High fee increases
“When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we'd been saying they were.”
—John F. Kennedy

When the majority of directors change, the newcomers will get to see the true state of the condo corporation's finances.

That can be quite a shock. First for the directors and then for the owners.

In some condos, the new directors may find that:

•	the Operating Fund is running a deficit.
•	the Reserve Funds are badly underfunded.
•	not all the bills have been paid on time so the condo is paying heavy interest payments.
•	some contractors have not been paid for months.
•	Some maintenance and services have been cut back to unsubstantiable levels.
•	major repairs and renovations are required to the elevators, HVAC equipment or the underground garage.
•	the low-cost contractors did poor quality work renovating the building envelop and it now has to be re-done.

Now the low yearly increases in the monthly maintenance fees for the last six to ten years don't seem like such a great deal after all.

Facing the music
So a 12 to 19% increase in the fees is needed. This is when the owners are brought face to face with reality.

How the owners accept the fee increase depends on how well the increase is explained, if the owners believe they will get value for their money and if they think the directors are competent and are being honest with them.

Finally, it depends if the owners have low incomes and either cannot afford the increase or they do not want to pay any more than they presently are.

If explained properly, the owners at some condos will understand why the increases are needed. The owners in other condos will requisition a meeting to replace the board with candidates who promise to roll back the increase.

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