Shadowing Practice: STRATA MANAGEMENT WITH ASSOCIA BRITISH COLUMBIA - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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So today we're going to discuss three main topics around strata management.
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Long overdue my opinion.
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I think so too.
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So we're going to try to frame the conversation around what is property management exactly.
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And then we're going to talk about why we cannot be complacent in this industry
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and how we need to keep reinvesting into our industry.
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And then finally I was thinking maybe we can also discuss what the future of property management is.
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Hello, everyone.
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My name is László Antál from Associá, BC.
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I've been with Associá for about 17 years now.
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Over the years, I wore quite a few hats with the company.
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And previously, we did a few master class series on various strata topics.
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It was roughly 10 episodes, and today it is my pleasure to have one of our directors of operations with me, Sean Farr from our Victoria branch.
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Sean, thank you so much for joining me today.
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Would you be so kind and just introduce yourself briefly and tell us more about your role and what you do?
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Absolutely, Laszlo.
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I'm still taking it back.
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You've got 17 years with Xochia.
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That's impressive.
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uh myself i've got less than 10
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but i'm hoping to get to your your level i currently
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i work in the victoria office i am the director of operations essentially the branch manager
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so i oversee a high functioning team that work in accounting administration maintenance
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and operations so yeah i'm really really pleased to be here i'm looking forward to this conversation
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so um so sean what do you think uh our viewers will get out of this master class and
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and why they should watch every single episode here I think
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we just want to peel back the curtain educate the public on what strata management is
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and what it is what it is to be done well
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that's kind of my my impression what's yours well I think
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there is the missing piece these days volunteer homeowners will step
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up to the plate at the AGM to serve on council and often they really don't know what to expect.
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And there is no licensing requirement for council members, they don't need to complete a course, they don't really need to read any books.
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And fair enough, that's that's our role as agents.
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And as as we're going to talk about the licensing requirements to you know,
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for for agents, maybe it's it's worth mentioning that council members are not alone.
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And management companies are there to help them, to guide, to assist, to become that trusted advisors, right?
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I agree.
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Yeah, it's definitely a component that could be missing with our property management company, but with our company, we make that point of making sure
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that new councils are educated so they can actually manage their complexes effectively.
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So yeah, I'm proud of that fact.
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So when you look at this Masterclass series as a whole, we really try to break it down into various components.
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I think the final three episodes that we're going to do here now is going to be the crammed piece,
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just kind of summing it up.
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You've done 10 of these so far?
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We've done 10 of these so far, yes.
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So this is considered the box set bonus?
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Exactly.
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So you will be the icing on the cake, Sean, and And sharing your expertise, you know, will I think bring this home.
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Also, if you haven't seen the previous episodes, I would encourage you to visit the Haven website.
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And these episodes will also be uploaded to the Associabc website.
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So there will be plenty of educational resources available to you.
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And again, we hope you enjoy it.
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So today we're going to discuss three main topics around strata management.
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We are going to try to frame the conversation around what is property management exactly.
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And then we're going to talk about why we cannot be complacent in this industry
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and how we need to keep reinvesting into our industry.
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And then finally, I was thinking maybe we can also discuss what the future of property management is.
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And so, you being from operations and you being in the front line every day,
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Sean, if you could just maybe share your ideas around those three main topics, and I think we're going to have a little bit of fun with this.
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Absolutely.
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And my selfish goal is to attract top talent into this industry.
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We need more top performing strata managers.
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yeah i think
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so too i think that's where everything starts you know you need to build a company with your staff
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and and you know with uh with associate too
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if you look at our four um pillars that
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that is our foundation we start with our staff um employee morale yeah
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because everything comes from death right yes uh
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when you treat your staff well
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when you create a work culture where people feel accomplished whether
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they can see the light at the end of the end of the tunnel,
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they experience daily success, providing that amazing customer service to their clients,
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then ultimately that will lead into client retention, where the clients, they feel valued,
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they feel that the services they're expecting is being delivered to them.
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I couldn't agree more, sorry to interrupt you, Laszlo, but yeah, demonstrating care, that's how i describe it strata managers
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that demonstrate care for their clients uh as i said i'm just
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so excited to talk about our industry
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which is um i think a very dynamic industry it's uh it's got
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so many moving parts and and sometimes uh our clients they don't even
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see what's happening behind the screen so i i think uh through these episodes uh through these masterclass series,
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we can really just kind of shed light on what is it
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that we do so that our clients can also get on the same page with us and create this amazing synergy.
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Yeah.
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And on the recruiting front, I think a good strata manager will never be out of work.
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They'll have job security for a lifetime.
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Yeah.
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I think our industry is definitely recession -proof, I would say.
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Yes.
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So Sean, can we even define the strata management industry in exact terms?
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Personally, I don't think so.
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While we can give it parameters, our work is multifaceted and perceived by the public as ambiguous in some regard.
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I also think that this ambiguity puts a lot of pressure on the people working in this field.
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So why don't we start there?
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Thanks, Laszlo.
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It's great to be here and thank you for the welcome.
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You know, that is a great question.
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What is the strata management industry?
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And, you know, surprisingly, I was really quite surprised to have that question posed to me at a family gathering.
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Like, what are you doing, Sean?
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What is the strata management industry?
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People don't know what this industry is, and this is a really good opportunity for us to talk about it.
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The strata management industry is, as you know, a relatively young industry.
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As you know, there's only been a requirement for official training and licensing for managers since 2008.
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Before that point, it wasn't the Wild West, but nowadays we have much stricter criteria.
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For example, now you have to be of upstanding character to even be considered for licensing.
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So it's a really professional field.
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In a nutshell, it's a specialized sector of property management where the manager oversees strata properties.
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Strata properties are complexes where shared ownership of individual units exists.
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A strata property can be as simple as a duplex, up to a high rise with over 100 units.
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The responsibility of maintenance and upkeep falls onto the owners, whereas they form a strata council,
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and these council members work with the strata property manager to make sure the property is maintained
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and in compliance with strata laws and regulations.
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Sounds pretty dry so far, I know.
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The manager also plays a critical role in maintaining the finances, coordinating repairs, resolving disputes that can occur in strata communities, unfortunately.
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It's an industry that carries a lot of responsibility and it's overseen by the BCFSA or the British Columbia Financial Services Association.
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So, in other words, the strata property management industry is responsible for overseeing the management of strata properties.
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When done well, properties are well maintained and the owner's investment is protected and becomes attractive for potential buyers.
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And if not done well, the property can deteriorate, become a liability and become impossible to sell.
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For example, consider a managed condo building that has its roof inspected every year.
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Debris is removed and any repairs are attended to.
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This roof won't hold any surprises, and unexpected expenses won't hobble that strata finances.
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Or, let's even be more dramatic, what happens if the insurance wasn't renewed on time and there was a fire?
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That could bankrupt people.
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But let's end on a positive note.
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This industry is centered around helping people and making lives better for the communities we serve in.
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It's an industry where we are proud to be part of and it's only getting stronger.
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I could not agree more.
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In this day and age, no company can be complacent
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and what worked for us yesterday may no longer be appropriate today
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so do how do we navigate these challenging times in the age of technology
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and fast information exchange without adding more stress to staff service providers
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and clients thanks Laszlo that that is another great question
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and you know it's one of those examples where
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if you're not keeping up you get left behind so a great example of this is offices converting to paperless.
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There was a time when this was revolutionary and your office was considered ahead of the curve.
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Nowadays, if your office isn't paperless, you would be considered a dinosaur and you're not keeping up.
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When did this transition happen and can you be left behind if your company doesn't keep up?
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Definitely.
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It's a matter of being current and relevant while continually offering the best possible product.
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This means equipping your team with resources that make sense to them.
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Just yesterday, I was investigating a new maintenance scheduling app.
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Really exciting.
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It was called BuildingLink.
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This would send email reminders automatically to the vendors, the councils, and Strata property managers for annual maintenance items.
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This will improve consistency and reliability.
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It'll have transparency for the councils.
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They can log into the app and see maintenance is already scheduled.
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And the pressure drops off the property manager.
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For now they know everything maintenance wise has been attended to.
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Really exciting stuff.
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The alternative is an excel spreadsheet and continually checking that spreadsheet to make sure you're up to date.
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So that's the dinosaur version.
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We must investigate and be open to innovation at all times.
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On an organizational level, your company works as a highly effective team from your property manager, admin team, and accounting.
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The teams work together daily and are responsible for the results.
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It's rewarding to see teams pull together and deliver those five -star customer service, our goal.
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But again, innovation, it's not just technology.
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It's training and education for your staff so they understand every client, every day, every time.
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In essence, every interaction matters.
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My take on a professional management company is a company that honors our service standards.
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Property management is not hard.
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When you drill it down, it's just customer service through and through.
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Responding to your client's needs, but in a proactive manner.
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Removing the obstacles before they become obstacles, your client has to have the faith that you are capable of managing them.
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In Vittoria, every associate client is given a written copy of our service standards pertaining to the associate support team
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and separately for the property manager.
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What can I expect from my property manager?
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And keeping our word to those service standards is what allows us to build a solid business reputation.
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For example, if we promise phone calls will be responded to within 24 hours, then we will respond within 24 hours.
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Those promises are what we call our five -star customer service.
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And I do everything in my power to organize the support staff to allow them to achieve this.
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That's excellent, Sean.
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I think we can never be complacent with customer service and reinvesting into our people, into our company, through technology,
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proper systems and tools, providing structure and organization to our councils as well, is super important.
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I couldn't agree more.
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All right.
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So finally, let's talk about what the future holds for community management.
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While we can most certainly say we are living in challenging times, with housing shortages and insane housing costs in Victoria,
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the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley, and the Okanagan.
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Perhaps also for those reasons, community management is becoming even more important now than ever before.
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So how do we create a win -win between multifamily communities and property management companies?
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Single -family homes are sadly becoming out of reach for most new homeowners.
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Instead, people can afford to purchase a strata property, a condo, a townhouse, but the single -family unit home is out of reach for most.
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Now, owners need education on what it means to be a strata lot owner
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and how can they volunteer for the betterment of their community.
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Usually, this means volunteering their time on the Strata Council.
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This in itself can be intimidating though.
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Can you imagine now you're not just responsible for your own home, but you're also responsible for everyone else's common property.
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Community management should be there to educate the council on their new role and responsibilities.
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Are minutes necessary?
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Absolutely.
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And they're required to be taken.
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That's just one example.
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So, many regulations and rules, but we are there to help.
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We need to better prepare strata managers for their role.
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I would say new licensees are book smart when they graduate from the UBC School of Ladder of Business.
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It's an intimidating role to take on for new strata managers.
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I remember a great quote.
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The first year managing your new strata property manager ponders and second guesses every decision he makes or she makes.
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The second year they think, I got this now.
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Everything is under control.
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I know what I'm doing.
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In the third year, they have to go back and rethink about all the mistakes they made in the second year.
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That is the value of a well -educated and experienced property manager.
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Being a strata manager, you have to be self -motivated, responsive, and genuinely care about your clients.
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You can't fake it in this industry.
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I think that is why there is turnover the fakers are exposed and they move on.
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You need to have a company that attracts a top -performing strata managers.
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We recently took on a strata manager in Victoria.
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He was, let's say, overworked and underappreciated with his previous company.
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We have given him the tools to succeed with a manageable workload, and he is thriving at work, and more importantly, at home.
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Your company must have a culture that values family
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and employee morale the ultimate goal is to make everyone on
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the team feel like they are part of a high functioning team they feel appreciated
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and their work provides reward for them to set up property
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managers for success you must give them a manageable workload i said it before
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that is critically important the tools to make their job easier
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and be open
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and encourage best practices this is the most important component in
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my mind the property manager must feel rewarded for customer service they are essentially people pleasers day in day out
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and through and through they love to work with a high functioning team thank you again sean uh
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that was great sharing all your thoughts with us um i also think that But for management companies looking into the future,
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it will be so important to keep reinvesting, working on fostering a nice,
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friendly work culture where the staff feels appreciated and welcomed.
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I think Strata managers, they should definitely look at their profession as a long -term career goal.
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Keep reinvesting into clients as well through customer service for management
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companies to compete against each other on value -added services rather than low management fees.
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I think that's also a key for all clients.
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I think what they're looking for, especially nowadays, is value.
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What am I getting for my monthly management fees and for our monthly Strata fees, which is all -encompassing of your Strata community?
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So I think we are going to end there and thank you again, Sean, for your insights and thank you everyone for watching.
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A special thank you to the Haven team for their contribution to our industry and for including us in their masterclass series.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “STRATA MANAGEMENT WITH ASSOCIA BRITISH COLUMBIA”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: strata, management, property, manager, industry. This video has 232 sentences and 2827 words to shadow. The speech runs for 18:57. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| stratum noun | /ˈstɹeɪ.təm/ | One of several parallel horizontal layers of material arranged one on top of another. |
| reinvest verb | To invest again, give another investment. | |
| complacent adjective | /kəmˈpleɪsənt/ | Uncritically satisfied with oneself or one's achievements; smug. |
| oversee verb | /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/ | To survey, look at something in a wide angle. |
| educate verb | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | To instruct or train. |
| condominium noun | /ˌkɑn.dəˈmɪn.i.əm/ | Joint sovereignty over a territory by two or more countries. |
| homeowner noun | Someone who owns a house. | |
| intimidate verb | /ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/ | To make timid or afraid; to cause to feel fear or nervousness; to deter, especially by threats of violence. |
| manageable adjective | /ˈmænəd͡ʒəb(ə)l/ | Capable of being managed or controlled. |
| paperless adjective | Without paper. | |
| spreadsheet noun | /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/ | A computer application for organization, analysis, and storage of data in tabular form. |
| workload noun | The amount of work assigned to a particular worker, normally in a specified time period. | |
| morale noun | /məˈɹɑːl/ | The mental and emotional state of a person or group, especially their level of confidence, enthusiasm, and loyalty with regard to a function or task. |
| obstacle noun | /ˈɑbstəkəl/ | Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively |
| dinosaur noun | /ˈdaɪnəsoɹ/ | Those animals of the clade Dinosauria that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| keep up verb | To maintain; to preserve; to prevent from deteriorating or falling. | |
| leave behind verb | To abandon. | |
| drop off verb | To fall asleep. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. | |
| pull together verb | To unite for a common objective. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I'm still taking it back.
- Personally, I don't think so.
- So why don't we start there?
- What can I expect from my property manager?
- I know what I'm doing.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if your office isn't paperless, you would be · if we promise phone calls will be |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be done · are educated · is considered |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've been · You've done · We've done |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 47 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: rethink /ɹiːˈθɪŋk/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: spreadsheet /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/, nutshell /ˈnʌt.ʃɛl/, specialize /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/, retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/, organizational /ˌɔː(ɹ)ɡənɪˈzeɪʃənəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: condominium /ˌkɑn.dəˈmɪn.i.əm/, intimidate /ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/, manageable /ˈmænəd͡ʒəb(ə)l/, continually /kənˈtɪnjuəli/, ambiguity /æm.bɪˈɡjuː.ɪ.ti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like stratum, reinvest, complacent.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.