belonging to them.

A bare land condominium, unlike most traditional condominiums refers to a parcel of land that you own. In most cases owners are responsible for the land and the building that is situated on it much like someone that owns a house. There are still bylaws that govern the complexes and in most cases they will have some common area that all owners can use.

Did you purchase an Estoppel Package? If not, you need to purchase one so that you will be informed about the condominium bylaws, rules, and regulations of condominium ownership. This is an extremely important document source of information and it is an essential tool to include you in your community and making your complex a warm and inviting place to live.

Many condominiums create a seasonal newsletter to remind owners of things they need to do and upcoming events. You can also attend the Annual General Meeting. If you want to get more involved you should consider joining the Board of Directors. They will sometimes ask for volunteers to help with special projects such as writing and distributing the newsletter, gardening projects, and dealing with parking issues. In the future we will be creating Facebook groups for each condominium we manage. Any owner will be able to log on and learn about activities, current events, and community gatherings. We also will be able to post information about our services such as maintenance projects, cleaning, lawn care and maintenance schedules as well as when snow clearing will occur. We believe the more informed we can keep you, the better our service will be.

All of the owners own a share of the property/building based on the size of the unit you own. Everyone may have a different share but it is a collective ownership, there is no one owner.

An exclusive use area is generally an area that is owned by the condominium corporation but you are the only one that can use it. Balconies are a good example because in most cases balconies are an exclusive use area. Although you generally can only access the balcony from your unit, the condominium corporation still owns it. If you look at the condominium plan, the legend will tell you which areas in your complex are exclusive use. Parking spaces are sometimes also exclusive use, and some are titled, but the condominium plan will define this.

You can check with Elite or the board to see if there are any additional spots you may rent, or you could inquire about renting a spot from another owner. Do not park in visitor parking as you may be ticketed heavily.

They govern the complex, collect fees, make sure the property is maintained, and ensure owners are abiding by the bylaws. In some cases the Board of Directors will change bylaws to make them more appropriately represent the property or the owners of the complex.

Generally there are 7 members that are elected to the Board and each member sits on the Board for 2 years. It is usually staggered so that half of the members are on the Board for 1 year to start and half of the members are on for 2 years so that when new owners are elected, there are always half the board members with experience to teach the new half.

There is a President who makes decisions with the Board’s approval, takes complaints, and chairs meetings and a Vice-President that takes the place of the President when he/she is not available. The Treasurer collects fees, does financial reports and budgets while the Secretary records and takes minutes of meetings. Finally there are 3 more Directors that help out with the other positions on the Board and assist in making decisions.

In most cases elections are held at the Annual General Meeting which occurs. At this meeting you need to have someone nominate you to be elected to the Board, and then you are voted on by the fellow owners. If the majority vote for you to be on the Board then you are elected. Sometimes a member will give up their seat on the Board because they sold their unit resulting in the Board being short a member. In this situation they can allow one of the other condominium owners to join until the next AGM at which time if they wish to remain they must be elected back on to the Board.

The Board of Directors attempts to makes decisions for the good of the complex. The Board is a democracy and any decision has its value weighed in terms of pros and cons for the complex. It is then voted on by the members and they determine whether it fits in with the parameters of a good community judged on a pass or fail basis. The Board of Directors can be held responsible for the decisions they make.

Your condominium fees are spread in many directions to pay for services like utilities, insurance, maintenance, yard care, snow hauling, and cleaning the property. The remaining fees go into the reserve fund for capital expenditures such as sidewalks, shingles, asphalt, and other large ticket projects. The corporation saves money for these projects so that when they need to be completed, the money is in the reserve fund to pay for them without asking owners to pay extra. The Board of Directors, along with the manager, complete a yearly budget that estimates what will be needed to pay for these expenses. The reserve fund portion is usually completed by an independent company that projects what you will need to save every year for protection against unforeseen circumstances.

This is a question we hear on a regular basis. We are happy to provide snow removal service, but we take specific direction from the Board of Directors for each complex on how often we do it.

The Board of Directors will budget for a certain number of snow removals per year, and we need to abide by it. We are unable to remove snow more often than what our contract lays out.

If you are unhappy with snow removal at your complex, please discuss the matter with your Board of Directors. We are always happy to remove snow as often as the Board directs us to.

You need to contact your lawyer to see if adjustments were made on the sale of your unit. If no fees were adjusted you should contact your realtor or the new owner to help get a refund. This is a process outside of Elites control that we are unable to reverse.

No, generally Elite does not know what kind of deal has been made with the sale of your unit. Elite Property Management does supply the estoppel certificate package but unless you inform Elite, there is no way of knowing that the unit was sold and when the possession date is.

Most people don’t realize that while they own the unit, it comes with some rules. You cannot just go ahead and start renovating. You need to get permission to do alterations, as they can affect the units that are around you. Most condominium complexes are based on a unified community that likes to be consistent with the exterior of the building. Some even have bylaws regarding what you can hang in your windows, objects on your deck, and things on the exterior that interfere with other owners comforts.

Multi-unit dwellings are considered to be commercial applications. This means that you can’t just renovate your unit by yourself or have a friend that knows something about plumbing help you. You may have seen them do it before and everything went okay but they need to be qualified. Because a condo is considered to be a commercial property you are required to have qualified people do the work.

First, you should be familiar with your condominium bylaws to see if there is a bylaw regarding renovations. Then you should go talk to one of the Board members, or see if this information is in the estoppel package. You could also contact Elite Property Management for instruction.

In most cases Elite will tell you that you need to write a letter to the Board of Directors to get permission to complete a renovation. In your written letter you will need to include the date, unit you live in, and the type of renovations you would like to complete. The most important information is about who is doing the renovations and during what times of the day the they will be done. Usually, if you supply Elite or your property manager with the letter they will scan it to the Board of Directors so they can make a decision. Once the they have made their decision, they will send you a letter of approval that you should keep in your records.

There are a number of things that the board of directors can do, including having the property reverted back to the way it was. They can take you to court or they can put a lien on your property. The insurance on your unit also may also become void.

Improperly installed laminate tends to amplify sound so that every step, squeak, and noise you make is amplified. In some cases you may have neighbors that live beneath you and by putting laminate in your unit you may continually disturb them. If this happens, the corporation has no choice but to ask you to remove the laminate and install some other type of flooring. This is why it is important that before you do any work to your unit, you either check with Elite, the manager, or a Board member.

Unfortunately, you become responsible for the damages or at the very least the condominium complex’s deductible. Some deductibles can be as high as $10,000.

The condominium can pay the deductible up front and then go after you for the money. They can take you to court or they may put a lien on your unit.

Condominiums are not like rental properties where a property manager does unit maintenance, a condo is your property and it is your responsibility to repair things inside the unit. Property managers are only responsible for the shared common areas of the complex. Sometimes utilities are shared throughout the complex and if repairs like leaking taps are left unfixed, the community will have to pay for the increased utilities.

Snow removal is very expensive. Every year the condominium board completes a budget and makes predictions on how fees are spent, and one of the items in the budget is snow removal. It can vary from year to year, but most condominiums budget to only perform snow removal a few times over the winter season to keep costs down. This means that if we have a heavy snow season, most condominiums do not have regular removal budgeted for and snow may pile up. The property manager takes direction from the Board of Directors and in most cases someone from the board will notify the manager when they want the snow removed and then the manager will book it to be completed. In the event of heavy snow, removal may not take place until it has stopped snowing.

If it does not appear that the building is being cleaned properly, please contact Elite or your property manager so that it can be investigated. Sometimes it can be a single tenant with disregard for cleanliness, or it is possible that the cleaning staff are not properly cleaning the property.

Sometimes light bulbs can be missed depending on the time of day that the property is inspected by the property manager or Elite. We always appreciate when issues are brought to our attention so that we can get them repaired in a timely manner.

Every condominium complex is different when it comes to entrance doors and windows. When you purchased your condominium and received an estoppel package, you will usually find a diagram of the property layout called a Condominium Plan. There will usually be a legend which tells you who is responsible for what, and where the divisions between units are.

When you purchase your unit you need to find out what the condominium complex is responsible for and what you are responsible for. You certainly don’t want to find out after you purchased the property that you cannot have your family pet because this condominium doesn’t allow pets.

One of the bylaws condominiums have is to clean up after your pets immediately. This is to avoid killing shrubs or grass, as well as to minimize offensive odors. Lawn mowing services can also charge you or refuse to mow the property. In extreme cases Animal Enforcement can be called, and you may be fined or have to remove the pet.

They are allowed, financial circumstances can change where they may be forced to rent out their unit or sell it. You are not allowed to stop people from renting out their units, but the board may create rules in regards to renting out units.

No, the Corporation may not tell you who you can rent to but there are rules regarding how many people can stay in a unit. The people you rent to must not only abide by the Residential Tenancies Act but they also must abide by the bylaws of the condominium corporation. It is important that the people renting your unit also have a copy of the bylaws and know the Residential Tenancies Act. In some cases the two do not line up perfectly, so check this out prior to renting your unit to ensure all rules are followed.

Yes, the condominium corporation can kick out a tenant for not following the bylaws. Most corporations prefer not to do this but in some cases they have no choice. When this occurs, the expenses are generally charged back to the unit owner and in some cases the corporation can also take that owner to court and have the courts fine the owner for breaking the bylaws.

It is your responsibility to monitor your parking spot. If someone is in your spot, you can contact Parking Enforcement to have them ticketed or towed. Property managers will only have vehicles ticketed that are parked in common areas or roadways.

If it is severe, call the police. You may also write a letter to the Board of Directors and they will take appropriate action. They will decide on the severity based on the complaint and if any bylaws have been broken.

You need to continue with what you have done previously, call the police or write to the Board. It is important to create a paper trail as sometimes the board is waiting to collect enough evidence to act.

Unfortunately, if it is not entering your unit there is not a lot that can be done. There are many smells that can be offensive to some, and property managers can write letters to tenants who may be causing offensive smells. If you suspect there is illegal activity, please call the police.