Social distancing, isolation, confinement, whatever you want to call it, has been tough not only for businesses, but just about everyone. It has been particularly tough for those living in small condos in urban condo towers. As we all know, the growing trend in condos has been to build smaller units. While those condo dwellers are typically not at home during the day, that has not been the case during this pandemic. Staying in a small condo unit in isolation has brought about a lifestyle adjustment for many. Here are some of them.
Neighbours and Noise
Not only have restaurants and other businesses closed, common areas such as terraces and gyms have done the same. That means folks have had to stay inside their units. One of the biggest consequences of everyone staying home have been increases in noise complaints. Anything from loud musical instruments, to TV and music have seen a sharp increase as the reasons for complaints. The ones having to deal with the brunt of all the complaints have been the property managers as they have been very busy issuing warnings and resolving conflicts.
The proper etiquette for condo residents during the lockdown would be to be mindful of others and take measures such as using headphones.
Internet Access and Utilities
There has been an increasing number of condos using a standard internet connection across all units. In many instances, this has caused serious connectivity problems for residents. As more people use internet service at the same time, the connection becomes slower and less reliable. Because many people now work from home and consume more streaming services such as Netflix, the internet bandwidth is gobbled up at unprecedented rates.
Similarly, other services used as a community such as hot water have become scarcer. The infrastructure for those products were not designed for consumption at a rate this high. It seems that the only thing we can do is take measures to combat the virus and hope this passes.
Desire for Bigger Spaces
We all know that there will be a new 'normal' in the post-coronavirus world. We believe it is possible that many will seek condos with a little extra space given that working from home will become a new norm. When condos were purchased, most did not have to factor in the fact that most of their days would be spent at home. That has now all changed.
The recent events will surely alter the condo development landscape to factor in the possibility of future health crises such as this one. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
Cleaning
The very frequent cleaning and sanitization in condos have been much talked about. Nowadays, closer attention is being paid to cleaning mailboxes, elevator buttons, door handles and so on. While those tasks have traditionally been done for the purpose of 'cleanliness', they are now done and done more frequently in light of health reasons. Property management has increased the frequency of cleaning up to 10 times in some condos.
We at Condo Manager sincerely hope you remain safe and hope this soon passes. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to us.
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