Add some spice to the Q & A sessions

In North York, an owner kills condo Board members.

Annual General Meetings (AGM) are so boring. The Chair of the meeting controls the agenda and acts as if her and the manager know everthing and the dummies owners know nothing. The persons at the front table are quick to put the owners down.

So, why not ask your directors, by name, to answer a few questions.

• What is a standpipe? Do we have any and if so where are they?

• How many heating boilers do we have? How many domestic boilers?
What’s the difference between the two? Where are they?

• What is the name of the company that monitors our fire alarm system?
Have you read their annual report? What deficencies did they find?

• What are risers? Do we have any? What material are they made of?
How old are they?

In my last posting, there was a news report of a resident killing condo Board members in Italy. Now there are news reports that it happened once again, this time in York Region. You can read the entire news article by clicking on the link.

6 dead, including shooting suspect, in Vaughan condo massacre: Cops

“Once the officers arrived they were met with a horrendous scene,” Chief Jim MacSween said
Toronto Sun (abridged)
Joe Warmington
19 December 2022

Sources told the Toronto Sun police are investigating multiple shooting scenes at the condo building after being called at 7:20 p.m. and are working on a theory that an individual went from unit to unit, attacking six members of the condo board. One of the victims was hospitalized and is expected to survive.

In other news:
Woman risking homelessness because tenant won't leave gets eviction hearing date
CBC News UPDATE
Priscilla Ki Sun Hwang
11 November 2022

An Ottawa woman who bought a home this April but still can't move in because a tenant refuses to leave will finally be able to state her case to evict her tenant at an Ontario tribunal.

But Karimalis noted it could take several more months to get a decision after the hearing, and to have the sheriff's office come and enforce an eviction if she is granted one. Hearings can also be delayed for various reasons, she explained.

"It took a lot of push," said Karimalis. "But the delays aren't over."

Standpipe thieves putting highrise residents at serious fire risk: officials
Metal thieves are putting people who work and live in Vancouver highrises at serious risk should a fire break out.

More than 60 standpipes, which deliver high-pressure water to the hoses of firefighters, have either been stolen or tampered with, according to police.

"The safety concern is immense and it's a little bit jaw dropping that these are being stolen," said Capt. Jonathan Gormick of Vancouver Fire Rescue. 
http://bit.ly/2k7q4xp

Video of bike theft in downtown Toronto has police saying, 'Here we go again'
A video that shows a thief using a power tool in broad daylight to cut open a bike lock in Toronto's financial district last month has garnered thousands of views online, and police say it underscores a bike-theft problem that's plagued the city for years.
http://bit.ly/2ky49PW

Toronto police investigate 'suspicious incident' at Etobicoke house party
Toronto police said they are investigating a “suspicious incident” at a house party in Etobicoke Saturday morning.

Investigators said they have recovered firearms from a property on Meadowbank Road, which is in the Rathburn and Martin Grove Road area.

Multiple people have been taken into custody, police said.

The homeowner told CityNews the house was posted on the short-term rental site Airbnb and had been booked for three nights.  The owner also said they have taken the property off AirBnB’s website.
http://bit.ly/2konEuu

I was part of the orientation training sessions for new members of the Brampton Real Estate Board. They were taught the basic board rules and policies, how organized real estate worked across the country and a primer on ethics. One of the first things I saw were those that had no grasp of the principles and the “why would I do that” with the ethical principle before them.

Fair, legal, valid were not part of their operating principles. Some did work in offices where the broker did actually teach them how to be good agents – or at least not get caught.

Boards don’t need ethics—they got insurance.
—Richard