Condo owner websites 

Other provinces
Australia

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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