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Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about our services, our Tribe Home Community Platform or any other Property Management topics.

Tribe & Property Management FAQs

What is a Property Management company, and how can one help my Community or building?

A Property Management company works with the Strata Council or Board of Directors as an advisor on the daily management of a building or community. 

The Property Manager (or what we refer to as Community Manager) works on behalf of the owners to protect their collective investment (i.e. an entire housing corporation or strata building), made up of a bunch of individually owned units. We have a great visual infographic that explains what a Property Manager does here.

The Property Management company provides services that include financial management, building maintenance through selected third-party vendors, community management and communication. You can learn more about the services we provide to our communities on Property Management Services.

Why is Tribe any different from other Property Management companies?

Our team strives to build positive long-term relationships with Council/Board members and Owners. This means transparency in all our dealings with community, by ensuring easy access to information about their property. We manage your assets and care for your home like it’s our own. 

We take a people-forward + tech-forward approach to Property Management. This means that service, communication and technology work hand-in-hand to provide the best management experience. 

We have an in-house product team dedicated to developing cutting-edge and easy-to-use software that makes it easy for Owners Residents, Board/Council and Managers to communicate with each other and look after client buildings.

Learn more about how Tribe is different from other Property Management companies here.

What processes do you employ during the transition from the incumbent Property Manager to you?

The transition process is very regimented and follows strict checklists and guidelines under the watchful eye of our Transition Coordinator.

Once we receive a signed agency agreement and the Board/Council instructs the outgoing Property Manager to provide us with information we take over and manage the entire process, with weekly updates to the Council/Board coming from the Transition Coordinator.

This process includes communication with Owners, setting up the accounting system and moving over the files of the Strata/Condo Corporation.

What kinds of projects have your Community Managers been involved with?

Our Community Managers have a range of experiences and have been involved in many significant projects. We currently have a complex window replacement project, several pipe replacement projects, roof replacements and numerous envelope replacements underway. Community Managers are always involved in education to ensure they are able to smoothly assist with any project that arises.

Does the designated Manager work with the Board/Council to create an annual schedule of events?

Yes, the Condo Board or Strata Council is provided with a schedule of maintenance and directs the manager about items that need to be added. This schedule is reviewed at each meeting.

How many Strata Council or Board of Directors meetings will the Strata Manager attend, and what are his/her responsibilities?

Meeting numbers are included in the proposal and are dependent on how many the Council or Board feels are appropriate. The Property Manager is responsible for the minutes (to be delivered to Council within 72 hours of the meeting in the case of BC and 10 business days to the Board in the case of Alberta and Ontario) and following up on the directives as identified by the Council or Board.

Are there charges if meetings go over-time?

In some instances, extra charges apply if the meetings go over time. However, only if overtime is regular and once a conversation has occurred to try to address the need for extra time.

Do you schedule a 'learning/understanding' meeting with the Board or Council at the start of your engagement?

Absolutely, we meet with the Board or Council to establish processes and ensure we understand your needs.

An owners’ meeting at the start of the relationship is also important so that the owners know who they are speaking with and understand our working relationship is different from many in the industry.

What is the Strata Property Act? (BC)

In BC, the Strata Property Act (SPA) provides the legal framework under which all  strata corporations and strata owners must operate in the province. Your Community Manager is knowledgeable on the workings of the Act and can advise your Council or Board on it accordingly. You can find more about the BC Strata Property Act here.

What is the Condominium Act, 1998? (Ontario)

The Condominium Act, 1998 is Ontario’s legislative framework, providing information on the formation, purchasing, living in, and governance of condominiums. This act came into effect May 2001. Your Community Manager is knowledgeable on the workings of the Act and can advise your Board on it accordingly. Learn about Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998 here.

What is the Condominium Property Act? (Alberta)

The Condominium Property Act is Alberta’s legislative framework for the creation and operation of any form of condominium, including residential and commercial. This Act applies to anyone who develops, owns or manages condominium property. Your Community Manager is knowledgeable on the workings of the Act and can advise your Board on it accordingly. Read more about Alberta’s Condominium Property Act here.

What financial statements and budgets are prepared? And by whom?

Cheque runs are done weekly with invoice submission deadlines the Thursday the prior week. Each community accountant reviews each invoice before the cheques are processed and each cheque is signed by a managing broker.

My Community has a contract with a Property Management company, but we’re thinking of changing. What should I do?

It is important to determine whether this relationship can still be salvaged or whether it is well and truly time to part ways. Is your community facing challenges due to a lack of communication, follow-through, or perhaps a personal issue with your current Property Manager?

Make a list of your current concerns and ask your current Property Management company for a schedule of improvement. If this doesn’t work, it is a good idea to start looking for options.

Check out our complete checklist on how to change property management companies.

What is a Strata Council or Condo Board?

The Strata Council (as it is referred to in BC) or Condo Board (rest of Canada) is a body elected by the owners in the building or community. It is the Council/Board’s role to manage the Strata/Condo corporation or community and represent the homeowners.

How would you describe your working philosophy with your customers?

Our promise to you is the following:

Our team strives to build positive long-term relationships with Board Members and Owners.
This means transparency in all our dealings with a Community by ensuring frequent communication and easy access to information about your property. We manage your assets and care for your home like they are our own. We call it... Community Management with Heart.

Which Property Manager will be assigned to our Community? What is their experience and workload, and if the property manager is absent for an extended period, what is your backup plan?

We suggest introducing Council/Board to at least two Community Managers to ensure the fit is right for everyone. Once the manager is in place, we communicate and introduce them to owners through a photo and bio to help your community get to know and identify them.

Our manager’s workload is carefully monitored and our Managing Brokers regularly contact Council/Board members to ensure our service delivery is consistent. When we look at portfolio size we look at both the number of buildings and night meetings. Managers with larger buildings typically carry fewer buildings but those buildings will have more council meetings than smaller and less complicated buildings.  Our managers have between 60 and 70-night meetings annually.

As we promote a healthy work-life balance, in the case of absence such as vacations, we ensure your back-up manager will provide assistance as needed. Both your backup manager and Managing Broker have visibility of your Community Manager’s tasks and timelines via our task tracking tool.  Your backup manager is consistent to ensure continuity even if your manager is away.

 

What is the process if the Board or Council requests a change of Community Manager?

We believe that if we make a good initial assignment the likelihood of a requested change is lessened. However, we understand that sometimes relationships don’t work.

A change request will indicate to us that we need to dig into what your community needs and we go to our managers to identify who may be a good fit. The manager will be available to speak with the Council/Board and, once approved, we start the process. Ideally, we make the transition over several weeks to allow the new manager to assume management without disruption to the strata/condo corporation.

What are your key performance indicators that you use with your Communities?

We review the timeliness of the minutes distribution, site visits and maintenance schedules along with periodic checks with the Council/Board President by a Managing Broker to ensure service delivery satisfaction.

When are the month-end financial statements delivered? What financial reports are included in the month-end package? Are the monthly financial statements prepared on a fully accrued basis?

Financial statements are delivered by the 20th of the month following. Yes, our statements are based on accrual accounting. We also include copies of your invoices and bank reconciliations with your statement.

What kind of support is provided to your Community Managers?

Community Managers (CMs) receive support from Community Coordinators (CCs) who help with day-to-day responsibilities. The role of the CC is to help ensure a high quality of admin work and get Meeting Minutes sent out on time. In addition to the assigned CC, we operate as a big team here at Tribe. We have various departments – such as our own Accounting Department, ready to support CMs in ensuring that we provide customers the service they need.

Is the Strata Council or Condo Board provided with copies of paid invoices? How often?

Yes, we provide all of our Strata Councils and Condo Boards with copies of paid invoices in the monthly financial statements.

Can You Provide References?

Absolutely.  We have many references from buildings we have managed for many years along with clients who have recently gone through our transition process. 

We do wait until we have met with the Condo Board or Council and feel the strata/condo corporation would be a good fit.  This is because of the number of requests we get for proposals and wanting to respect our existing clients and not ask for references too often. 

What are the costs of your services?

They depend on many factors, including the complexity of the condo/strata corporation (do you have sections, types or airspace parcels?), the number of council meetings your strata corporation chooses and whether there are complicated projects on the horizon and more.

Once we have that information we put together a proposal.  We prefer to do a site walk-through prior to submitting a proposal so that we get you more accurate estimates.

Tribe Home FAQs

I keep hearing about Tribe Home. What is it?

Tribe Home is a Community Platform that fosters open communication between Tribe Property Management, Councils/Boards, Owners and Residents.

How do I request an invitation?

Invitations are sent out automatically to Owners by your Tribe Community team however you can manually request an invitation by visiting the  “Find my Community” page.

Enter your Community Name and/or City, then click on the ‘Find my community’ button. From the list of communities shown, click on your community and complete the form to submit a request.   

Your residency will be verified by the Community Team before your request to join is approved. They will contact you by e-mail if further information is required.   

If your community cannot be found, please contact your Community Manager for further direction.  

Can I see my account balance online with Tribe Home?

Yes! Once you have registered on Tribe Home you can opt in to view your balance and make payments via credit card. 

 Please note that if your Community has recently joined Tribe, the feature will appear after 60 days. 

Can I make an online payment on Tribe Home?

Yes! You can now make payments online through your Tribe Home Community Platform. 

 This option allows Owners to make payments through the Community Platform using their credit card – it is convenient, easy-to-use, and secure. Please note that we continue to accept payments by Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) and cheque. Now you have a third option! 

This feature has been built exclusively for our Tribe customers. We’re excited to be one of North America’s first Property Management companies to offer this new feature. 

To learn more about online payments, make sure to continue reading through these FAQs.

I’m used to using email to communicate with my Management company…how is Tribe Home better?

For starters, have you ever tried to find something in your email inbox well after the fact? It can be a guessing game!

Our online platform contains an organized and complete record of any notices sent by your manager or community members, it keeps a record of any correspondence between you and your manager or community members, and it houses tidy folders of community documents such as AGM notices, bylaws, forms and much more. Everything is literally at your fingertips in one organized spot.

I need support. Where do I go?

For unit or building related inquiries, please contact your Community Manager via Tribe Home Help Desk. 

 For questions about the Tribe Home software, our support site provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions. If you can’t find the answer you need or require further assistance, please contact Tribe Home Customer Support ([email protected]) or submit a request via Help Desk.   

I can’t remember my how to login – how do I get access to Tribe Home?

Click the ‘Tribe Login’ button in the top right corner. This will take you to your sign-in page where you’ll be able to access your community. Tip: Don’t forget to save this page in your bookmarks.

I received an invitation but I’ve lost it/can’t find it. What do I do?

If you can’t find your invitation, visit the Resend Invite page and enter your e-mail.  

If you need further assistance, please reach out to Tribe Home Support at [email protected] 

I can’t remember my password – how do I reset it?

Never fear. We’ve had to use that password reset button a few times ourselves!   

To reset your password, visit our “forgot password” page and enter your e-mail. Check your email for a link to change your password and sign in from there. 

If you need further assistance, please reach out to Tribe Home Support at [email protected] 

What will I find on my Tribe Home Community Platform?

Tons! But just to keep it short, here are a few of the most useful features and things you’ll find in our app:  

  • A place for all building communication 
  • Access to view your current balance 24/7 and make payments using your credit card – it is convenient, easy-to-use, and secure 
  • Personal messaging system to reach your Community Manager or Resident Manager 
  • Past meeting minutes 
  • Important community + building notices 
  • Building calendar 
  • Building amenities + booking system  
  • My Home – a place to store important home documents and digital manuals 
  • Help Desk – Building FAQs with the ability to submit requests 
  • EVERYTHING saved in ONE place! 

How do Tribe communities use Tribe Home?

At Tribe, we use our Tribe Home platform to manage our Communities, share building notices, meeting minutes, special project updates and more. The platform is also where Owners and Residents can interact with each other, submit requests for help, report issues about their Community and find answers to commonly asked questions. 

Our Communities love the many features on the Tribe Home Community Platform, including these favourites:  
 

My Balance* 

Access and view your current balance and check if you have any outstanding strata or condo fees for the year. This feature displays charges to your strata lot/condominium lot and payments received. An exclusive feature for Tribe’s clients.  

  *Currently available in BC only. Stay tuned for updates on a release to AB & ON! 

 Community Documents 

The top  Tribe Home feature used in our buildings is the Community Documents section. No more piles of paper or exorbitant printing costs. No more hunting around your home to find those minutes from three months ago. It’s all here, carefully uploaded by your Tribe team.   

The Loop 

The third most-used feature is The Loop (what we call the noticeboard or homepage of the platform). This is where your Community Manager posts any community notices – from holiday office hours to special project updates, to AGM notices or alerts that the parking garage door is down (but someone’s onto it!).  

Amenity Booking 

With the Tribe Home Platform, you can view and reserve amenities in your building 24/7. From elevators to gyms, reserve your spot in minutes no matter the time of day!   

 Help Desk 

Our Residents can easily submit requests for help, report issues about their  Community and find frequently asked questions and answers. This vital feature makes all requests easy to track and makes sure nothing gets lost.  

Is Tribe Home easy to use?

The Tribe Home Community Platform is easy to use and intuitive for Owners, Residents and Community Administrators. 

Our team is trained to support you at every step of the way, and we have an amazing Customer Support team ready to help if needed. 

Online Payments FAQs

What is Online Payments in Tribe Home?

With My Balance you will now be able to see your current balance, including any outstanding fees for the year, and make payments online through Tribe Home. 

The payment feature in My Balance allows Owners to make payments through Tribe Home using their credit card. 

This feature is exclusively for owners of units under Tribe-management that gives them another convenient way make payments. We also accept payments by Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) and cheque.  

You may also make an online payment via your bank. Send a request to [email protected]  to get your account number and then set up the payee account with your bank. 

What type of credit cards are accepted?

Currently, we accept only Visa and Master Card.

Can I pay for a specific item in my balance (such as an upcoming fee or special levy)?

Yes. If you want a payment made using our My Balance to apply to a specific fee, levy or fine, you can add a note during checkout that indicates how you’d like the funds allocated. You can also opt to have these funds applied to outstanding items, like paying part of your balance on your credit card.

Is my data secure?

We use Bambora, a third-party company to capture and encrypt card information and process payments via their payment gateway. Bambora is PCI-Level 1 Certified to minimize risk to its clients and their customers. 

As a result, all your personal payment information, including card numbers, is processed, transmitted, and stored in a secure manner. 

More importantly, neither Tribe Property Technologies nor Tribe Management sees or retains any of your credit card information.

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about your Personal Information, or about the Tribe Management Privacy Policy, send a note to our privacy officer at [email protected]

Can I use debit or interact?

Unfortunately, at the moment, My Balance will only accept VISA and MasterCard.

Of course, you can always use cheques or Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) to make payments.

You may also make an online payment via your bank. Send a request to [email protected] to get your account number and then set up the payee account with your bank.

I need to cancel a payment, What do I do?

If you need to cancel a recent payment, submit a Help Desk request in Tribe Home or call us at any of our offices as soon as possible.

Please note that the online processing fee is non-refundable.

Is this feature available to tenants in Tribe-managed condo buildings?

Unfortunately, at this time tenants will not be able to see My Balance in Tribe Home, and so cannot use this feature to make payments.

 

Will I get a receipt?

Yes, after making a payment, you will receive a copy of your receipt to your registered email in Tribe Home from [email protected]

If this is your first time using the payment feature, please check your Spam and Junk Folder. 

If you don’t receive an email within one hour, please contact our Support Team by creating a Help Desk request in Tribe Home. 

Is there a fee for making an online payment?

Yes, there is a 2.99% per credit card transaction, to cover the gateway processing costs. A minimum online platform fee charge of $1.00 will apply to all payments.

Please note that your payment and online platform fee payment will appear together on your email receipt but may appear separately on your credit card statement.

Tribe Management Inc. does not receive any portion of this online platform fee.

Can I set up a recurring payment?

The feature doesn’t support recurring payments, each payment will be a one-time transaction right now. 

If you wish to set up recurring payments, you can continue to use cheques or sign up for Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) by logging into Tribe Home, clicking on Help Desk and selecting I want to set up Pre Authorized Payments.

Follow the on screen instructions and our Accounts Receivable Team will process your information.

Are there any transaction limits? (minimums and maximums?)

Yes.

  • Minimum per transaction: $1
  • Maximum per transaction: $20,000
  • Minimum fee per transaction: $1

There are no limits on the number of transactions per day.

I made a payment, but It is not showing up on My Balance, What do I do?

Transactions may take up to three business days to show up under the My Balance section on Tribe Home.

If you do not see your payment reflected on your account after this time, please submit a Help Desk request in Tribe Home or call any of our offices

 

Can I make a payment through the Tribe Home iOS or Android app?

Yes, the same functionality is available on our mobile apps once you have opted in. 

I haven't signed up for Tribe Home, can I still make a payment using my credit card?

My Balance is only available on the Tribe Home Community Platform. 

Please complete the registration process or request another invite.  

Alternatively, you can continue to pay by cheque, via online banking, or PAD.

Why does it take up to 3 business days to process a credit card payment, shouldn’t it be instant?

Your credit card is processed immediately. However, the funds must be cleared and applied to your account balance. Our in-house accounting team processes all incoming credit card payments, and it may take up to three business days to apply and show the received payment on your balance.

To ensure your payment is received on time, make your payment at least three business days before the due date of any outstanding items.

Still have questions? Let us help you.

If you still don’t find what you’re looking for, please fill out the form below or call us at 604-343-2601.

What Our Communities Are Saying

Tribe Management Review Andrew


Andrew Do

"Grateful to have Tribe's systems implemented, Michelle is a great Property Manager and it's refreshing to have her high level..."

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Tribe Management Reviews - Wayne K


Wayne Kim

 

"This is ABSOLUTELY the best strata management company in town. Their teams always conduct themselves professionally and in the best interest of their clients..."

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Tribe Management Review Harry


Harry Xu

"David Locke response fast, professional, and kind. Very lucky to have him and Tribe management helping our building!..."

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How Can We Help You?

Looking for more information about our Property Management servicesHave questions about your existing property with Tribe? We want to hear from you! 

Let us use our expertise to enhance your community living experience.