Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with condo

Help finding an apartment in Seattle

DuckGirl — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:57:12 -0800

I have a list of neighborhoods I'd consider living, a list of amenities that I consider necessary and/or negotiable, and a $ amount in mind per month. How can I make the selection process move along more quickly than the Craigslist Method? I see this kind of question pop up from time to time related to other cities, and it seems like while the general answer is "Craigslist is The Way," I know there are property management / apartment brokers in some areas. I imagine there are such services in Seattle to support all the tech transplants (of which I am not one), so I'm looking for suggestions if you have any. FWIW, the neighborhoods I know I dig include Greenlake, Greenwood, Ballard, Queen Anne, Fremont, and Phinney Ridge.

How many WiFi access points can co-exist in the same space?

wutangclan — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:18:49 -0800

Local cable internet company wants to blanket my condo tower with WiFi APs to provide universal WiFi access for their subscribers. Will this degrade reception or throughput for existing private WiFi networks belonging to residents? I am on the strata council for my residential condo tower. It is a 25-storey building built with modern steel & concrete methods, about 8 suites per floor ranging from 700 to 1000 sq ft in size. This being downtown Vancouver, pretty much every resident already has their own WiFi AP. In the vicinity of my suite alone, I can see over a dozen different SSIDs.

We have been presented with a request from Shaw Cable (one of three or four major providers in my area) to install WiFi access points throughout the building. Access is for subscribers only. Should we (the strata council) let them?

My concern is that residents with their own WiFi APs will suffer from degraded reception / throughput. Aren’t there are a finite number of channels or frequencies? Is there a threshold of density of APs that shouldn’t be exceeded? Do modern APs intelligently co-exist with each other, switching channels automatically? Can they share channels?

How do I "research" a real estate market?

cacofonie — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:30:14 -0800

I am looking to perhaps purchase a condo in Toronto. What are some objective data sources or opinions to determine whether its a good time to enter the real estate market? Given that there seem to be more cranes and development projects here than anywhere else in North America, I’m concerned that perhaps now is not the best time to buy. News stories here and there mention a "glut of condos," and "the bubble is going burst" and "housing prices cooling".

On the other hand, I have the disposable income for a sizeable down payment and it seems silly to keep tossing away money on rent and maybe it will never feel like the "right time."

I'm wary of being swayed by herd mentality and people with obvious biases (i.e. real estate agent, mortgage planner).

21st century bureaucracy

wutangclan — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:56:45 -0800

Legally binding online forms? (British Columbia) Asking for a friend: strata council for a large condo building requires a form be filled out with the details of the tenant when condo owners rent out their units. The number of rental units is high, as is the rate of turnover of tenants, leading to a very high volume of such forms having to be filled out.

Is there a way to get these forms submitted online? The form has fine-print that must be legally binding (e.g. owner accepts responsibility for damage caused by the tenant, agrees to evict tenant if so directed by strata corp, etc) therefore it requires a signature. So far the paper form is a real headache both for the building manager and for condo owners (many of whom are out of town).

This is in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Thanks.

I have no frame of reference here, Donny.

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:38:52 -0800

How can I get an idea of what typical expenses and reserves are for a condo that has about 12 units and a few garage spaces are? Please help me figure out if my condo's assessment hikes are reasonable. I own a unit in a condo, but I had to move away out of state and rent it out, so I don't know what's going on there, except for what I hear from my tenants and from emails from the condo association. They raise assessments every year, citing a budget.

However, I can't tell if some of the items in the budget are reasonable or not. For example, they pay $1000 a year for a phone line that connects an intercom at the front door to units' phone numbers and an alarm line. That's as expensive as a data-heavy smart phone bill, which I guess could be typical, but I have no idea. It would be great if I had a reference to which to compare.

The part of the budget I have to most trouble sizing up, however, is the reserve. How much should be there? I've seen some search results say a minimum of 10% of operating expenses, but what is a good, reasonable average? Getting a reserve study done sounds like the answer, but they appear to be expensive, and I'd have to convince the board to do it.

Another confusing aspect of this situation is that whenever I try to discuss the budget with the rest of the condo members over email, board members discourage me and others from doing so, citing that there'll be a meeting at which this it will be discussed. I can't be at this meeting since I live out-of-state, and even if I could, discussing it only at the meeting means there's very little discussion before it is voted on. This makes me suspicious. Is this reasonable of them?

Guidance appreciated! I need something to go on here.

know when to hold em?

sweet Annie Rich — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:34:59 -0800

Ways to mitigate renting underwater property at a loss? Bought a condo in NV during the bubble as our primary residence - currently owe let's say 150k, recently refi'd to below 4% (FHA). Nine years later, comps sell for $50k and the community has a 30% foreclosure rate and a high proportion of renters who make continuing to live in the condo undesirable.

Our monthly costs run around $1000 (not taking into account potential rental property insurance or other management costs). We could rent the place for $800 at the most. We are not at all eager to be landlords.

We do not have any hardships to justify a short sale. Have only very modest cash reserves, student loans and a small car loan but no substantial consumer debt.

Are there any tax benefits to renting for a loss? Are there other strategies that you would recommend? YANML and we intend to consult one. Thanks for any insight!

Can you cook with an electric grill on a balcony?

RobotVoodooPower — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:42:24 -0800

Can I keep it electric when cooking on my balcony? We're getting into a condo, and while it's pretty nice there are no fires allowed. We can have an electric grill on the balcony though. Anyone have experience with this kind of setup or recommendations for equipment? Any way to surmount heat loss from wind? Ideally we'd be able to grill + rotisserie as well as do some light smoking (of food that is). Space is not really an issue.

Walk me through buying a condo in NYC like I'm three

Sockowocky — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 06:13:21 -0800

Buying a condo in NYC (Brooklyn specifically) and really need some guidance on resources and how things work here. As a follow up to this question - we have moved to Brooklyn and are now settled in an amazing brand new apartment in Williamsburg. We love the neighborhood and are considering buying a condo here in the next year.

My google and metafilter searching has not yielded exactly the info I'm looking for in terms of process for shopping for a condo here in NYC specifically - (just a lot of realtor ads) what are the steps we should take?

For context, I have been through the house shopping process in California, and these were the steps I took:

1. spoke to a mortgage broker to figure out my price range and get a pre-approval
2. Perused Redfin daily to find listings
3. looked at a bazillion houses with a realtor
4. Made an offer on a few houses and condos (lost most of them)
5. Worked with my realtor to negotiate prices and terms with the seller for an accepted offer
6. Entered escrow for the condo - provided an earnest deposit (I think it was 1% of purchase price?)
7. Received a thousand pages of condo history and bylaws for review
8. Did a home inspection
[Decided not to go through with the purchase because of issues with the home inspection and condo board - but I think the next steps would have been to receive the mortgage and do a closing where I paid the remainder of the down payment and took the keys]

My specific questions about NYC are:

- Where do most people start in terms of financing? mortgage broker? go directly to a bank?
- what is the relationship with the realtor and the buyer? do buyers in NYC pay a fee to the realtors directly? (In CA it would be the seller who paid the commission for both the buying and selling realtor)
- what is the typical downpayment for a condo in NYC? We'd like to put down 20%, but I'm curious what is acceptable.
- What is typically included in condo fees/common charges? (taxes? maintenance?)
- what is the role of the real estate lawyer? This seems standard here but I'm unfamiliar with it from CA.
- what fees are unique to NYC that I may not expect? (I've seen there is an extra tax if the sale price is over $1M for example)

Finally, are there any online resources you would recommend? (I'm using streeteasy for the Brooklyn MLS info)

Thank you - happy to answer any follow up questions.

I put my dishes in the drawer.

bendy — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:48:56 -0800

What's your opinion of drawer dishwashers? I have a tiny kitchen and I hate washing dishes. In my condo complex dishwashers are a valuable commodity, but I just don't have the space - or the need - for a regular-sized dishwasher. My place is a studio and will eventually be sold or rented out. It seems that drawer dishwashers are a bit more expensive but honestly, it would be worth it to me.

Any downsides to these miraculous appliances?

Have some spare money, should we buy a condo to offer as rent?

bbyboi — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:12:24 -0800

Married, and have some savings. Does it make sense buying a condo just for giving it out as rental? Caveat - I may have to sell it off in about 3-4 years though so I'm wondering whether it'll all be worth it. We're recently married and are renting from a private condo owner in a very good home-owners condominium community. We love the location and the amenities offered by the housing association and were thinking whether it makes sense to buy a condo just for rental purposes.

We currently pay a rent for a similar condo at about 1% of the approximate price of the condo. (say 1000$ if the condo price is $100k). We have enough savings to outright purchase the condo in the next two years if we wanted to. The prices have been pretty stable for condos in this community and we've seen a 5% total increase between prices of say 2008 and now - so buying the condo doesn't make sense just for appreciation purposes. A 15 year mortagage would come to about 70-80% of the price we expect to make via rent each month so that should take care of the mortgage money.

I work nearby but my wife is looking for jobs; depending on where she gets it - we may end up moving to up to 30-45 minutes away from this location so she can travel light and I'll commute by public transportation to my workplace so we're not keen on making this our home and would prefer renting for ourselves and becoming landlords for the condo we're thinking of buying.

We're considering leaving the U.S. in 4-5 years so we won't be buying a home or condo as our primary home.

So we're wondering whether getting into being a landlord, buying this condo, dealing with tenants will be worth all the hassle or not. We're responsible people but have read quite a few terror tenant stories on ask me :)

So theoretically if all works out well: Say we buy this place paying a 10-20% downpayment. The rent should take care of the mortgage costs so we don't expect major changes to our current lifestyle except for the occasional maintenance, and hopefully the annual tenant lease signup/renewal. In 4-5 years, we should have paid off about 40% of the mortgage cost just with the the rent we earn so we should make an approx 30% profit when we sell this in about 5 years?

Also - how much is the normal home owner's association fees? We've heard the fees are higher here than in other places but don't quite know how to compare.
What's the typical home owner's insurance cost?
Are there companies who can take care of managing renting the place etc for a fee, say for when we leave the country but don't sell the condo.
Are there tax consequences we're not considering?

Thanks so much!

Help me find an urban-friendly contractor to renovate our condo!

heatherann — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:41:20 -0800

Renovating a condo for the first time in downtown Toronto: How do we find great contractors and designers? How do we get started? Snowflakes inside. We have a 2-bedroom condo that was built in the early 80s and hasn't been renovated since. The particleboard kitchen is on its last legs.

What we want to do:

Completely gut kitchen, turn L-shape into galley. Requires moving plumbing/ductwork, and we want to remove the wall where the doorway is.
Gut bathroom and replace floor/tiles/sink (and bathtub?). Footprint can remain same.
Remove carpeting in rest of condo. Parquet floors beneath could be saved?

Snowflake details:

None of the plumbing or electrical work is up to code anymore. When we've done small improvements in the past, it's always uncovered shoddy work and been more complicated than we suspected.
We want to have 1+ kids AND stay here. We want this condo to be flexible and multi-purpose as our family grows and changes. Most contractors/designers we've talked to are used to suburban life — we need a designer who understands living within 850 square feet. We aren't renovating so we can flip it; we want to live here for a long time.
The idea of going to a showroom in the burbs to spend 3 hours looking at Every Tile Option Available is completely overwhelming. Is there a curated version of this?

Specific questions:

How do we make a budget for this? I don't even know where to start. We told one contractor a version of the above and she gave us a quote with only $5K of wiggle room, which seemed … odd.
Are sites like Handy Canadian trustworthy? How can we find vetted contractors? Most of our friends are young and haven't done renovations yet. (If you've had good experiences with Toronto contractors, please MeMail me!)
What do we need to have decided before hiring a contractor?
Timeframes: How long does this sort of thing take? How long in advance do we need to have bought materials and hired people?
Are we forgetting an important question??

Living in a box, living in a cardboard box

bendy — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:55:13 -0800

Remodeling with an eye toward my own use (for the next 4-5 years) and rentability (in ~5 years?). I have a studio condo that the previous owner lived in for 30+ years and never updated. I have many improvements that I'd like to make, but I also want to be mindful that my goal is to use this as a rental in about five years. A few things that I'd want to do for myself are:

- replace the bathtub with a shower
- replace the huge ugly bathroom counter with a nice standalone sink
- replace the old 60s fridge with one that fits below the counter - the kitchen is a tiny galley kitchen and counter space is miserably small.

I could also take the (money) plunge and completely redo the kitchen, adding another 8 square feet or so of counter top and all new appliances. That would take longer and require a lot more work and money. Is it better to grab a cheap fridge and maybe dishwasher now, or to save up and do the whole thing at once?

I read this question about getting rid of the bathtub, but I think think that since this is a studio, I'm less likely to have a renter with older kid(s). Personally, I mostly hate baths and love showers. I'd be 100% fine with just a nice large tiled shower stall, but will this be a dealbreaker for a renter? I'd consider a Japanese soaking tub, but honestly it's something I wouldn't really use.

What about a small fridge? I've found some with a separate fridge and freezer, so they're not like the mini-fridge you had in college. I don't keep a lot of food in my fridge and clearly the place is not made for huge parties.

I'm thinking that my "hook" for this place will be that it's a streamlined minimalistic place for a busy single professional who doesn't cook much.

I converted the linen closet into a tool bench last weekend, so I am ready to take up tools and do as much as I can myself. I'm frugal and practical, but still want to live in a place that is efficient and fits my needs.

We bought a home! Now what?

backseatpilot — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:26:30 -0800

So we bought a condo. Now what? I just dropped off the deposit for our very first home this afternoon! We're very excited, but now I don't know what I should be doing. Between now and closing (and beyond!) what should we be doing to prepare ourselves for owning our first place and making it our own? We're getting an inspection set up and looking into doing some work on the bathroom before we move, but other than that I'm pretty stumped. I'm open to everything both practical and completely frivolous to help us complete the sale and settle in to our new place.

I'd like to smoke outside, but I don't want to piss off the neighbors.

Rob Rockets — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:48:34 -0800

Should I introduce myself to potential new neighbors to see if my outdoor cigarette smoking would bother them? I found a condo I would like to rent. The condo owner does not allow smoking in the unit. I'm a smoker but the condo is so nice I am OK with smoking outside on the deck only. The decks for each condo unit are not attached to neighboring decks, they are about 10 feet apart. According to the property management company, the condo association has no restrictions about smoking on the back deck, but I'll read the HOA documentation once I receive it to make sure.

I'm still concerned that my outdoor smoking might still bother my potential future neighbors. The condo is great but if there is a chance that my smoking is going to cause problems, I'll just rent somewhere else.

Would it be weird if I knocked on their doors and introduced myself as a potential future tenant and asked them if my outdoor smoking would bother them?

Old charm or a parking spot!

whoaali — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:45:13 -0800

Home buying: modern, super convenient, and soulless or old school charm without the conveniences and all the potential pitfalls? I'm looking to buy a decent size 1 bedroom or possibly very small 2 bedroom in DC and I've found myself at a cross roads.

I initially did not want to be in a big new condo buidling. I feel it's like living in a hotel and the very modern style looks cool in a restaurant, but I find it very cold in a home.

I wanted to get a remodeled place in a small buidling, but I keep running into the same issue in my search. The remodeled places are close to the same price as the brand new condos but tend to smaller, have no parking, usually are in less convenient locations, and have no amenities.

For the same price and maybe a condo fee $100-150 higher, I can get a place 100-200 square feet larger, everything new, underground parking, a doorman (i.e. security and I can get deliveries while I'm at work), a gym, a roof deck, and a ritzier location. And it's unlikely I will have to deal with all the things that can go wrong in a 100 year old buidling.

I never thought I'd want a big, corporate building and I still have my heart set on converted school houses, fireplaces, and crown moulding, but it's making less and less sense. I also don't really like living in doorman buildings for no other reason that I don't really like someone knowing my business, which is a weird quirk of mine I may just need to get over and I really like the idea of having a unique space. But I also really like being somewhere I feel safe (which doormen are excellent for!) and not having my apartment flood or having to replace my 50 year old windows that don't come in standard sizes and have to be custom made.

So how have other people made this decision? Are there financial considerations I'm not taking into account? Have any of you found ways to make really modern spaces warmer and more personalized? What are the big downsides of owning in a big new building (I currently rent in one, but want to know if there are any considerations specific to owning)? I really want to buy something that I will want to stay in and not just immediately want to trade up so to speak so I feel that really liking the place I buy is important even if it's on the smaller side than what I might be able to afford down the road.

How to fill a bachelor pad

Mister Fabulous — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:12:38 -0800

I am going to be moving soon, and for the first time in several years, it will be on my own. I'd really like resources for checklists on what to have in my new domicile, and as well, ideas for furnishing and decorating. I currently live in a shared housing situation. One of my roommates left recently to move to another city, and now two more of my roommates are likely going to leave in March. We've discussed it as a house and with our landlord, and we're clear to break our lease without any penalty... whatever. I've decided that this would be an excellent opportunity for me to finally get a place on my own, likely an apartment, condo or duplex. I figure I have two good months to figure out where I want to live and how I'd like to go about furnishing it.

Currently, I lack things to fill a house. I only have bedroom furniture and personal belongings. What I'd really like to do is get some very thorough lists of things to have in my future place so that I can prioritize and be able to fill it when I do move. I would like anything you MeFites have that would be an absolutely thorough list that I can scratch off anything I find unnecessary. This is for a whole house/apartment and down to the nitty gritty, including bathroom, kitchen and household supplies.

Secondary to that, I also would like to try to have some style points in my future home. FWIW, I am a single 28-year old male, and I'm really leaning towards a classy bachelor pad (the nice leather couch, big TV comfy-type pad, not the moldy dishes and three week old pizza type pad). Any resources similar to Apartment Therapy that have lots of ideas would be very welcome. I'm also very open to old AskMe questions. I've only found a few.

Lastly, if you've ever said to yourself "if I were still single I so would have *this* in my place," what would it be? Go crazy, because I am crazy. (example: I'm really considering a HD projector and having an entire wall for a TV/computer screen.)

Thanks MeFites!

Help Me Find This Horror Movie

dovesandstones — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:14:54 -0800

What is that 80s/90s horror movie involving someone terrorizing residents of a condo or apartment building by crawling within the walls? I don't have too many details, but I remember seeing ads for this as a kid in the 80s or 90s. Someone terrorizes the residents of either a condo building or upscale apartment building by crawling within the walls. I believe the movie was set in California, but I'm pretty uncertain. Google, movie databases, and past AskMeFi questions haven't turned up anything.

My kingdom for a ladder.

Justinian — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:12:05 -0800

I need a bit of extremely minor home repair... but can't do it myself. Who in the L.A. area would handle this sort of thing? I live on the second floor of a building near Melrose and La Cienega in Los Angeles. I've got what should be an embarrassingly easy problem to fix. I'm 99.9% certain the issue is that the exterior flap at the end of the dryer venting is wedged or otherwise stuck shut. Which makes it impossible to dry clothes. The difficulty? The exterior venting is 20 feet above ground level and I only have a 10 foot ladder. You'd need at least a 12 foot extension ladder (for a total of 24 feet) to reach it and living as I do in the middle of Los Angeles I don't actually know anyone who keeps a 24 foot ladder laying about. I'd buy one but don't have anywhere convenient to store it.

A dryer repair service doesn't seem like the category of person to call. Nor HVAC. I really just need somebody with a 24 foot ladder to haul it out here, climb up the ladder, pop open the vent and brush out any accumulated dryer lint at the end point. That should be a 5 minute job. If I had access to such a ladder I would absolutely do it myself.

So this may be a dumb question but what type of repair guy should I get to do this? Any recommendations in the area? It is going to stick in my craw to pay somebody to do something so easy but I've exhausted all attempts to fix the problem from inside my unit and 24 foot ladders aren't common for apartment and condo dwellers. Cheaper is good because it's not like there's a chance of botching the job and making things worse.

Oh, yes it is a condo not an apartment so this isn't something there is a landlord to bother about. I'm responsible for maintenance for things of which I have exclusive control, like my dryer venting.

How can we sell our condo and buy a house?

no bueno — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:46:18 -0800

How can we sell our condo and buy a house? My S.O. bought a condo last January. It's worth $330,000, paid $230,000 down. We have two dogs and are planning on having a child so we're looking for a single family house that's a little bigger. Still looking around the same price. We found a foreclosure that is listed for $320,000. We had a friend tell us we can't turn around and sell our house before owning it for 3 years. Both of us have excellent credit but most of our cash is tied up in the condo. I'd like to know what our options are. Is there an option to swap our house for the foreclosure w/ the bank? Should we just put it on the market and see if we can sell it?

Where to stay near LegoLand (orlando)?

qldaddy — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:08:08 -0800

Looking for a nice, reasonable place for my family to stay near LegoLand in Orlando. Bonus for opinions on WorldQuest Resort . We are planning a family vacation to Orlando in February for my son's 10th birthday. It will be me, my wife, and our two sons (12 and 10 y/o). We will be going to LegoLand and also plan on visiting Universal (for Harry Potter) and probably a couple of Disney Parks.

We are thinking that we'd like to get a suite/condo with kitchen so we can cook if we want. Does anybody have a favorite place that they like to go in the area?

Also, the spouse found WorldQuest Resorts online. Opinions on that option would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Condo insurance in Brooklyn

Sticherbeast — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:41:09 -0800

Condo insurance in New York City for a pair of n00bs. My SO and I are looking into condo insurance in Brooklyn, and since we're new to this, I turn to you, the hive mind, for helpful hints, suggestions, or warnings.

What should we look out for, other than the obvious? Our property is under a half-million, and we need the insurance to cover at least 20% of the condo's value. The only items of notable value in our condo are computers and cameras.

Group Condo Purchase

rryan — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:03:00 -0800

What do I need to consider with regards to a group buy of a condo? I own a condo in a good 40 unit building. It holds it's value and is in a desirable location. For a number of reasons, we have a unit for sale far below even this terrible market. As owners we are considering a 'group buy' of this unit. In other words, I can buy 'shares' along with any other owner of this unit that is up for sale at a price far below any comparable unit.

We'd then turn around and sell the unit after making some improvements.

We could buy the unit for $220K. We'd put $30k into it. Comparable units in the same building are going for $330k.

What should I consider, what concerns should I have other than the obvious?

Tenancy status in Condominium in Georgia

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:38:47 -0800

I rent an apartment in a building with a condo association in Atlanta, GA. My lease was not registered by my landlord with the building condo association. Does this impact my legal tenancy status? I moved into an apartment this summer in a high-rise. I have a signed year-long lease for the unit. After moving in I learned that my landlord (the owner of the condo unit, one of hundreds of owners in the building) had not registered the lease with the condo association. My landlord now would like to break my lease (he has found another potential tenant he believes will pay 3x what I am paying).

Does the fact that my lease is not registered with the condo management association impact my legal tenancy status in Atlanta, Georgia at all? I'd like to approach the condo association directly, as I am uncomfortable not having my lease on file with the building, but am not sure if this will further endanger my tenancy.

(I know you are not my lawyers. I contacted the free legal aid hotline last week with no response, and the free legal aid clinic told me they take cases but don't answer individual questions. Thanks!)

Help! My condo roof is leaking!

my_thai — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:32:50 -0800

Condo roof is leaking into my top floor unit. Has anyone experienced this issue and can offer any advice? Yesterday during a heavy thunderstorm I noticed the ceiling vent thingy (the technical term) began to leak in my bathroom. I'm on the top floor, so I assume it's coming from a roof leak.

I've lived in the unit 4 years and this is the first time I've noticed it. I assume that my association will need to fix the leak but I'm wondering what I should do to make sure its fixed correctly and to make sure they also fix any other damage that this may have caused and prevent future problems (structural damage, undiscovered leaks elsewhere in the unit, mold, etc.)

Other than notifying the condo and asking them to repair it, what other steps should I take to make sure this is handled correctly? Should I hire my own roof person to come in and look at it? Do I need to notify my condo insurance company? Should I let the other top floor residents know about this?

Also, if you've lived through this I'd love to hear about your experience. Google-ing this has yielded nothing but horror stories and I need some reassurance that this is not going to be a big nightmare

I want to change a rule governing my condos management.

Kololo — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:11:20 -0800

Condominium Outrage! Today, while taking a shower in my bathroom, i suddenly saw a reflection of a man in the vanity mirror - he was just outside the slightly open bathroom door. I screamed bloody murder while my heart beat out of my chest - i thought i was about to be the victim of a home invasion. Now, i want to do something about the apparent rule/bylaw/custom in my condo corporation/board that allows workers to enter the unit without the express permission of the owner or resident. So, it turned out that the home invader was in fact a member of the team going through all the units checking the smoke detectors, a process we'd been notified of via posters in the elevators. (He ran out when i screamed.) Why in the world he proceeded into my apartment despite being able to hear the shower running is beyond me, but he did. And 4-5 times a year, every year, workers similarly enter each unit for system maintenance purposes. While i understand the necessity of the visits, I have never understood why I have no choice about whether i authorise them to enter my unit without me there (or, in this unusual case, with me there). I own the unit and everything in it, right down to the flooring that gets scratched by their stepladders, and the laptops and underwear and jewellery that i always fear could get rifled through by these complete strangers. Every time i come home to the note that staff had been in my unit, it feels like a real violation of my privacy and property rights.

I want to somehow change this rule in my building so that workers can only enter the unit if they are let in by the owner or resident, or if the resident has authorised them to enter on their own. I expect that would be a battle - the visits would be more time consuming, and would require greater logistical rigor. But i don't understand how i can't have more protection for myself, my property, and my privacy, and i don't doubt that many of my fellow owners/residents feel the same way.

So, my question: How would i make this happen? Who makes these decisions - the condo board? The property management company? Are there any laws or Condo Act bylaws that would be useful to know about? i live in Toronto, Ontario - are there any resources available for my jurisdiction for these types of things? Any tips from condo board members, condo owners, real estate lawyers would all be helpful.