Condo owner websites
I thought that it would be helpful to list a few condo owners'
websites.
YCC
#42 unofficial website (November 2014)
An informed owner is using this website with the hope of
pressuring the board into making improvements to this Dixon Road
condo complex.
The blog consists of a series of photographs showing safety and health
issues on the condo corporation's property. The limited text helps the
viewer understand what has happened and how long the issues have
existed without being corrected.
Quite disturbing photographs.
http://dixonblog.wix.com/news
Marina Del Rey Phase I
Christina Sobolak, an owner at Marina Del Rey Phase I, 2261 Lake Shore
Blvd. West has posted a website about the horrors she has gone through
for the last 11 years.
She is now suing her condo, the directors, the property management
company, her ex-neighbour and the insurance companies for $15 million.
How bad is her unit? Her top floor has been stripped to the bare
concrete, it has been unlivable for the last 11 years and she does not
have to pay city property taxes.
Christina states:
"I have started this blog with the hope that I can provide help and
encouragement to others who find themselves in a similar situation.
Insurance companies and corporations have lots of money and lawyers to
fight us. However, we have the power of the internet and the social
media to connect, support each other, and exchange helpful information."
This is a very well designed site, far above the quality of most
disgruntled owner sites.
http://marinadelreylawsuits.blogspot.com/
Condo for rent
Christina has also listed her unit for rent. It is obvious she is
trying to inform everyone she can about the problems she is having with
her condo unit.
http://www.ourlakeshore.net/forum/topics/condo-for-rent-1500-marina-del
Condo
Board Blahs
A woman describes her battle with her condo board after her husband and
her bought a puppy. They tried very hard to be good neighbours but it
did not help.
http://condominiumblahs.blogspot.ca/
Condo Advisory
This American site includes condos in the major Canadian cities. It
features anonymous reviews of condos by owners and renters. People
speak their mind.
Many Toronto and Mississauga condos are listed but only a few have
reviews. Many reviews are extremely interesting.
Comments about grumpy security guards and rude property managers are
mixed in with people complaining about excessive noise, false fire
alarms, water leaks, cooking odours, prostitutes or waiting too long
for elevators.
It is amusing to read comments that praise a building that are posted
after some very negative comments. You have to decide which ones are
biased.
The building at 3400 Riverspray Crescent in Mississauga has over 31
reviews. I don’t think any of them are favourable. I am sure that this
is a rental building. No matter. After reading these comments you will
realize that your home is not so bad after all.
It would be nice to see more condos listed here especially in the GTA
area.
See if your property has been reviewed.
http://www.condoadvisory.com/
Humber Bay Shores Condominium
Association
A
group of condo owners who aim to protect, foster and advance the
interests of condo owners in Toronto's Humber Bay area.
They publish a quarterly magazine that is distributed to local
condos.
www.humberbayshores.org
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Other provinces
Strata 101
A very good owner's website on BC condos issues.
https://strata101.wordpress.com/
Coalition of Leaky
Condo Owners
This is a ten year old site that dealt with the leaky condominiums in
British Columbia. Most likely due to libel concerns, the sections
dealing with naming developers has been disabled but even so, this site
gives readers an understanding of the dangers of buying a condo unit
before it has been been built.
The "Legal & Litigation FAQs" and the "I am thinking of buying a
condo" pages are very good.
These owner-activists were upset. They sold T-shirts and picketed in
front of new developments, a militancy I have not heard of in Toronto.
http://www.myleakycondo.com/index.html
Alberta Condo Owners Association
Founded in September 2013 by two condo owners in Alberta, ACOA is
planing on becoming a political voice for all condo owners in the
province of Alberta. The content on this website is restricted to
members. There is a yearly membership fee of twenty dollars.
http://albertacoa.com/
Our Calgary Condo
Nightmare
This Calgary website is similar to the Marina del Ray site listed above
in that the owner was forced out of their home and rent elsewhere for
over two years due to water leaks.
The couple bought a three story townhouse in Prince's Island Estates,
located in a beautiful area of Calgary. They immediately spent a lot of
money renovating the interior.
Then the condo hired contractors to work on the decks and replace
windows due to water leaks. That is when the trouble started.
The site has excellent photographs showing the extremely poor
workmanship by whoever installed the new windows.
The City of Calgary told them directly that their complex has had one
of the worse declines in value because of the "problems". The news is
out and the City and real estate agents know what is happening and
knowledgeable buyers are being told to stay away.
However when I look up Price Island estates on the search engines, the
first three pages is taken by real estate agents praising how great the
condo is as they try to sell their listings.
http://calgarycondonightmare.blogspot.ca/
Condominium
Blog
This is an Alberta-based blog where owners can e-mail questions and receive answers.
http://condo-check.blogspot.ca/
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Australia
We Live Here
A condo owners association formed to fight short-term rentals in their buildings.
https://www.welivehere.net/
Owners Corporation Network
Owners Helping Owners
Sharing Information to Improve Apartment Living
Representing the interests of Strata Owners and Occupiers
http://www.ocn.org.au/
Strataman
This website was specifically created to be a simple guide on Strata for everyone.
http://www.strataman.com.au/
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