Showing Articles written by 'Alan Forbes'
Building Community - Summer 2022
By Maureen Hancharyk, Duane Rohne, Alan Forbes | Other articles by Maureen Hancharyk, Duane Rohne, Alan Forbes
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vintage Social Media (aka News Briefs) - Spring 2022
By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes
Suggestions to Improve the MB Condo Act - Spring 2021
By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes
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.
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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