Peter is a skilled tile setter who recently plunged into the Vancouver condo market.  He was eager to buy, renovate and get out while the market was still hot.

He found an apartment with lots of potential in a great building,  moved in and grabbed the first available seat on the strata council.

At his first council meeting, the secretary reported he had some staining in a corner of his living room.  Another chap complained about a large brown patch  on some drywall in his living room.  After some animated discussion, followed by an inspection, all reluctantly agreed that the discoloration in both units was probably due to water damage.

Peter offered to call one of his contactor friends in the home building trade, but the others seemed cool to the idea. They minimized the problem, saying further investigation wasn’t necessary Then they decided that each owner should be responsible for his own "patching up". When Peter protested that signs of water penetration should not be ignored, he was firmly over-ruled.

The next day  he learned he’d been bounced from his council seat and he realized he had to take matters into his own hands – he’d heard too many dreadful stories about the consequences of condo owners not taking action in similar situations.

He  arranged for  a condo consultant to come to a meeting and stress the importance to owners and the  strata council of their repair obligations.

The  consultant  gave them some basic information, an extensive list of resources and  advice about where to start. Everyone was apprehensive about what might lie ahead, but maybe some of their fear could be  replaced with knowledge.

……..

The strata council will be meeting separately. Peter is hopeful they will decide to hire a professional to evaluate their building envelope and suggest maintenance and repair strategies.

He is anxious to protect his investment.

He would rather pay big bucks now than bigger bucks later.

He wants to avoid the courts.

Lynne Taylor
www.stratacouncilpower.info
seminars and consultations
for strata councils & condo owners