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Callin’ In the Condo Sheriff!
The Court-Appointed Administrator!
CCI-National Resource Centre – Published by Toronto and Area Chapter – By Joy Mathews
From the Fall 2022 issue of CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine, Volume 27, Issue Number 1.
Dysfunctional. Dramatic. Drastic. Diseased. These are some of the adjectives used to describe the extreme financial, social, and political circumstances that a condominium corporation finds itself in to justify the “remedy of last-resort” wherein a judge of the Superior Court of Justice appoints an administrator to take over all important condo decisions. Instead of the duly elected directors managing the affairs of the corporation, the court will appoint a representative who replaces all of the Board members and makes some (or all) of the decisions on behalf of the condominium corporation. This serious remedy is analogous to that of a court-appointed receiver in a commercial, for-profit corporation context when a company is facing the existential threat of bankruptcy.
Condo STRESS – It’s Real and It’s Happening to a Condo Near You!
CCI-National Resource Centre – Published by Toronto and Area Chapter – By Joy Mathews
From the Winter 2020 issue of the CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine.
My Name is Joy, But I Ain’t Happy I’m stressed – and I know you are, too! But I don’t have the kind of stress everyone talks about – I’m talking about “Condo Stress”. It’s different. It only affects those who live, work, or play in condos. Please note that I’m not a physician, nor do I purport to be one. My undergraduate degree in Kinesiology doesn’t help much, either (except with personal training programs), so take my thoughts accordingly, but Condo Stress is real. As a condominium lawyer, I hear stories – lots of them. In mid-March 2020, the stories were fresh, now in September 2020, the stories are getting old. People call me with their problems and that’s what all condo lawyers are used to. However, since the global viral tsunami of COVID-19, the stories are layered with anxiety and stress, the likes of which I have never experienced. Indeed, no one has.
Holiday Gifts or “Secret Commissions”?
CCI-National Resource Centre – Published by Toronto and Area Chapter – By Joy Mathews
From the Winter 2017 issue of the CCI Toronto Condovoice Magazine.
Why Bother Giving Gifts? The friendly superintendent who always smiles when you walk by. The diligent property manager who responds to any of your concerns, not only quickly but with a sense of small-town friendliness (the kind that promotes a close-knit community and is so often missing these days!). Your security guard who gives you the reassuring nod that everything is going to be ok and the junior site-administrator who seems to know where to find everything in the office. These are the people who work for your condominium corporation and are deserving of special acknowledgment. Boards often struggle at how to acknowledge their praiseworthy efforts and when the holidays approach, questions of whether it is appropriate to provide a bonus become a pressing board issue.