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Do frugal stratas waste money?

Many strata corporations in northern Vancouver Island tend to be frugal in expenditure decisions on maintenance and renewal projects.

Many strata corporations in the north end of the Island tend to be frugal in their expenditure decisions on maintenance and renewal projects.

That observation was made by the staff of RDH Building Engineering’s Courtenay branch. Unknowingly, those stratas considering taking the frugal approach may not be saving money but wasting money. That is the feature topic of RDH’s next free information session.

Related questions that will be explored include:

• When is it OK to defer maintenance and when is it not OK?

• If owners won’t be there more than a few years, will they save money by not voting to increase the annual contingency reserve fund contributions?

• Will it be cheaper to tender repair work themselves?

• Will they save money by not having their repair work inspected?

• Will they save money by not having a depreciation report?

• Is it cheaper for a strata to postpone repainting?

• Will a condition assessment devalue their property?

• Is it cheaper to have a handyman perform all reviews rather than having an engineering company perform some reviews?

• Will they save money by not paying for a pre-warranty expiry review?

With the motto of Making Buildings Better, RDH is a recognized industry leader and has many publications to its credit.

RDH’s staff of professional engineers, architects and technologists provide comprehensive services in building-related fields such as asset assessment, asset management, renewals, repairs, maintenance planning and depreciation reports.

RDH has been preparing depreciation reports (reserve fund studies) for many years, long before new government regulations on this matter were drafted and enacted.

To service the central and northern portions of Vancouver Island and Powell River, this employee- owned Canadian company opened its Courtenay branch in 2006. Free monthly evening sessions are offered to help point strata corporations in the right direction regarding their capital planning and expenditure projects.

If would like to determine whether your strata might be 'penny wise and pound foolish', plan to attend RDH’s next information session on April 28. To reserve a spot or for more information, contact Megan at (250) 703-4753.