Foreword
Foreword
“But lots of good out there. We need to share best practices & success stories.”
—from a condo industry magazine
This is a critical look at the condominium industry. There are critics
for restaurants, books, theatre, movies, architecture and politics, so
why not condos? How else to counter the condo industry's endless supply
of "happy news".
Introduction
Here is where I write on how condos went from being inexpensive housing
for people with lower incomes to becoming a variety of organizational
structures that combine the builder's desire to make a profit , owners
looking to live in a nice home, investors looking to make a buck and
the government's needing to download their social responsibilities onto
the private sector.
Renting, buying & selling
Thinking of buying a condo? It should also be read by anyone thinking
of buying a condominium as condos are far from being a risk-free
investment.
Condo living
This section covers almost all you need to know about living in a multi-unit complex.
Governance
“The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its
pedestal and hasten the resurrection of the dead.”
—William Lloyd Garrison
This website has little to say to those who want to live the condo
carefree lifestyle by paying one cheque a month so others will do all
their worrying for them. However, if you want to know how a condo
corporation is governed and managed this section is for you.
When condo living goes bad
This is the heart of this website.
The dark side of condos
What most people don't want to talk about.
Legal disputes
I hope this website will shed some light on how you can stay out of serious trouble with your board.
Most owners don't understand how a condo corporation operates and
therefore when they run afoul of the property manager or the board,
they can very quickly get into serious legal and financial difficulties.
At the first threat of legal action, an owner needs a legal opinion from a lawyer that is experienced in condominium law.
Appendix
This is a huge section that includes a lot of additional information on everything from:
• condos in other countries.
• links & references.
• videos and books.
• additional reports on condo issues.
Note:
It is very important that you do not consider anything contained in
this website to be legal advice. If you are, or think you may become,
in conflict with your board of directors it is important to get timely
legal advice from a lawyer who specializes in condominium law.
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