Case Study: X Condos Switching to Condo Control

Mark is the property manager at X Condos, Toronto. He has been working in the industry for over six years and is the liaison between the condo board, residents and contractors, and he is also responsible for the general day-to-day operations of the building. Mark works tirelessly to provide the X Condo community with a level of service and expertise that promotes an inclusive, convenient, and functional environment. X Condos is conveniently located in downtown Toronto by the popular hub of Yonge and Bloor streets. Registered in 2010, X Condos is home to 415 units with approximately 800 to 900 residents spanning 44 storeys. Luxurious design and an abundance of modern amenities, along with the upscale surrounding neighbourhood of Yorkville, has attracted many affluent young professionals. The majority of residents are tech savvy and rely on technology to assist with their busy lifestyles. Residents, as well as property management, have been using a digital platform since the first occupants moved in. X Condos switched to Condo Control to provide the functionality and user experience that their previous platform did not offer.

When Mark took over the role as property manager at X Condos, it was his mission to review all aspects of operations. Mark’s core focus was to look at better, more efficient ways to carry out day-to-day operations to better serve the X Condo community. During this phase, it was determined that the property management software being used at the building was not helping achieve Mark’s goals. The prior platform posed the following major issues: User-experience - Throughout Mark’s career within the property management industry, he has been exposed to various property management software platforms. Upon commencing his role at X Condos he was quick to discover the property management platform that was already in place was extremely difficult to navigate and not at all user-friendly. In addition to this, there was very little in way of support - they were difficult to get in contact with and often issues were left unresolved. Maintaining multiple databases – Prior to switching, X Condos were using one platform to manage most of the community operations and another platform to send out communications to residents. This meant that two databases needed to be maintained at all times. This doubled the administrative work and created a higher chance of human error when updating information between the two databases. Missing Features – A couple of major features were missing from the previous platform being used at X Condos; Service Requests and Proxy Voting. Residents could not log service requests online and had to contact the property management team directly, which they could only do during their work hours. The property management team also had no ability to send out and receive proxy votes for their AGM online. This created a lot of extra legwork for the property management team as they had to chase down owners for their votes in order to reach quorum.

After Mark’s review of the current platform and processes that had been in place at X Condos for some time, he determined very quickly that there was a better way to do things. Having used Condo Control (CC) in the past, Mark knew straight away switching platforms would alleviate all the issues he and his team were facing. This is how CC eliminated the issues and facilitated greater efficiency in operations at X Condos: User-friendly interface – Mark found CC’s interface to be much more user-friendly and intuitive compared to the previous application. Mark and his team found it very easy to navigate and required little in the way of training in order to get a handle on the new system. This made the transition to the new application even smoother. All in one solution – By switching to Condo Control, Mark and his team were able to consolidate two databases into a single platform. They now only need to manage one database making it much simpler to update information, which saves time and reduces the chance of human error. Mark and his team can now send out announcements through CC and be confident their resident data is up to date, correct and easily searchable. This is extremely important in emergency situations when residents need to be contacted promptly to inform them of a situation. Extra Features – Service Requests: In order to keep X Condos in pristine condition it is very important to have a quick and easy way for residents to lodge service requests. This allows for maintenance to be carried out much quicker and helps the property management team to track and prioritize requests. Proxy Voting: Conducting X Condos AGM meeting was greatly streamlined by moving the process online with CC. AGM packages were sent to owners electronically for those who consented to receive legal documents this way, which reduced print costs and decreased manual labour. Reminder notices were automatically emailed to owners, increasing participation. The property management team were able to review voting data and results through a real-time dashboard. All this made reaching quorum less stressful overall for the property management team.

• Productivity has increased with a more user-friendly and intuitive system.
• Having to maintain only one database has saved the team time and decreased the margin of error.
• X Condos AGM ran much smoother and required less manual work and was less stressful.
• Familiarizing ourselves with the CC was easy and there was little training required.
• Residents are now able to submit service requests online, something that was previously not available.

• More proxy votes were received than what was expected.