Showing Articles written by 'Alan Forbes'


Feature

Building Community - Summer 2022

By Maureen Hancharyk, Duane Rohne, Alan Forbes | Other articles by Maureen Hancharyk, Duane Rohne, Alan Forbes

Owning a condo and residing in it is more than just an investment. It is more than just living in an extended stay vacation property. You are living in a community, and to get the most out of your residence and your investment, you should be involved in your community. Being involved in the community starts with being respectful and cordial to all members of the community. Understanding and complying with the rules and regulations of the community is also an important aspect of being part of the community, and also ties in with respecting your fellow community members.

Regular Column

Suggestions to Improve the MB Condo Act - Summer 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

We encourage you to submit suggestions for improving the Provincial Condo Act to us via https://cci-manitoba.ca/resources/the-condominium- act-suggestions-for-improvement. We have started posting these ‘suggestions for improvement’ in our quarterly Condominium News and Views. In case you missed the improvement suggestions in the prior editions, you can search the newsletter archive at https://cci-manitoba.ca/members-only/newsletter-archive.


Feature

Advocacy Update - Waste Diversion Fee - Summer 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

The City of Winnipeg has a web page with information about their recycling strategy for multi-family properties https://engage.winnipeg.ca/recycling-strategy-for-apartments-and-condos.


Feature

Advocacy Update - Short Term Rentals - Summer 2022

By Alan FOrbes | Other articles by Alan FOrbes

The City of Winnipeg has formalized their process and set up a web page to better engage all stakeholders on the issue of regulating short term rentals (STRs) https://engage.winnipeg.ca/short-term-rentals. The web page shows that the period for public consultation has now closed and City Staff are reviewing the information submitted and developing recommendations for Council over the next few months.


Regular Column

CCI National Report - Summer 2021

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

CCI held its second virtual National Leaders Forum and Conference May 28-29. The next one in the fall will be virtual as well, but we can all look forward to the expected in-person event in the spring of 2022.

As was the case for the conference in the fall of 2020, there was a diverse set of topics covered with ample opportunity to ask questions of the presenters. What follows are some of my lessons learned.


Regular Column

Suggestions to Improve the MB Condo Act - Summer 2021

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

We encourage you to submit suggestions for improving the Provincial Condo Act to us via https://cci-manitoba.ca/resources/the-condominium-act-suggestions-for-improvement. We have started posting these ‘suggestions for improvement’ in our quarterly Condominium News and Views. In case you missed the improvement suggestions in the prior editions, have a look at the Fall 2020, Winter 2021 and Spring 2021 editions at https://cci-manitoba.ca/members-only/newsletter-archive

The Province has a useful website with a guide to the Act and links to the Act itself, and the associated regulation and various related forms. The website link is
https://www.gov.mb.ca/condo/


Feature

Advocacy: Short Term Rentals (STRs) - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

We wrote to the Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage, and Downtown Development (SPC-PDHD) asking to be included in their stakeholder consultations as we could provide the perspectives from condominium owners, investors, boards and residents, along with the perspectives of our professional members and business partners.


Feature

Field Notes From a Condo Corp Treasurer - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

In the past year I set up a GIC-ladder in our condo corporation’s (CC’s) reserve fund to counteract the meager interest rates payable in most savings accounts. First, I determined the surplus in the account in relation to our needs over the next five years, taking into account our projections for reserve fund contributions (RFCs) and the projected spending based on our current reserve fund study (RFS). Given that interest rates are likely going up over the next few years, I then split the surplus amount into five lumps and invested each lump in a GIC, with terms of one, two, three, four and five years. The plan is to follow a similar thought process to rollover principal and interest into five year GICs along with any additional surplus each year onward.


Feature

Advocacy: Multi Family Waste Diversion (MFWD) Fees - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

We wrote to the Standing Policy Committee on Water and Waste, Riverbank Management and the Environment (SPC-WWRME) offering our involvement to come up with a MFWD fee that would be fair and equitable to condo corporations and their unit owners, residents, tenants and investors. We did receive a favorable response from the Committee Chair, Councilor Mayes, and subsequently had a Zoom meeting with him on March 22nd. The meeting was cordial and informative, and Councilor Mayes has since put us in touch with the appropriate City Staff. He indicated he will keep us apprised of any developments, but didn’t expect any meaningful activity until after the fall municipal elections.


Regular Column

The Green Condo Page - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

Whether it improves the sustainability of your condo operations, reduces waste, increases energy efficiency, reduces water consumption or just beautifies the environment surrounding your property, we’d like to hear from you - just send us an email with a subject line of “CCI Green Condo Page”. We hope to hear from you soon. Please send any comments or suggestions to cci.mb.news@gmail.com.


Regular Column

Suggestions to Improve the MB Condo Act - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

While we didn’t receive any new submissions from our members in the past few months, we did come across some recommendations from a report from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries that looked at reserve funds and reserve fund studies across all Provinces and Territories. The Executive Summary on pages 4-5 of the report are recommended reading for all condo unit owners and especially for their directors. What follows is a review of the report and some of the highlights.


Feature

Vintage Social Media (aka News Briefs) - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes


Regular Column

Suggestions to Improve the MB Condo Act - Spring 2021

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes


 


Feature

Insurance & Risk Mitigation - Fall 2021

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is applicable to the insurance market. If you want to reduce the pressure on ever-increasing insurance premiums, look for ways to prevent having to make claims and look to mitigate the various risks to persons and property. Consider putting together a risk mitigation plan for your condo corporation and show it to your insurance broker and ask for their feedback. They will be happy to help you because lowering your claims risk is a win-win situation for both parties.


Feature

Field Notes From a Condo Corp Treasurer - Fall 2021

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes

So you joined the Board of your Condominium Corporation (CC) and ended up as Treasurer even though you are not an accountant. Do you sometimes feel lost, overwhelmed, or unsure how to provide value to your CC and the owners? Here are some lessons learned from someone in the same situation.3

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