Would you prefer if your building had a 24/7 concierge?
Probably. But when it comes down to paying for it, you might reconsider.
Over the long weekend, I experienced first-hand both why a building should have a concierge, and then why a building shouldn’t…
Did everybody have a good long weekend?
Well, it wasn’t really a long-weekend, but how many among us decided to take Friday off work, thus creating a magnificent four-day weekend?
Canada Day is one of my favorite days of the year.
I like to make my Canada Day special every single year, always trying to keep up with years prior.
Here’s me getting a maple leaf tattooed on my back on Canada Day in 2002:
Yes, your Realtor has a tattoo, and as this photo clearly shows, he also used to wear a thick silver chain during his misspent youth!
Here’s me during a concert on Canada Day in 2003; wearing the Canadian flag as a cape:
I’m a little more reserved these days, so on Canada Day, 2010, I invited all my friends over to my patio for a barbecue.
This year’s feature: smoked baby-back ribs!
But first, we just had to squeeze in 18 holes of golf…
On the third tee, it occurred to me that I neglected to take those five glorious racks of ribs out of the freezer!
They would need at least four hours to defrost, or else we’d likely be ordering pizza for Canada Day.
I know, I know – I said I’d talk about the importance of having a concierge in your building. Stay with me!
I called my next-door neighbour, Jess, and asked her if she’d mind doing me a “solid.”
I told her that I was busy golfing and I needed her to take my ribs out of the freezer.
But first, she’d have to ask concierge to open my condo for me.
So I then called the concierge and said, “Hello sir, it’s David Fleming from unit two-two-three. Would you be able to use your master key and allow access to my neighbour, Jessica? I’ve left some important documents in there that she needs to retrieve, asap.”
Okay, so I stopped short of telling him, “Hey, can you please open my condo so my neighbour can take ribs out of my freezer?” Yeah, I would have felt silly doing that.
But as quickly as you could say, “Galen, don’t miss that short birdie putt,” my rib problem was solved, even as I remained 45 KM north of the city.
The concierge locked my condo back up, and returned downstairs to his post to maintain order.
Isn’t life grand?
Five hours later, I returned to my condo and slow-roasted five racks of ribs in my oven as they were submerged in apple juice, and then put them on the BBQ at 250 degrees for thirty minutes.
Bon appetit!
The very next day, I was showing condos in and around the St. Lawrence Market area to a young couple who is relocating from Saskatoon.
They’re concerned with the “bang for your buck” as nothing will quite compare to the prices in Saskatoon, and of course they’re concerned with the carrying costs.
One building we enjoyed very much was 330 Adelaide Street East.
I wrote about this building a few months back and suggested that while it’s certainly a value proposition, they could stand to spend some money from the reserve fund and clean the dirty brick on the exterior of the building!
The unit we saw for $319,900 had parking, locker, and a great 200 square foot terrace.
The price was exceptional, and nothing else compared.
But the icing on the cake was the fact that the maintenance fees are roughly $300 per month for 600 square feet.
330 Adelaide Street has always been known for having incredibly low maintenance fees and one of the main reasons is because there is no concierge or security guard in the building.
A lot of people take for granted how much a concierge costs the condominium corporation.
Having a 24/7 concierge basically means having three concierges on rotating eight-hour shifts.
How much do you figure the average concierge makes?
I guess it varies between buildings, security companies, and of course how many years that person has under his or her belt, but let’s assume that 24/7 security costs roughly $10,000 per month (these figures are accurate based on my experiences on Boards).
Bigger buildings may cost more, but your “average” 150-unit building will likely cost $120,000 per year.
So then is it possible that having a concierge versus not having one can save you $65 per month in your maintenance fees?
It’s very possible.
When it’s proposed to you in this manner, how do you feel about paying $65 per month for your concierge? Do you feel that you get $65 worth of service out of him or her?
I think the votes would likely be split 50/50 on this one.
Paying $300 per month in my maintenance fees instead of the $353.44 that I pay sure would be nice.
But then who would have saved my “2010 Canada Day Rib-Fest” from utter disaster?
Dees Nuts
at 9:30 am
I think this service is a joke in most cases and would like to have reduced carrying costs without the dude in the security jersey.
Who leaves Ribs in the freezer before a rib fest??? Get it together.
LC
at 10:54 am
How many condos actually have real concierge service? The folks manning the majority of front desks are actually security guards being paid around $10/hr. It’s a high turnover industry with no real performance incentive, other than to bring it in-house. If you have a good guard who knows all the residents, follows the rules, and gives treats to the resident pooches, consider it $65 well spent. But if not, it can be an extremely frustrating experience for both residents and board members to find a decent firm out there.
But if your building has no “concierge”, it’s not such a bad thing. One just learns to be more careful or have back-up plans – such as giving a trusted neighbour or a nearby friend/relative a key.
earth mother
at 12:07 pm
Love those photos!! As for the concierge, it’s a good question! My 85-year-old mom has no concierge in her condo, just the superintendent who does maintenance. She manages fine without a concierge, the building is safe & well-maintained (no amenities except a party room & an unused exercise room) …..and her condo fees are only $300 a month! I think she’s happy not to pay extra for a concierge!!
Smith
at 1:36 pm
Well, our building has a concierge (as billed in some listings). We definitely get our money’s worth. Every time we leave we leave the key with them for friends/family to feed cats (this alone makes life so much easier in terms of arranging schedules!!); regular maid cleaning (they open the door for her and give key); signing for packages and helping with contractor parking; remembering my mom and best friend and letting them in; seeing me walk up with heavy grocery bags and opening the door — those guys are the BEST!
It’s a 20 year old building, maybe that’s why… but worth every penny of the increased costs, IMHO!
Geoff
at 1:59 pm
I lived in a condo with a concierge for 8 years and without for 5 years. Pros for the concierge was that someone would sign for a package. Other than that, I didn’t notice much difference between one with and one without and much preferred to keep my money in my pocket and just have packages sent to my office. Done and done!
dogbiskit
at 5:48 pm
Agreed with Geoff. I’ve lived with and without and I prefer without.
Gerrit
at 11:07 am
My building doesn’t have a concierge, but we certainly miss it sometimes. We live a few blocks away from a friend who lives at City Place, and we’ve actually used their Concierge to hold keys for our family members (saying the envelope is for the person who lives there. That being said, I’m not sure it’s worth 65 a month, I find better value in HBO and a PVR…
Mila
at 4:21 pm
Although, it could be argued if concierge really adds any value… I would prefer to have a concierge for these reasons:
1. Signing for you packages deliveries – that’s a big one.
2. Cases where I forgot my keys and need somebody to let me into the unit (or ribs in freezer)
3. Simply convenience – maybe that’s the only reason and includes the first 2.
Come on – what’s a $65 dollars a month? I spend more on dinner sometimes. Seriously, if I can afford a condo life, I will not cheapen out on $65 dollars a month for such conveniences.
Matt
at 2:40 pm
Axe the 24-Hr Concierge; save 65$
Axe the pool, and pathetic gyms too; save another 65$
Axe the theatre room, lol, those are a joke.
More condos need a 200$ maintenance fee.