I am often asked by condominium boards how to handle unanticipated major expenses that don't fall within the confines of a Reserve Fund Study. This could be a situation where the roof was supposed to last another ten years, and an inspection reveals that the replacement is urgently required, or the restoration of the common property following uninsured damage.
There is no condominium 'watch dog' out there making sure that a condominium's reserve fund balance is aligned with the recommendations made in a Reserve Fund Study. A board is free to take a common sense approach to spending from their reserve, and there is case history in the Alberta courts that supports a board's right to make prudent decisions on behalf of the owners.
Soon after the amended Condominium Property Act was released in 2000, an owner challenged a board's decision to complete exterior repairs to a condominium that only became apparent during a window replacement program. The Judge presiding over the case agreed that the board was justified in repairing the exterior of the building, notwithstanding that funds were not specifically earmarked for this use in the Reserve Fund Study.
This makes sense from a budgeting perspective as well. Trying to adjust annual operating budgets and condominium fees to accommodate unanticipated major repairs in order to preserve the reserve fund balance makes absolutely no sense. The Reserve Fund Study is a projection of what is expected to occur over a lengthy period of time (25 years), and while it is important to maintain a healthy balance in the reserve fund, the Study isn't intended to represent rigid milestones. This is why there is a legal requirement under the Act to update it every five years, to catch up with actual inflation and investment returns, as well as actual expenses.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Day Among Horses
If you've seen our website, you've probably looked at the 'Condominiums and Horses' section to see what it's all about. I get frequent comments from people about the article I wrote, describing our staff experience last fall.
This past weekend a friend and I spent a wonderful afternoon in the pastoral setting of Maria's farm, enjoying the sunshine and the company of her horses. We always start by clarifying our intentions regarding the space where we work with the horses. We carry a riding crop, just for the purpose of making sure that we're always safely out of the horses' kick zone, but the crop never touches the horses.
It's an interesting experience being asked to pick a spot under one of the horses that we would like to occupy, and then proceeding to it, in spite of the obviously large obstacle that stands over our objective. Every first-timer starts to hesitate as they approach the horse, or draw back the riding crop so that it doesn't touch a horse. Sometimes we take a less direct route to the horse to avoid 'sneaking up on it,' or approaching it from behind.
The objective is to establish leadership within the herd. In a herd, the leader is free to occupy any space in the arena; the second horse can occupy any space except that occupied by the leader; the third any space that the other two aren't occupying, and so it goes. Once we humans get the hang of it, we swing the crop in front of us in a sweeping motion, and the horses will move from the space we want, as long as we're clear enough in our intention to lay claim to it.
Our human tendency is to inject emotion into this process, and to not feel comfortable 'taking something away' from the horse. The horse sees this from an entirely different vantage point, and takes no offense to having to move for a human being or another horse. As Maria put it "The horses know exactly how to take care of themselves. The only one you're responsible for when you're working with them is you." Sometimes it takes a while for that to sink in.
Last Saturday, I moved the horses around a bit, and the instant that I decided that I'd like Jack to come into my space and let me pet him, he turned to me and seconds later nuzzled my arm, and we spent a good five minutes having a tender moment together. It was a very emotional and awe-inspiring experience. It was also a lesson in leadership; learning how to ask for what I want in my work and for myself.
This past weekend a friend and I spent a wonderful afternoon in the pastoral setting of Maria's farm, enjoying the sunshine and the company of her horses. We always start by clarifying our intentions regarding the space where we work with the horses. We carry a riding crop, just for the purpose of making sure that we're always safely out of the horses' kick zone, but the crop never touches the horses.
It's an interesting experience being asked to pick a spot under one of the horses that we would like to occupy, and then proceeding to it, in spite of the obviously large obstacle that stands over our objective. Every first-timer starts to hesitate as they approach the horse, or draw back the riding crop so that it doesn't touch a horse. Sometimes we take a less direct route to the horse to avoid 'sneaking up on it,' or approaching it from behind.
The objective is to establish leadership within the herd. In a herd, the leader is free to occupy any space in the arena; the second horse can occupy any space except that occupied by the leader; the third any space that the other two aren't occupying, and so it goes. Once we humans get the hang of it, we swing the crop in front of us in a sweeping motion, and the horses will move from the space we want, as long as we're clear enough in our intention to lay claim to it.
Our human tendency is to inject emotion into this process, and to not feel comfortable 'taking something away' from the horse. The horse sees this from an entirely different vantage point, and takes no offense to having to move for a human being or another horse. As Maria put it "The horses know exactly how to take care of themselves. The only one you're responsible for when you're working with them is you." Sometimes it takes a while for that to sink in.
Last Saturday, I moved the horses around a bit, and the instant that I decided that I'd like Jack to come into my space and let me pet him, he turned to me and seconds later nuzzled my arm, and we spent a good five minutes having a tender moment together. It was a very emotional and awe-inspiring experience. It was also a lesson in leadership; learning how to ask for what I want in my work and for myself.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Communication in the 21st Century
The business world has been transformed by methods of communication like this blog, along with email and ready access to information on the internet. At the risk of dating myself, my first experience with computers in the early '80's involved a draconian machine that required two floppy disks: one for the software and the other for the data storage.
The progress since those days has been remarkable, and those of my vintage are barely able to keep up with new technology. This progress is gradually creeping into the work of condominium management and governance, and conventional paper communication is being replaced by electronic means.
Email in particular has been both a blessing and a curse. Communicating simultaneously with a group of people has vastly improved efficiency, although we might feel somewhat tethered to our computers these days. On the dark side, email has opened the door for people to communicate at 2:00 in the morning after an evening in the bar, which doesn't enhance clarity or comprehension. There is also a much greater tendency for people to 'vent' in ways that they may not be inclined to when talking on the phone or face-to-face.
One of the disciplines this has taught me is batching my communication as much as possible. Rather than obsessively hitting the 'Get Mail' button every few minutes (or worse, allowing email to automatically download every five or ten minutes), deliberately setting aside the time two or three times a day to review and respond to email is an enormous time-saver. The baby boom generation was conditioned to immediately respond to communication, and the generation that has grown up with email and texting seems to be almost compulsive in their need to be in constant touch with friends, if not parents. Either way, it's no wonder we become a bit overwhelmed sometimes.
This blog is connected to a free Google email account, and costs nothing. I don't have to administer it by adding or deleting subscribers; the subscribers themselves do that. It's a very effective means of communication, and one that more condominium boards should explore. All of this technology has radically changed our condominium customers' expectations and created an instant world that a lot of us struggle to keep up with. As inundated as we are with information, we demand even more.
While the paperless society may not be appearing any time soon, there are ways, like a blog, to provide information to a group of interested people that is far more immediate and easy to access. The creation of a website for all condominiums might not be feasible, but exploring other means of communicating quickly and effectively is easy and intuitive, and can go a long way toward enhancing the condominium lifestyle.
With one major proviso. Communication needs to be clear and concise, and not everyone is adept at that. So before you hit the send button or post that blog, make sure you re-read it. As I previewed this, I saved myself from the embarrassment of two fairly critical mistakes in a post about communicating with clarity and precision.
The progress since those days has been remarkable, and those of my vintage are barely able to keep up with new technology. This progress is gradually creeping into the work of condominium management and governance, and conventional paper communication is being replaced by electronic means.
Email in particular has been both a blessing and a curse. Communicating simultaneously with a group of people has vastly improved efficiency, although we might feel somewhat tethered to our computers these days. On the dark side, email has opened the door for people to communicate at 2:00 in the morning after an evening in the bar, which doesn't enhance clarity or comprehension. There is also a much greater tendency for people to 'vent' in ways that they may not be inclined to when talking on the phone or face-to-face.
One of the disciplines this has taught me is batching my communication as much as possible. Rather than obsessively hitting the 'Get Mail' button every few minutes (or worse, allowing email to automatically download every five or ten minutes), deliberately setting aside the time two or three times a day to review and respond to email is an enormous time-saver. The baby boom generation was conditioned to immediately respond to communication, and the generation that has grown up with email and texting seems to be almost compulsive in their need to be in constant touch with friends, if not parents. Either way, it's no wonder we become a bit overwhelmed sometimes.
This blog is connected to a free Google email account, and costs nothing. I don't have to administer it by adding or deleting subscribers; the subscribers themselves do that. It's a very effective means of communication, and one that more condominium boards should explore. All of this technology has radically changed our condominium customers' expectations and created an instant world that a lot of us struggle to keep up with. As inundated as we are with information, we demand even more.
While the paperless society may not be appearing any time soon, there are ways, like a blog, to provide information to a group of interested people that is far more immediate and easy to access. The creation of a website for all condominiums might not be feasible, but exploring other means of communicating quickly and effectively is easy and intuitive, and can go a long way toward enhancing the condominium lifestyle.
With one major proviso. Communication needs to be clear and concise, and not everyone is adept at that. So before you hit the send button or post that blog, make sure you re-read it. As I previewed this, I saved myself from the embarrassment of two fairly critical mistakes in a post about communicating with clarity and precision.
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