Comments on: Canadian Condos Are Often Overvalued Due To Low Reserve Funds: Report

By: David Todtman

David Todtman — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 03:32:30 +0000

Thank you for the good article. The strategy some condo employ to address the early-years underfunding is simply to sell at about year 8 or 10. The intent is to get out of the corporation prior to the point at which the big ticket items begin to appear. Unfortunately, this is logical in a market system. However, it turns what could be a community of co-operative owners with common interests including maintaining and even enhancing their common property into a system which rewards self-interest. Another tragedy from this is the buildings themselves. Market logic means they break down much earlier than they would otherwise. This is a failure of the market system itself.

By: Richard Allen

Richard Allen — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 03:24:49 +0000

My friend bought in Edmonton, around 1999. there was his building, and a second foundation for another building, which was to be (I believe) a separate association. a year or so in, they got assessed for no weeping tile (oops), 20k per unit (which was a lot then, believe me) then assessed AGAIN, for the unbuilt foundation, 20k. they eventually sued, and got the second run back, but it was a painful painful squeeze for a year and a half, and my friend, working two just-slightly-above-minimum-wage jobs, had to go to the bank twice in 6 months to ask for more than half his after tax income from two jobs to keep his condo….