Executive Summary

Michael Trendota is the President and co-founder of Alwington Communities, an association management firm. Michael’s long-term goal is to create a company that can scale and support growth, without sacrificing quality of service. Once Michael and his company started managing condo buildings with 100+ units, he knew they were at a point where they needed help. They were looking for a solution to improve communications and provide owners with a system that would give them immediate access to important information. They also wanted to find a more efficient way to store and share board member documents. Michael selected Condo Control (CC) to help him overcome the challenges he and his communities were facing. With CC, Michael was able to increase and improve communications, reduce costs, and secure a competitive advantage for his company.

 

About Michael

Michael Trendota has been a property manager for seven years. He draws from his own board member experience to help other boards capitalize on opportunities and overcome challenges in their communities. Michael and his team are responsible for taking care of corporations, managing financials, preserving the health of each property they work with, and maintaining an enjoyable and safe living environment for owners and residents.

 

Background Information

Alwington Communities cares for just over a thousand units. Their firm maintains offices in Kingston and Hamilton, with satellite offices in Oshawa and Guelph. Alwington Communities has a mix of large buildings and small corporations. The larger communities tend to have a significant investor-owned population, while the smaller communities are predominately owner-occupied. Some buildings have a lot of first-time homebuyers, but others consist of older owners who are less familiar with technology. Michael was confident that all of his communities would be able to benefit from CC because it is customizable and easy to use.

 

Challenges

As a business owner and property manager, Michael was looking for a cost-effective tool that would be genuinely useful to him, the board members, and the owners he works with. In particular, Michael needed to find a system that would enhance communications, and allow for document storing and sharing.

Property managers often share the same challenges, including, growth, efficiency and technology.

Communication

Reaching owners was proving to be challenging, especially in larger condo communities. Sending messages through Outlook wasn’t all that effective, and it was a time-consuming method because only a limited number of messages could be sent at one time. Mailing out announcements took even more time, and was the most expensive way to communicate.

Requests From Residents

Service requests are constant in condo corporations. But it can be really difficult to keep owners in the loop and stay on top of every request when managing multiple buildings.

Document Storage

Board members were storing tons of paper documents in boxes. From time to time, they had to dig through those boxes to find an old document. This system did not encourage transparency, and took up extra time that board members don’t have.

Scaling Without Spending

Michael wanted to continue taking on new clients without having to hire too many additional team members. However, he was adamant about maintaining a high level of customer service as well.

 

The Solution

In order to provide their clients with the level of service Michael envisioned, while fostering growth for his own company, Michael decided to find a multifunctional tool that could cater to several different needs. The solution had to be user-friendly, and flexible enough that it could work in each of Michael’s buildings.

After determining that property management software would address the challenges they were dealing with, Alwington Communities selected Condo Control. They felt that CC had the functionalities they were looking for, and the simplicity required to get boards and residents to use the software system. CC has made a drastic difference for Michael’s company and the clients he works for.

Announcements 

Condo Control’s Announcements feature allows Michael and his team to send out as many messages as they need to for one flat cost. Mailing something out to a 100-unit corporation would cost about $1.50 a stamp, plus another 50 cents an envelope, plus whatever printing costs are; so it would cost about three bucks a letter, explained Michael. That’s $300 every time you want to send an announcement to one building. Condo Control costs about $1,200 plus tax, depending on the size of the building, so Michael may save $1,500 per building on just announcements. That doesn’t factor in the other features.

“[This feature] has really helped us be transparent with how much information we’re able to provide. When we send out an email blast, it’s not email bombing through Outlook again and again and again until I send everything out. I can schedule an email announcement to go out at a certain time, so it’s really changed the degree and the frequency of communication that we’re able to have.”

Service Requests /Work Orders

Condo owners can submit service requests at literally any time, and this has made owners very happy. Michael and his team are able to track and update each request, and ensure all issues are addressed in a timely manner.   

File Library

The digital File Library is an excellent space and time-saver. Documents can be saved in a secure, centralized location, and anyone with permission can easily access the files they need. The communities that Michael manages now have the ability to share documents, and board members appreciate that they can use a search function to find exactly what they’re looking for in seconds. 

The Complete Package 

Condo Control has given Alwington Communities a competitive advantage. When talking to prospective clients, Michael only has to tell them about how well his current communities communicate. So many boards and owners don’t have the information they need, and they have no idea about the financial condition of their building, or what’s happening on a day-to-day basis.

“CC now forms part of our pitches for new business. We are able to tell a new board or a prospective board that we use Condo Control and we explain what we can do with this software if they are interested in signing up.”

The software can help property managers with many of their top priorities.

 

Results

Since Alwington Communities began using Condo Control, communications have drastically improved and Michael has more time to focus on growing his business. 

Michael And Alwington Communities

• Drastically improved communications between board members and owners
• Ability to differentiate themselves from other condominium management firms
• Enhanced productivity which leaves the team more time to focus on other things
• Successfully able to grow business without sacrificing quality of service 

Board Members

• Members are more efficient and organized
• Documents can be located in seconds, available at any time
• Corporation can provide more information and be more transparent 

Residents

• Residents have a way to stay connected, informed and engaged
• Management is more keenly aware of problems that arise in induvial units
• Residents are more in sync with what’s going on in their building, creating a better living environment

 

Final Words

“Condo Control is going to keep helping us grow in terms of efficiency. It’s going to help us as boards are always looking to cut costs. The ability to be very communicative without having to spend the money on frequent mailings – that’s definitely going to help us because we can pitch this to new boards.”

“It’s also a great system for residents because they have the option of logging in at their own pace, they don’t have to look at announcements at the exact moment that I send them out; they can log in on their own.”

Want to know how Condo Control can transform the way your community operates? Contact us today, we would love to help.