Sudden $600K repair bill stuns condo owners

Residents of a condominium complex in Kanata's Katimavik neighbourhood are facing a giant repair bill that some say caught them off guard.

In March, the 40 condo owners on Stratas Court near Eagleson Road learned repairs to railings and leaking glass solariums at the 40-year-old complex would cost them a total of $600,000.

Though warned last September that a special assessment was coming, the owners said they only learned the amount three months ago, and now have less than three weeks to pay their share.

"I was in complete shock to be honest with you. There was tears," said retiree Lynn Braun, who bought her condominium just one year ago.

Braun said she'd only lived there nine months when she received the letter from Carleton Condominium Corporation 281 (CCC281) informing her that her share of the special assessment is $13,000, over and above her usual mortgage and condo fees.

Braun said she's now struggling to come up with the money, and was so unsettled by the unexpected charge that she's weighing another move.

"I can't live with the fear that they can do this. That's not retirement living for me," she said.

The five three-storey brick buildings on Stratas Court were built in the 1980s. Thirty of the 40 units feature a glass-panelled sunroom that, according to one real estate listing, welcomes visitors to "a bright and airy interior, highlighted by the solarium that floods the space with natural light, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere year-round."

That natural light has come with a hefty price tag, however.

A study conducted last year into whether the condo corporation had sufficient cash in its reserves recommended that the cause of perennial leaks in those solariums be investigated and corrected once and for all.

Decaying wooden exterior features and safety barriers that are no longer in compliance with building codes also need to be remedied, the report found.

The letter to owners in March from Sentinel Management, the property manager contracted by the condo corporation, called on them to pony up the $600,000 by June 30. The amount each owner owes is based on the size of their unit.

Residents including Jonathan Gibson Davis have been warned that neither deferral nor instalments will be offered as payment options. He's been told that if he doesn't pay his share of about $11,000 by the deadline, the condo corporation will immediately move to place a lien on his property.

In Ontario, that would give the corporation priority over almost every other claim to the unit, including that of the mortgage holder.