Windows & Doors: How we got here

Here is some insight how we have arrived at this point about the windows and other cost-related issues at the ECA.

In recent weeks, I spoke to our management about their experience with issues such as window replacement and in that conversation it became clear to me that the past boards and past in-house management were not paying attention to the long-term planning that is necessary to maintain a luxury high-rise building such as the Elizabeth Condo.

What I found out was that for a period of about ten years the ECA did not either increase the condo fees at all or if they did so it was only by a small margin. While spending less money on condo fees is always popular, at least in the short term, this strategy unfortunately has put the Elizabeth condo owners in a financially awkward position. That is, the building is ageing, we need new windows and we don’t have any cash on hand to help pay for them. What do we do now? Do nothing and waste thousands of dollars on energy? Give all the owners duct tape and plastic for windows? Scream and yell at each other? I hope none of these things happen.

While I am sure some will take exception to what I have stated, let me cite a simple example of what could HAVE BEEN a less painful financial long-term plan for the ECA in relation to the window issue.

Let’s say that over the course of a ten-year period that the condo fees did go up on average by $50 per month per unit. According to my simple and conservative calculation, we would have approximately two million dollars in the bank. Then consider a guesstimate for the cost of window replacement is approximately $5000 per unit. (Remember this is a guess). If that were the case, the two million dollars (from ten years of condo fees) would cover those costs.

There are two points I want to make:

We have an ageing building that needs windows and they are going to cost each of us in the short term. I consider this to be part of a long-term investment to keep energy costs under control while maintaining the value of our investment.

The second is a point about financial management. For those who are convinced that self-management is the only viable solution, consider these two critical facts that were overlooked in the self-management era. L&M saved the ECA over $70,000+ before they began managing the Elizabeth.

Then consider the windows issues. The self-management model did not provide us with experienced people who had financial management expertise. They lacked long-term planning skills and did not have the business savvy to influence the ECA board of directors. A painful example of this is our need for updating the windows and the lack of funds to support that need. Because of this, the current Elizabeth owners are now scrambling to figure out how to update and pay for windows. However unfortunate this situation is, it underlines how the past self-management approach has hurt the ECA.

Using a professional management company offers an array of expertise, skills and business acumen for managing the Elizabeth. Of course it is not perfect, but it better than what we had.

Let’s learn from the past, get the windows updated and move forward.

Jim Rich

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