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June 2018 Luncheon - Updates to Condominium Legislation

On May 24, 2018, ACMA hosted a luncheon at the Coast Plaza Hotel for the property management industry.  This well attended event attracted by both property managers and condo board members alike, all of whom were interested in the hot topic Updates to Condominium Legislation.   The guest speaker, Lois Flynn, Executive Director, Consumer Programs, Service Alberta, mainly discussed Phase Two of the anticipated legislation, which is intended to enhance condominium governance and financial management.

While final decisions are yet to be made, some of the expected content will include allowing a corporation to recover insurance deductibles from unit owners when claims are a result of unit owner action or omission.  On the topic of insurance, corporations may soon be required to obtain a fidelity bond providing coverage against malfeasance by members of the Board or the Property Manager.  Borrowing funds may soon require the corporation to pass an ordinary resolution to borrow money if the amount exceeds 15% of the corporations annual operating budget.

Setting maximum fees for corporation documents, such as $10 for documents that are only produced once, such as Bylaws or Minutes, drew a lot of attention and conversation.  Condominium corporations may also be required to provide certain documents free of charge, such as  minutes for the previous year.

Electronic participation in board meetings, automatic removal of board members in cases of bankruptcy, criminal convictions or 60+ days arrears and the ability of unit owners to remove a board member through the passing of an ordinary resolution may also be just around the corner.

While it is true little is known for certain, attendees at the ACMA luncheon now have a better understanding of the direction the new legislation is taking.  Interested parties may sign up for updates at condo.alberta.ca
On May 24, 2018, ACMA hosted a luncheon at the Coast Plaza Hotel for the property management industry.  This well attended event attracted by both property managers and condo board members alike, all of whom were interested in the hot topic Updates to Condominium Legislation.   The guest speaker, Lois Flynn, Executive Director, Consumer Programs, Service Alberta, mainly discussed Phase Two of the anticipated legislation, which is intended to enhance condominium governance and financial management.

While final decisions are yet to be made, some of the expected content will include allowing a corporation to recover insurance deductibles from unit owners when claims are a result of unit owner action or omission.  On the topic of insurance, corporations may soon be required to obtain a fidelity bond providing coverage against malfeasance by members of the Board or the Property Manager.  Borrowing funds may soon require the corporation to pass an ordinary resolution to borrow money if the amount exceeds 15% of the corporations annual operating budget.

Setting maximum fees for corporation documents, such as $10 for documents that are only produced once, such as Bylaws or Minutes, drew a lot of attention and conversation.  Condominium corporations may also be required to provide certain documents free of charge, such as  minutes for the previous year.

Electronic participation in board meetings, automatic removal of board members in cases of bankruptcy, criminal convictions or 60+ days arrears and the ability of unit owners to remove a board member through the passing of an ordinary resolution may also be just around the corner.

While it is true little is known for certain, attendees at the ACMA luncheon now have a better understanding of the direction the new legislation is taking.  Interested parties may sign up for updates at condo.alberta.ca


Where'd the corporate membership go?

ACMA's board of directors has made the decision to eliminate the corporate membership. 

Why make this change? Because being a member is about your career.

We believe that a sincere professional forges their own career path through industry networking and education. We believe that ACMA is best able to support individuals, individual careers and individual learning. We are changing our membership categories to reflect that.

ACMA is the only professional organization offering support and education to condominium managers.   Your input and participation is necessary to shape a strong community of condominium managers to build awareness, further our education and solidify our reputations as professionals.

Make a commitment to yourself and join ACMA as an Individual member.  Reap the benefits of knowing you are networking, learning, and working for yourself.

The empowerment of ACMA membership and becoming involved in your industry gives further credence and promotion to not only yourself, but also your employer.  Your employer can promote their business and staff as professionals, leading the way in your industry to better serve the clientele.

Building relationships through networking with colleagues is of great value.  Learning from each other’s experiences; some similar, others bizarre.  Do not think of each other as rivals, but as cohorts and allies who “get where you are coming from and share your passion for the future.”

Only by banding together can we advance our industry and raise the bar of professionalism.

Individual Membership:

Individual Membership Benefits

  • Members Only events.
  • Network with condominium management professionals.
  • Ability to serve as a Committee Member.
  • Regular educational newsletters sharing insights and developments specific to our profession.
  • Expert key-note speakers at ACMA events sharing the latest research on trends (legislative, economic, environmental, to name a few) and products affecting our profession.
  • Annual call for membership renewal.

Requirements of Individual Membership

  1. Applicant must be actively engaged full-time at a professional level for at least two (2) years as a Condominium Manager as defined in the Real Estate Act. (see below),
  2. Summary of portfolio currently managed outlining: type, style and number of units.  Property names and locations are not required.
  3. Professional experience - resume or curriculum vitae.
  4. Academic achievements.
  5. Other professional organization affiliations.
  6. Must be nominated by two existing ACMA Members.
  7. Payment of annual dues.
  8. Approval of application by Board.

Professional Membership:

An individual who has met the academic requirements and is actively engaged in Condominium Management.

Professional Membership Benefits

  • Members Only events.
  • Network with condominium management professionals.
  • Voting privileges.
  • Ability to serve on the Board.
  • Ability to serve as a Committee Chair or Committee Member.
  • Regular educational newsletters sharing insights and developments specific to our profession.
  • Expert key-note speakers at ACMA events sharing the latest research on trends (legislative, economic, environmental, to name a few) and products affecting our profession.
  • Annual call for membership renewal.
  • RCM designates automatically receive annual membership and voting privileges to NACM (National Association of Condominium Managers.)

Requirements of Professional Membership:

  1. Applicant must be actively engaged full-time at a professional level as a Condominium Manager as defined in the Real Estate Act. (see below)
  2. Meet academic requirements. (see below)
  3. Must be nominated by two existing ACMA Members.
  4. Professional experience - resume or curriculum vitae.
  5. Academic achievements.
  6. Other professional organization affiliations.
  7. Summary of portfolio currently managed outlining: type, style and number of units.  Property names and locations are not required.
  8. Payment of annual dues.
  9. Approval of application by Board.

Academic offerings of ACMA for Professional Membership:

Accredited Condominium Manager (ACM) - Any individual who has successfully completed such courses and has met such other criteria as the Board shall from time to time establish, and is employed as a condominium manager, is entitled to use the designation Accredited Condominium Manager (ACM) as long as he is a member in good standing of ACMA and abides by the Association's Code of Ethics, Bylaws and Standards.

Registered Condominium Manager (RCM) - Any individual who is directly employed in condominium management in Alberta and currently employed as a condominium manager may write the RCM examination(s) providing the individual has successfully completed such courses and has met such other criteria as established from time to time by the Board. Upon successfully completing the required examination(s) and meeting all other criteria, the member is entitled to use the designation Registered Condominium Manager (RCM) as long as he is a member in good standing of ACMA and abides by the Association's Code of Ethics, Bylaws and Standards.

Condominium Manager as defined by the Real Estate Act:

“condominium manager” means

(i) a person who, for consideration or other compensation, either alone or through one or more persons, provides a condominium management service to a condominium corporation, or….

Chairperson's Address - Fall 2016

The annual general meeting was held in September and a new board was elected.  The board has now had their first meeting last week and are looking for people to join committees to help the board with topics such as luncheons, membership, ethics, education, government relations and sponsorship.  If you are interested in joining one of these committees please contact Steve Thomas of McPherson Management at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. any assistance that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all the experts in the various fields that have completed or are working on the RCM binders to ensure that they comply with Alberta codes.  We are getting very close to having the Physical Building materials finalized.

On September 16 & 17 the 4th Annual ACR conference was held with resounding success.  There were 29 speakers, 248 attendees and 37 exhibition booths.  It was 2 days of jam packed education and networking for anyone involved in the real estate industry from Condominium Owners, Managers, Real Estate Professionals, etc.

I would like to encourage each and every management company in Alberta to submit their fiscal Condominium budgets to IREM (The Institute of Real Estate Management) who does data collection and produces a report for each city in the USA and Canada that submit their budget figures to the income/expense analysis report.  The reports provide quality income and expense data for private-sector office buildings, conventional apartments, condominiums, cooperatives and planned unit developments; federally assisted properties and shopping centers in the top metropolitan markets.  These reports are great tools for benchmarking, budgeting, forecasting, planning and more.

I have been using this tool for approximately 5 years to help my staff analyze each line item in the budget.  The report includes high, medium and low dollar figures for the city of Calgary on line items such as utilities, landscaping, management fees, insurance, repair and maintenance, etc.  The report also includes the number of projects reporting and the number of units involved on that particular style of building whether a townhouse, low rise, high rise or commercial condominium.  Take a look at a pdfcopy of the report on two styles of buildings that they produce for Calgary.  Okay “the race is on” let us see how many more companies we can have submit for the April, 2017 deadline that will be published in September, 2017.

ACMA looks forward to seeing you at our next luncheon.

Office Condominiums and Alberta’s Economy

A Colliers International Research Report show a growing demand towards “Office Condos” among business owners in the City of Toronto and Metro Vancouver, as they discover that owning your office space can be more affordable than leasing.

With the rise in investment condominiums continues in Vancouver and Toronto there has been increasing pressure on the leasing market. Availability of commercial property in the two cities continues to dwindle to the point where leasing has become more expensive than ownership. As an example pulled from Collier’s own research an annual lease of $35 for square foot is about $3 more per square foot than a 25-year mortgage on a unit selling for $700 per square foot. This assumes a 3 per cent mortgage with 20 per cent down amortized over 25 years.

While healthy and booming markets in Toronto and Vancouver can enjoy some savings through these means there is also opportunity in our province. Large companies under financial pressure and finding it increasingly difficult to fill leasing vacancies and are turning to divesting themselves of certain spaces.

Read more ...

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