That, at least is the warning publishe in the Toronto Star:
Impact graphs:
Millions of dollars are at stake: Asset values in a single condo corporation can easily reach between $50 million and $70 million, yet boards are under pressure from owners not to raise fees. Boards often see only the bottom line, awarding contracts to the lowest bidder.
"Management, at the moment, is in deep trouble," says Andy Wallace, a veteran of almost 40 years in the industry which he has helped shape since its infancy.
"Anyone can hang out a shingle," says Wallace, 77, who began his property management career in 1979. The vice-president of General Property Management stayed about six years before opening Wallace McBain and Associates and has spent his career focused on the issue of good governance. He now runs his own consulting firm and teaches a course in condominium law at Humber College.
Wallace knows of crackerjack managers, too, but insists, "There's a dire shortage of good ones."
He tells of one property manager fired for taking a $1,000 payoff from a cleaning company. The property manager got a job with another company two days later.
Another quite capable manager was caught stealing and was fired, Wallace said. When another employer asked Wallace about a reference for her, Wallace said he couldn't give one. The employer hired her anyway.
You can look at this story several ways.
1. There is a shortage of trained managers.
2. There is a shortage of honest managers.
3. There is a shortage of managers over 70 years old.
4. The people quoted in the story got some good publicity.
5. Watch your check book. And that's not easy for a board to do. Need to write about theft and audits.
