Coquihalla backwoods cabin
Once upon a time, there was a very large housing complex (650 units) that the owner wanted to sell. She thought that it would be easier if she divided the property into 4 strata titles, that way, if need be, she could sell to four owners, or just one. As it turned out, a group of investors purchased the whole project and it remained under the management of four strata management entities. It was a bit cumbersome, but the cost of amalgamation was high and as long as everyone co-operated things ran smoothly.
One day, several very greedy people decided they would hi-jack one of the strata entities and guarantee the owners of that particular strata low overhead and bigger rent cheques. How they did it was to lower the standards of who they would rent to, to guarantee full occupancy, and when problems would arise, they would not address them, but continue to simply 'milk the cow'.
Conditions deteriorated even more when they began to rent to a certain African ethnic group of young men who were the drug dealers in town. Soon there were drug deals in the parking lots, the hallways and the lobbies. There were shootings, stabbings, and fights. The others in the complex began to move out. Revenues fell and soon everyone who was an owner in the development became very concerned. The owners in the other three quarters of the development had their hands tied because any changes required all four stratas to agree.
Over the last few years, there have been steps taken to rectify this situation, mainly to amalgamate all four stratas. With many lawyers involved and much money spent, it is beginning to look hopeful again. Over the next few days the results will become known. Why do I care? My hopes and dreams for retirement depend in large part to the outcome of this battle.
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