Are You Ready for Community Culture?

Buying a condo because it’s cheaper than a detached home is a bit like buying a motorcycle because you can’t afford a car. Yes, they’re both vehicles, but one is fast, manoeuvrable and completely impractical for a big chunk of the year. The other can tote your whole family and their stuff, but if you want to feel the heady freedom of wind in your hair and the open road, you have to stick your head out the window like a golden retriever and run away when the kids are at school.

Both have their pluses and their minuses, but one is not a substitute for the other, regardless of which one you prefer.

There are some major upsides to condo living, and affordability is certainly a factor. A condo in your neighbourhood of choice might be an option when a single-family home isn’t. Also, especially these days, amenities are a big plus. Your suite might be 540 sq. ft., but you have on-site, instant access to a party room, theatre, fully equipped gym, pet spa, concierge etc. all without the hassle of putting on a jacket. Someone else mows the lawn and shovels the snow. Maybe you have a pool or a rooftop patio with a killer lake view. You can go on vacation without worrying about leaving the place unattended. You never have to replace the roof or repave the driveway.

Of course, most of the upsides to condo living is a result of your sharing your home with a few hundred, or thousand, other residents. For some people, this is great news. You can have a chat in the elevator on the way up to your unit, make a friend on the patio, or at the very least, exchange pleasantries with the concierge. For many single people, a single-family home is not only out of reach financially, but not terribly desirable.

For others, it’s a lack of privacy and individuality that can be hard to take. You may be restricted as to what colour blinds you can hang in your unit, or what size dog (if any) you can own. That may be a relief of sorts — some people genuinely love sticking to rules. But it’s not for everyone.

You may find that the residents who sit on your condo board have an agenda to flog. One recent National Post “Condo Culture” complaint related to a condo board that was trying to get residents to stop gathering socially in the lobby. The letter-writer said most of the residents were seniors, and a couple of the lobby-gatherers were in wheelchairs; he suspected it was the unsightliness of these wheelchairs that motivated the board to try to change the rules. Seems heartless, doesn’t it? Some people serve on the board just so they can create the kind of perfectly ordered world they crave.

If you’ve ever served on a volunteer board for any sort of organization, you know a couple of things: volunteers generally work their butts off for very little reward or thanks, and they usually have one overriding imperative: to leave their mark. Everything could be running along smoothly for years, and a new board will come in and try to change things just to change them. Running afoul of the board can create some bad blood, and having an antagonistic relationship with people you can’t avoid is certainly a recipe for stress.

Condos don’t just have rules; they also have declarations, and bylaws, each with its own legal commitments and considerations. A building that is largely owner-occupied will likely have a more active board than one that is held largely by investors. Investors may have a financial stake in what goes on, but are likely to lack a stake in the culture. If you decide to object to a new rule — which the Condominium Act says must be merely “reasonable” — you may have trouble drumming up support in an investor-heavy building.

This is not to discourage anyone; community living can be really great. Heck, in any suburban community there are as many agitators. Ask around a subdivision and you’ll quickly unearth many tales of neighbourly squabbles from ratting out parking violators to complaining about noise and pets to disputes over property lines. People are people, wherever you find them.

Urban condos have enormous advantages, like the short commutes that come from being able to live near work. I’ve said it before, but it can’t be said often enough: there is nothing you can do that has a greater effect on your quality of life than cutting down your commute. It’s a killer, both literally and figuratively.

Condominium living is relatively new. The first high-rise condominium in Ontario, built by Minto, was registered in what is now Ottawa in 1967, a blink of an eye in the fullness of time. Now, more than a fifth of all owner households in the GTA are condos, and more than 1.3 million people in Ontario live in condos. Last year, half of our new construction was condo-related. We may still be getting the hang of it, but there are many of us eager to try.

Condo living is here to stay. If you’re thinking of trying out a community culture for yourself, just remember that every building and every builder has a personality of its own. Make sure the condo you choose suits you, and the way you want to live. In my experience, those who end up loving their condo lifestyles are the ones who live actively — use the amenities, volunteer for a committee, serve on the board, get to know the neighbours.

The best things about “community culture” are right there in the name.