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Lost Parcels - doesn't have to be an issue with condo owners!

  • wecare994
  • Jul 31, 2024
  • 5 min read

In our last blog we talked about the one the bonuses of condo life was having close neighbors who help with your mail or parcels. Living in a community where owners look out for each other out by grabbing your mail or parcels for you when you are away or delayed is one of the best reasons to live in a condo community! This is why you buy a condo! However its not always practical and most owners don't want to have to bother their neighbors for every amazon purchase that is delivered. If you are losing your amazon packages or mail way to often one of the issues your board and property manager need to address is why and who and try and solve the problem. Sometimes its not possible to figure out who the culprits are in really large condo buildings. For many buildings its almost impossible to police and deal with all of the packages and people entering the building and because of these situations there are great solutions namely parcel lockers. Canada Post created a parcel locker which is great and works really well but it can only be used for mail sent through Canada Post and if you're like me I primarily use Amazon so my parcels are not safely locked away but rather left at my door or in the lobby free for the taking! If you use Amazon or any other delivery service other than Canada Post then your packages are left all over the building sitting there tempting and taunting those people who feel the need to check other people's purchases first. But your packages don't have to be left vulnerable there are solutions to help owners deal with misplaced parcels and packages and your board or property manager can very easily and very simply deal with those lost and misplaced packages by bringing in a parcel locker. A parcel locker works with all the major delivery companies so your packages can be delivered ..stored in the locker and protected. There is a Canadian company called Snaile that builds these lockers and can build them to add to any lobby they come in all shapes and sizes. There really is no reason that any building and any owner should have to deal with stolen or lost parcels or mail with these types of innovations.


The world is full of smart technological advances that can assist in improving your condo living and your board should be looking for new and innovative ways to not only maintain your property values but increase them. Theft of mail is a common problem for many buildings and difficult to deal with because unless you are able to catch someone in the act its hard to prove and unfortunately very low on the priority list for many buildings. It takes time and effort to sit and watch hours of footage to find the culprit responsible for theft in a building. It's much easier and more efficient to find easier solutions to the problem. I know of a board of directors in a condo building that had a member who was dubbed "just say No" because he, yes the board member was a man said no to everything. Any new suggestion any new improvement or possibility he automatically turned it down and was negative. So of course Just say No, generated problem after problem because he was left unchallenged, year after year there were no improvements made to the building and of course they had a parcel theft problem. In a community when there are no consequences and the people living or visiting the building learn that the board is weak and is not governing or managing the building then the building turns into the wild west and of course packages are stolen because the culprits know that no one cares enough to do anything so the thieves keep thieving and the owners continue to be frustrated. In this particular building with the board member Just Say No, the topic of parcel theft came up at a board meeting and the parcel locker solution presented and guess what happened? Just say No, said No! He tried to further his No decision with "we have a condo in Arizona and Florida and everyone just gets their packages sent to the drop off and they pick them up there so they don't get stolen". Well, isn't that nice for retired residents living in condos in Arizona and Florida - they apparently have the time to pick up parcels and the weather is so nice for them they may even be able to walk everyday to the drop off site. I'm sure it's a really lovely outing for those retired persons! BUT, what about people who don't have time everyday to pick up their parcels and need the items right away which is why they had them delivered in the first place!! We have parcels delivered to our homes for the convenience! If we had the time or inclination to pick them up at the drop off we could just go to the store and buy the items! That's why delivery was invented! Why even have the items delivered if you had the time to just go to the store? Not to mention everyday in many places the weather is not nice. It could be -45 outside or -30 because everywhere is not Florida or Arizona! The lack of concern for others in the building is frustrating and makes me crazy just thinking about how unbelievable it is that a board member would deny the owners in the building the convenience of having their parcels safely delivered and stored in a protected locker for a minimal price. Theft of packages in a building signals other internal issues and could potentially lower property values as well so there are many reasons to address parcel theft in a building. Who wants to live in a building with thieves? Would you buy a unit in a building where the board was unconcerned about parcel theft and wasn't actively trying to deal with it? One of the reasons people purchase condos is because it suits their lifestyle and for many that lifestyle is a busy one where they don't have time to shop in stores or work out of town and want their packages delivered and waiting for them when they return home. These are some of the issues board members needs to keep in mind when they are serving on the board. They need to consider other condo owners and their needs and requirements in the building. If there are options to protect owners then review them, look at all potential situations and if the board can't decide if the solutions are beneficial then take it to the owners and ask them directly if they would like a locker to protect their purchases. There are many resources available out there to help boards and owners create a great condo community so boards of directors start now and serve your owners and protect their parcels.



 
 
 

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Meetings and Events

Condo Buildings have many different types of meetings -AGMs, Special Meetings and  Extraordinary Meetings, Owners Meetings -    See below on tips for making your meeting inclusive and productive 

​Annual General Meetings are crucial to democracy, a condominium corporation in Alberta is required to have annual general meetings every year and at the latest 15 months from the last AGM. These are formal meetings where owners vote on all types of business such as new bylaws, bylaw changes, financial considerations, improvements, upgrades and elect a new board of directors. There are certain procedural rules boards must follow when organizing an AGM; notice must be provided 60 days prior to the AGM, this gives owners the ability to submit agenda items to the board. After the 60 days, formal notice with the agenda items must be sent to owners within 30-14 days prior to the meeting date. Make sure you are voting at your AGMs, you need to make sure the votes are counted - make sure your board is either holding elections through ballots or a counted hand vote. 

There are several types of other meetings a condo corporation holds - Special Meetings, Owners Meetings or Town Halls. It all depends on who is doing the organizing and the topics being put forward. Condo Owners should ensure that their meetings have at least the basic requirements for example: With the exception of Owners Meetings which are called by the owners and not formal, all meetings should include, if possible: scrutineers, agenda- ability of owners to add to agenda, accurate and properly recorded minutes, elections, voting - owners should be voting on issues at AGMs to name a few. There are many requirements to hold a duly organized meeting. For example, public companies and other corporations hire several entities when they hold AGMs. Most corporations start by hiring a law firm. a company to scrutineer and often depending on the type of meeting a solicitation agent. Unfortunately, and of course because it's impractical for the majority of Condo Corporations to assume the expense of all or even a few of those entities most Condo Corporations rely on the knowledge of the property manager and an inexperienced board to deal with meetings which affects the quality of the meetings.

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​The quality of condo meetings depend on the quality of the property manager and the knowledge of your board of directors. Most condo meetings are pretty poor which leads to very little advancement and improvements in the corporation. If your condo corporation holds proper meetings then thank goodness and let us know! We want to hear about condos that are working well together creating successful condo communities. If not then well we all know when buildings incur this type of combination of a poor manager and a poor board for too long the building starts to deteriorate very quickly. Most building come equipped with basic bylaws created by the developer included in the owners manual, some specs and basic information and little else so if you were unlucky to buy into a property with owners who knew very little about condo boards you are probably facing some difficulties after a number of years.  Call us anytime and we will audit your meetings, elections or if you assist in coordinating any type of meeting. See our simple suggestions for make your meetings even more successful. 

condo meeting

Everyone is happier with a cookie in their hand

condo meeting - AGM

                                 Make people feel welcome!         

                           

Meetings are stressful even if there are no hot topics so anything you can do to lighten the mood is helpful. You could also have a giveaway or a play a little game before you get started. Don't forget name tags for large gatherings, bring a card or provide contact information and don't forget a pen, notepad or your phone to take notes and exchange information.  

If you organized the meeting: don't forget to shake as many peoples hands and introduce yourself to as many people as you can!

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Hint: If you are organizing the meeting you should be the last to leave! This helps make sure you talk to everyone who came to talk to you!

                                             Its ALL in the Details

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We believe details are important! Set up a station with coffee, juice or water to keep people hydrated and bring along some home baked or store bought treats. Owners will feel welcome and it helps to set the tone of a meeting. Who can argue with a piece of cake in their hand or mouth! Meetings should be informative and engaging and setting the tone will make your meetings more successful.

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Hint: You'll often be able to tell the people who support you or at least like you if they take a cookie or drink some coffee. More combative individuals won't take the cookie because they feel like they would owe you something back and sometimes that's just being nice and respectful.

CONTACT US Before you buy a condo 

Working as a Trustee in the corporate debt space for over a decade has helped me build a foundation in Corporate and Securities Law. As a a Manager of Corporate Trust acting as debt Trustee, collateral agent or escrow agent, I was involved in many types of large international transaction and the biggest bought deal in Canadian history. As a trustee we were involved in, attended and scrutineered all types of meetings, extraordinary resolutions and consent solicitations. As Corporate Secretary for a large public company, I have over a decade of experience in many aspects of Corporate Law.  I worked for  several years in compliance for a capital raising investment company and worked in the prosecution department at IIROC. My degree in political science gives me a heightened sense of justice and expertise in all levels of government, democratic institutions and democratic practices.  I started this company to help other condo owners who were having similar experiences with condo boards. My corporate law and securities experience provides a great backdrop to be able to help create inclusive communities one building at a time, fighting one board at a time to bring back democracy and inclusion to Condo boards. People don't need to be fighting boards -it ruins their piece of mind and stunts community growth. Boards of Directors need to be held accountable for bad decisions and bad operating procedures and educated in best practices. 

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CONTACT
LOCATION

Email: wecare@momentumcondo.com
Phone: 403.651.7403
 

881 -15 Avenue SW

Calgary, Alberta T2R 1R8

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​Sunday: Closed

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