Volume 26, Issue Number 1, Fall 2021
Financial Matters

The Top-Ten Ways to Save

10 Places Boards Can Work With Their Property Manager to Find Savings to Keep Condo Fees Down

By Mo Killu, Carrie Cowton | Other articles by Mo Killu, Carrie Cowton

In a thriving city where the condo market is booming, and thousands of Torontonians are living the condo life, condo fees can be a hot topic. That's because they can vary from building to building and depend on many factors, like amenities, number of common spaces, the age of the building - or more often than not - how resourceful and seasoned the building's property manager is along with their ability to openly and effectively communicate with the condo board and residents.

Exemplary condominium property managers exhibit strong negotiation skills and critical thinking - particularly when it comes to working with contractors to ensure the best prices for services for the building. In fact, an experienced condo property manager plays a valuable role in helping condo boards manage expenses by carefully hiring and monitoring service companies and professionals, and overseeing staff and contractors. The ideal condo property manager is dedicated to prioritizing finding inefficiencies and cost savings for the condo board around every corner.

In fact, the aforementioned approach has helped GPM stabilize condo fees year over year across the buildings it manages across the GTA, with little fluctuation.

It's true that market forces like skilled labour shortages and rising costs of essential construction materials are beyond our control. However, this is all the more reason condo boards need to work closely with the condo property manager.