About
Advisory hub for condo boards in Canada
A.R. Consulting specializes in condominium governance. As a seasoned advisor, I offer tailored guidance to empower condo board directors across Toronto, Canada and its surrounding areas. To elevate your board’s performance and streamline decision-making processes, I focus on:
- Efficiency
- Transparency
- Strategic planning
Services
How can I help?
At A.R. Consulting, I specialize in providing expert services to elevate condominium governance. With decades of experience in property management and community service, I offer unparalleled guidance and support. From conducting assessments to facilitating leadership transitions, I am committed to empowering condominium boards with the tools they need to succeed.
Condominium management assessment
I will review your condominium documentation, and your Board member input (in the strictest confidence, of course), identify areas of improvement to ensure operational efficiency and enhance resident satisfaction. And I will report my findings to you – just one of several reports I’ll be providing in my transparent and inclusionary process.
Proposal assessment
Navigate the maze of proposals with confidence. I’ll review each proposal meticulously to ensure alignment with board goals and regulatory standards. Trust me to guide you toward selecting the perfect partners for your condominium community.
Transition
Ease transitions in management or board leadership with my dedicated transition services. From meticulous succession planning to seamless continuity management, I’ll work closely with your board to ensure minimal disruptions and a smooth transition for your condominium community.
References
Trustworthy recommendations for service partners for your condominium, personally curated from my extensive network and experience.
The interview process
Simplify your provider selection process by conducting structured interviews to assess compatibility with your board’s vision and values and handpick the perfect partners for your condominium community.
Summary contracts
I will create clear and concise service agreements that outline expectations and promote accountability and transparency between the board and service providers.
Condo resources
Condominium Property Management
“Oh, no – not again!” Yes, again. And don’t try to escape, I have the doors locked and the airports covered.
Now that we’ve gotten that unpleasantness out of the way, I’d like to discuss with you or remind you of – as the case may be – certain realities about the condo management world that will inexorably affect your Board of Directors and the corporation to which the Board so selflessly administers. In my several decades of serving the condo community and serving on two different condo Boards during that time for a total of twenty years*, I’ve encountered many topics of considerable interest and importance to that community. Here are just a few – and there are many. Read more
The relationship between the condominium board and management
My management/board formula:
- the management company gives the Board advice
- the Board makes decisions based on that advice, and other appropriate criteria
- the management company carries out the decisions made by the Board
- the Board, as the executive body responsible to the condominium corporation, monitors the management company’s execution of the Board’s decisions
Management contracts – a different wrinkle
Recently, I heard someone say: “Management agreements should be fair to both sides.” Sorry, folks. Fairness has little or nothing to do with it.
The Management agreement between a service provider and a condominium corporation must, as accurately and pragmatically as possible, incorporate the elements of the management routine deemed most suitable to that very condominium corporation.
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Management’s product, the Board’s expectations: why aren’t they one and the same?
“Condominium Board Members face the world’s most demanding shareholders…their neighbours.”
I recently had to do one of the most difficult parts of my job. A board of directors had retained me to help them find new management, and I had to inform two out of three worthy management candidates that they did not get the contract.
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Condominium board members – the right attitude (the “Three Cs”)
I’ve been most fortunate in my travels, having encountered (and provided services to) many condo directors over the years who’ve earned my respect and admiration because of their selflessness and untiring efforts on behalf of their communities. They are an inspiration to their communities, and in return they are frequently misunderstood, often under-appreciated, and usually unpaid.
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How to choose a property management company
I could write a book, but the editor said I’ve got only a thousand words, so let’s think lean and mean. You must (a) consider your Corporation’s requirements; (b) reconsider them, in light of what I’m about to tell you; (c) decide whether your current management can be “fixed”, if not already doing the job properly; (d) assess what’s available out there; (e) pick the correct replacement.
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The art of communication – or bikers and barbecues
This tale of barbecues ‘n’ bikers may not be the last word in getting one’s message across, but I learned a thing or two from it all. There are many ways to communicate. Some of them are highly effective, all of them involve some measure of getting the audience, whether two or two hundred, on your side.
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