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The ART of politics in Condo boards – play or pay CONDO OWNERS! #condoliving #building #condos

  • wecare994
  • Jan 10
  • 3 min read

Most owners do not want to be on the board because so many are dysfunctional and well intentioned probably more qualified owners get tired and walk away leaving behind a bad property manager and a bad board – I say this because they go together – you can’t have one without the other – a bad property manager maintains a bad board because a good board would not keep a bad property manager. Bad boards do whatever they need to do to maintain power for too many personal reasons to count. They continue to maintain dysfunctional corporations and neglected properties with the only constant being high condo fees with no services. For too many this is the norm and the majority of owners don’t or have no idea how to stop it.


Owners need to start to understand that the condo world is complicated in part because its political. Bad boards play politics, dirty politics more often than not but they know how to play and until owners learn to start playing politics they will lose every time.  Most Owners sit and wait year and year to go to the AGM and complain and shout out words like “mismanagement” and think that is enough to make change and then can’t understand why they keep paying special assessments year after year. Just recently we heard about a condo corporation where there were several owners and board members who knew that the President was acting in a nefarious manner. They watched his tricks and deceit, they had proof that he was stealing money from the corporation and lots of money he was so bold he didn’t even bother to hide it anymore. The financial statements spoke to the deterioration and underfunding of their reserve fund and yet owners did nothing.  The President had an excuse for everything he had been playing this same game for years he knew exactly what to do to maintain his power. Rather than attack it strategically or politically the owners waited for the AGM and thought some magic was going to happen!  The magic genie never appeared and waved it's wand but the President who knew the signs played politics beforehand and All of the opposing board members lost their seats and any chance of taking over the board to stop the President. The owners sat back shocked and dumbfounded that they were played! They didn't understand that they couldn’t just go to the AGM…shout out a couple insults and claims and that was somehow going to be enough. The President played politics and the owners didn’t its that simple. So, yes Condo owners when you assume that calling a Special meeting or AGM is going to solve your problems if you don't strategize then you are going to lose…because a bad board and property manager hold all the cards and they will manipulate the system anyway they want – if they don’t follow the rules or even know the rules then your AGM is nothing more than a formality.  Owners need to learn how to  play or they will continue to pay.


The only thing Owners have if they don't learn to play politics is a future of higher and higher condo fees if they don’t learn to play and you don’t need a magical wand to foresee that future.


The vicious cycle continues because governing a condo board is complicated – the role is not the same as a public company and its not the same as being a director of a corporation. In those roles they are not really held directly accountable to shareholders or owners. Yes, public boards are elected by shareholders but they are nominated by the corporation and  upper management. The election is a formality.  That’s the defining factor, a condo board of directors’ sole purpose is to serve the owners and the corporation directly. You can be a shareholder and never speak to a corporate board member, as a shareholder you may never see a board member and you will never receive communication from the board directly but that is not how a condo board operates. The similarity is literally only that all effective and successful boards need to be political.  Public boards play politics to ensure that important votes get passed in their favor and there is no shame in that game so why do condo owners not understand they too must play the game of politics to ensure effective governance.



Many board members take things personally and fail to recognize not only that they are accountable to the owners but that this is a corporation. It’s a company, a business…. And needs to be run in like a business not for someone's ego or because you are afraid to hurt someone's feelings. Successful businesses have qualified individuals operating them so get smart owners and learn how to not only successfully govern but ensure your board is successfully governing democratically in a democratic system.              

 
 
 

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Meetings and Events

Condo Buildings have many different types of meetings -AGMs, Special Meetings and  Extraordinary Meetings, Owners Meetings -    See below on tips for making your meeting inclusive and productive 

​Annual General Meetings are crucial to democracy, a condominium corporation in Alberta is required to have annual general meetings every year and at the latest 15 months from the last AGM. These are formal meetings where owners vote on all types of business such as new bylaws, bylaw changes, financial considerations, improvements, upgrades and elect a new board of directors. There are certain procedural rules boards must follow when organizing an AGM; notice must be provided 60 days prior to the AGM, this gives owners the ability to submit agenda items to the board. After the 60 days, formal notice with the agenda items must be sent to owners within 30-14 days prior to the meeting date. Make sure you are voting at your AGMs, you need to make sure the votes are counted - make sure your board is either holding elections through ballots or a counted hand vote. 

There are several types of other meetings a condo corporation holds - Special Meetings, Owners Meetings or Town Halls. It all depends on who is doing the organizing and the topics being put forward. Condo Owners should ensure that their meetings have at least the basic requirements for example: With the exception of Owners Meetings which are called by the owners and not formal, all meetings should include, if possible: scrutineers, agenda- ability of owners to add to agenda, accurate and properly recorded minutes, elections, voting - owners should be voting on issues at AGMs to name a few. There are many requirements to hold a duly organized meeting. For example, public companies and other corporations hire several entities when they hold AGMs. Most corporations start by hiring a law firm. a company to scrutineer and often depending on the type of meeting a solicitation agent. Unfortunately, and of course because it's impractical for the majority of Condo Corporations to assume the expense of all or even a few of those entities most Condo Corporations rely on the knowledge of the property manager and an inexperienced board to deal with meetings which affects the quality of the meetings.

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​The quality of condo meetings depend on the quality of the property manager and the knowledge of your board of directors. Most condo meetings are pretty poor which leads to very little advancement and improvements in the corporation. If your condo corporation holds proper meetings then thank goodness and let us know! We want to hear about condos that are working well together creating successful condo communities. If not then well we all know when buildings incur this type of combination of a poor manager and a poor board for too long the building starts to deteriorate very quickly. Most building come equipped with basic bylaws created by the developer included in the owners manual, some specs and basic information and little else so if you were unlucky to buy into a property with owners who knew very little about condo boards you are probably facing some difficulties after a number of years.  Call us anytime and we will audit your meetings, elections or if you assist in coordinating any type of meeting. See our simple suggestions for make your meetings even more successful. 

condo meeting

Everyone is happier with a cookie in their hand

condo meeting - AGM

                                 Make people feel welcome!         

                           

Meetings are stressful even if there are no hot topics so anything you can do to lighten the mood is helpful. You could also have a giveaway or a play a little game before you get started. Don't forget name tags for large gatherings, bring a card or provide contact information and don't forget a pen, notepad or your phone to take notes and exchange information.  

If you organized the meeting: don't forget to shake as many peoples hands and introduce yourself to as many people as you can!

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Hint: If you are organizing the meeting you should be the last to leave! This helps make sure you talk to everyone who came to talk to you!

                                             Its ALL in the Details

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We believe details are important! Set up a station with coffee, juice or water to keep people hydrated and bring along some home baked or store bought treats. Owners will feel welcome and it helps to set the tone of a meeting. Who can argue with a piece of cake in their hand or mouth! Meetings should be informative and engaging and setting the tone will make your meetings more successful.

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Hint: You'll often be able to tell the people who support you or at least like you if they take a cookie or drink some coffee. More combative individuals won't take the cookie because they feel like they would owe you something back and sometimes that's just being nice and respectful.

CONTACT US Before you buy a condo 

Working as a Trustee in the corporate debt space for over a decade has helped me build a foundation in Corporate and Securities Law. As a a Manager of Corporate Trust acting as debt Trustee, collateral agent or escrow agent, I was involved in many types of large international transaction and the biggest bought deal in Canadian history. As a trustee we were involved in, attended and scrutineered all types of meetings, extraordinary resolutions and consent solicitations. As Corporate Secretary for a large public company, I have over a decade of experience in many aspects of Corporate Law.  I worked for  several years in compliance for a capital raising investment company and worked in the prosecution department at IIROC. My degree in political science gives me a heightened sense of justice and expertise in all levels of government, democratic institutions and democratic practices.  I started this company to help other condo owners who were having similar experiences with condo boards. My corporate law and securities experience provides a great backdrop to be able to help create inclusive communities one building at a time, fighting one board at a time to bring back democracy and inclusion to Condo boards. People don't need to be fighting boards -it ruins their piece of mind and stunts community growth. Boards of Directors need to be held accountable for bad decisions and bad operating procedures and educated in best practices. 

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CONTACT
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Email: wecare@momentumcondo.com
Phone: 403.651.7403
 

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Calgary, Alberta T2R 1R8

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