B.C. facing a shortage of strata property managers, industry reps say
British Columbia is facing a shortage of strata property managers, according to those who work in the sector.
In the next few years an exodus of nearly 50 per cent of property managers is expected due to retirement.
“We’ve got an aging demographic of property managers that are now starting to retire in the industry and this has caused a very urgent situation where property management is short of not only experienced strata managers, but strata managers, period,” said Chris Churchill, the president at FirstService Residential, a property management company.
According to the BC Financial Services Authority, there are currently 1,454 licensed strata property managers in the province, but Churchill, said less than half of them are actively managing portfolios.
“What we’re seeing is that the number of stratas is going up and the number of property managers is staying approximately the same,” added Jason Kurtz, a vice president and managing broker at Stratawest Management.
Churchill said the problem has been ongoing for the past eight to 10 years. To resolve it, he believes the industry needs support with funding, recruitment and training.
“If people aren’t well trained and not able to spend the time that is required to make sure that buildings are properly kept up, things will fall apart, hopefully not to a dangerous degree,” Kurtz said.
Having worked as a property manager for about two decades, Kurtz said it’s a career path many people don’t think about, but with starting salaries bet ween $60- and $70,000, he hopes getting the word out will help entice people to join.
“We’d love more people to consider this as a career,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.