The Hidden Cost of Low Condo Fees
(What Condo Boards in Sarnia Need to Know)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Condominium Governance in Sarnia, Ontario
At Sapphire Condominium Management, we’ve successfully managed every type of condominium—from small self-managed buildings to large, complex developments—across Sarnia and Southwestern Ontario. Our team consistently delivers results that matter: our current client portfolio rates us 4.9 out of 5 for support, response time, and service quality.
This topic comes up often in our day-to-day work with boards, and while not every building works with us yet, we believe every condo community deserves the right guidance. That’s why we’re sharing the same insights we give our clients—so your board can avoid costly mistakes and build long-term success.
Keeping condo fees low might seem like a crowd-pleaser, but in our experience managing properties across Sarnia and Southwestern Ontario, it often leads to much bigger headaches.
The Mistake: Forcing Condo Fees Too Low
Many boards feel pressured to keep fees low year after year to avoid conflict. But this often starves the reserve fund, delays essential repairs, and sets the stage for emergency special assessments.
It’s the small items that you do not even notice, but slowly add up. These repairs eat away at the value of you and your neighbours property value.
Why It Matters
Small issues compound without proper funding.
Special assessments frustrate owners more than predictable annual increases.
A weak reserve fund can lower resale value.
The Smarter Strategy
Base increases on actual projected costs.
Educate owners: well-funded condos protect property values.
Work with a professional manager to review your budget annually.
Real Example: This is a condominium that we’ve worked with for many years. Before working with us, they had a history of underfunded operating accounts and, therefore, underfunded reserve funds. Each time there was a large reserve expense, they had to take out a loan, request a special assessment, or postpone the expense for a few years in the future.
Sound familiar?
What we did to solve the annual dread was we did a single year increase of 16% on common charges. Do not be alarmed, we helped them through every step and even worked with them to set up an owners meeting to ensure everyone understood the decision.
After that first year, we maintained a 3% increase year over year. That’s continued over the last 10 years. Simple predictable increases for the entire ownership and more than enough in increases to make sure the reserve and operating funds are healthy.
If you’d like to learn more about better condominium governance, check out the links below: