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Covid19 Property Management Update

January 2022
 
From our entire team at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd., we hope that this Covid-19 Update finds you and your family safe and healthy.   Although we had all been hoping to return to a sense of normalcy, our global and local communities continue to navigate through emerging variants and changing health mandates.
 
At Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. we continue to ensure that the safety and protection of our team members and our community is our top priority.   Every step of the way, we have continued to learn and adhere to the most up-to-date advised rules and regulations.
 
We recognize that the current strain may impact response times, however we are doing everything possible to maintain our excellent and responsive property management services levels.   We remain committed to following the guidance provided to us by Alberta Health Services and our provincial and federal governments.
 
As we move through this current wave, we want to keep our property management clients and residents informed about what we are doing to maintain our responsive service levels. 
 
In some ways, it feels like the entire World is short-staffed at this time.  With that in mind, we can anticipate a very real impact to our team members and valued contractors, as they take the time they need to adhere to health regulations and as we accommodate for the potential for reduced staff as we support our team members to do the same.  We thank you for your patience as we work together on the following:
  • Kindly reschedule any appointments or property showings to a later date if you are unwell. COVID-19 Information: Daily Screening Checklist
  • We encourage the use of technology to safely convene on-line meetings and property showings where applicable.
  • As we aim to accommodate all those who are scheduled for meetings and any property maintenance repairs.  Issues will be triaged to ensure emergency situations are given top priority for the protection of building residents and property.
  • Non-emergency maintenance requests can be made using our online Maintenance Request Form
  • In addition to the public health measures such as physical distancing, masking and hand hygiene, free rapid tests are being provided to team members (where and when available) to screen for COVID-19. 

FAQs

Is your office open to the public?

We are open to the public but request that where possible, interactions be taken online and/or by phone.  All visitors to the office are asked to stay home if showing symptoms and will be asked to wear a mask in accordance with the current mask bylaw.  Current Office Hours.

How can I contact your customer service or maintenance support team?

In the event of an emergency, please contact our 24-hour emergency line at 403-237-8600.  To learn more about what is considered an emergency please visit: What is an Emergency?.
Should you require assistance, please contact our office or email your property management team.  As individual team members may be working remotely or ill, we thank you in advance for your patience if response times are slower than usual.   You can also contact us online by visiting: Contact Us to register your concern.

Are masks mandatory for team members and customers?

We remain committed to doing all we can to encourage and keep employees and customers safe.  With the emergent of new variants, we continue to mandate the use of masks in accordance with the current local and provincial mandates. 

How are you keeping employees and customers safe?

The health and safety of our customers, employees and communities is our top priority.  Our team continues to communicate and monitor safety protocols implemented.  Further to this ongoing practice, we monitor local and health authority guidelines and best practices.

What are your current office hours and emergency after service protocols?

For more information about our current office hours and what to do in the event of an emergency, please visit our Contact Us page.

Additional Questions?

Please visit Frequently Asked Questions for Owners and Tenants to browse additional FAQs and if you have any other questions, please use our Contact Us page.
 
In order for us to uphold our commitments, we ask that you please reach out to us as soon as you are aware of any concerns.  As always, we will update you on our protocols as changes happen. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for helping to keep everyone in our community safe.
 

Thank you again for your support and patience as we continue to maneuver through this unprecedented time.  We are immensely proud of our team members who strive to respond and adjust to changing mandates and practices. 

Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. is one of the leading residential and condominium property management companies in Calgary, AB.  We specialize in all types of property — including single family homes, hi-rise apartments, condominium corporations, mobile home parks, home owner associations as well as offices and larger commercial spaces.

Emerald Management & Realty is proud to provide excellent property management services near you. Contact our team of property management specialists today to learn how our experience can help you! 

If you are wondering what the best rental property management companies near me are, you don’t need to look further than Emerald Management & Realty Ltd.

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COVID19 Update

September 2021

Media headlines regarding COVID-19 are a cautious reminder to stay up-to-date on provincial public health guidelines. It is important to follow the guidelines and information provided by the Government of Alberta.  

The impact of COVID-19 continues to impact lives locally and around the world.  In response to the recent mandates by the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary, the team at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. continues to work hard to ensure usual practices and minimize disruption in services levels.

As part of providing competent service, our team members at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. continues to work cooperatively with residents to find a solution for relieving the concerns of everyone involved.  If you have any concerns regarding maintenance or cleaning requirements please contact our team immediately.

We are actively monitoring all updates to take care of our people, our clients, and our business. Emerald’s executive team meets weekly and more often when needed, to discuss provincial and local updates. We continue to meet with our various teams to ensure we are responding to implement solutions to address restrictions and mandates. 

Communication is key and we continue to connect with residents, clients, trades and contractors. Our goal remains to react to this dynamic and unprecedented situation while continuing to communicate and keep our stakeholders informed as best as possible.

On September 23, 2021, Calgary City Council voted to implement a proof of vaccine bylaw for all businesses that are eligible to participate in the provincial Restriction Exemption Program.  As such, the following businesses are required to check for proof of vaccine or a privately paid negative COVID test (within 72 hours) for customers over the age of 12:

  • Restaurants (for sit-down dining);
  • Bars and pubs;
  • Nightclubs;
  • Casinos;
  • Entertainment and recreation centres (bowling, racing entertainment, arcades, billiards halls, other similar venues);
  • Museums and art galleries;
  • Movie theatres;
  • Conferences, meeting spaces, halls and rented spaces;
  • Weddings and funerals held in public venues;
  • Professional sporting or other performance events (for spectators);
  • Private social events held in public facilities;
  • Adult recreation sport groups;
  • Recreation classes and activities; and
  • Amenities in hotels (pools, gyms, etc.);

We understand this is a difficult time for all and we are in unprecedented territory right now. We appreciate your patience as we work to support you.

To observe social distancing measures, as well as ensure the health and safety of our clients and staff, the following measures continue and/or have been re-implemented at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd.:

  1. Masks are worn in all indoor spaces.
  2. Where essential to operations, team members are working from the office when possible.  We strive to maintain normal business operations and assure you that team members are working and available to speak with you.
  3. We continue to adhere to all recommended health and safety guidelines as outlined by Albertha Health Services.
  4. Signage has been posted to outline social distancing, masks and where required, how to handle social rooms or amenity spaces.
  5. We kindly ask any client or team member experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to reschedule appointments with us and complete the Alberta Health Services COVID Health Assessment to determine if you should be tested.
  6. The Emerald office remains open, but we do have reduced office hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00 pm (note: 24-hour emergency service in effect)
  7. We ask that you please call ahead prior to visiting our office, even if you have a pre-arranged meeting. If possible, meetings should be conducted via telephone or video conference.

Thank you for your continued support and connecting with us in regards to any questions or concerns you may have.  Stay well!

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COVID19 Financial Relief for Tenants

On May 25, 2021 Premier Jason Kenney announced the Government of Alberta’s plans for reopening.  This announcement is in response to the dropping number of new COVID-19 infections and pandemic-related hospitalizations in Alberta. Coupled with the news of the number of citizens with at least one dose of a COVID-19, it looks like the province is on track to reopening in a planned three stage approach.

The uncertainty during this state of emergency continues to be a challenge for many — even as we head into the staged re-opening.  Many tenants who are not paying their rent are experiencing legitimate income problems and economic hardships. Especially those who rely on a steady income to pay for their bills and other responsibilities.  Not every job comes with the option to work from home.  Similarly, not every job has been deemed an essential service and people have been laid off or in a position of reduced hours.  The fear of displacement due to outside forces is a very real fear for many.  This is further compounded by property owners who are in turn facing financial hardship and economic distress when rental payments are not honoured.

A common issue discussed in the world of property management is how to handle late rental payments and in the most challenging of circumstances, how to deal with a failure to pay rent. Evictions are a last resort option — but if you do go down this road, check out Emerald Management & Realty Ltd.’s recent blog post: Evicting a Tenant for NonPayment of Rent for some useful information about the eviction process and how our team can help! 

Overall, the majority of the feedback we have received from tenants is that they have the desire or willingness to make partial payments and agree to a re-payment plan, but have been unable to pay rent in full due to financial hardships.

If you are facing this type of situation, during the state of emergency, below are some of the resources we’ve used and have shared to help tenants and landlords manage rental payments.  

For financial relief from various government jurisdictions, tenants can search out support from:

 

There are also personal wellness supports available.  These resources are also important, especially recognizing the stressful impact of finances, unemployment, unforeseen difficulties and stressful events like COVID-19:

While every situation is unique and no solution is a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the team at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. has collaborated on many collection calls.  Depending on the situation, the team has reached out to touch base and check-in with tenants to avoid adding the additional frustration of collection letters and/or 14-day Notices of Eviction.  Again, this can be a challenge to navigate as not every situation is the same as situations vary.  It is important to proceed with care and caution as property managers are not social workers.  The above links and resources are a start to help those facing hardships get the help needed.

For more information about potential supports, visit Emerald Management & Realty Ltd.’s COVID-19 focused blogs that have been published.

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Emerald Management Pandemic Update

 

April 2021

COVID19 Update: A Year in Review

It has been just over a year since the COVID19 pandemic dramatically changed the way most of us live and work.  Every business sector has felt the impact in one way or another, and we recognize that everyone has sacrificed and suffered at some level. That being said, there is also a lot to be proud of in the way each one of use has faced and responded to this worldwide crisis. We have experienced some remarkable change, resilience and innovation by coming together to help respond to this global crisis.

In the face of the 3rd wave of COVID19 infections and growing uncertainty due to the identification of numerous variants of concern, we continue to monitor the economy carefully. We continue to adapt our service offerings to provide service and help with the safety of our team members and customers.

With safety top of mind and uncertainty of changing government restrictions, we continue to look for opportunities to maintain stability and adapt as needed to improve our processes. Our goal is to improve customer service and minimize disruptions experienced by our customers and residents.

The following are some examples of what Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. has done to respond, adjust and evolve processes and practices in response to COVID19:

  • Essential Service Provider – As we were deemed to be essential services, we responded immediately to modify operations with the implementation of personal protection equipment (“PPE”), social distancing, plexiglas partitions, and restrictions on who and how many could enter our office.  At the same time, we responded with increased cleaning protocols and worked with the support of our valued trades and vendors to implement the necessary changes and signage for apartment and condominium buildings.
  • Communication – At the beginning of the pandemic, the majority of our team worked remotely. While we were fortunate to be designated an essential service and work from our head office on rotation, our team pushed forward to create more online functionality and improve paperless practices.  Some of the innovative communication improvements implemented include:
    • Virtual Meetings – Our team quickly adjusted from being in-person to being much more virtual.  Sometimes we have had to meet in person or organize a meeting to address concerns as a better way to work through an issue. Where needed health and safety protocols were implemented for the safety of all involved.
    • Regular Covid Updates — The imposed government rules and restrictions have changed and continue to change. We have used our website as a tool to update our property management community and provide information to help others know where to go for reliable help if an issue was outside of our suite of services or expertise.  We continue to meet weekly with departments, send out regular information emails plus blog updates on what is happening in our community.
    • Available 24 hours a day 7 days a week — Our team continued to be available to respond to emergencies and use our regular reporting practices to keep our clients informed. In accordance with government restrictions, our office was open to help tenants, condo owners and condominium board members. We updated our online contact forms across all platforms and enabled a text chat function on our website at www.emeraldmanagement.com.

    • Online Functionality – In addition to the above, we improved our online application processes and lease signing. We also increased our use of Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to remain connected with our communities and be responsive on the various platforms.  This not only helped to foster creativity and some fun, but provided another way to communicate, connect and monitor the needs of our property management industry and our residents.

  • Workplace Health & Safety Management — Systems along with health and safety programs, protocols, procedures and manuals were reviewed and updated. This has been done on a continual basis to stay current with the ever-changing work environment this past year.   Signage has been posted at rental properties and condominium communities in accordance with bylaw requirements and property management regulatory requirements.
  • Customer Service — Customer service remains a top priority. The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of kindness and taking a moment to check-in with each other. People are on edge and a little kindness goes a long way in working together.  Firstly, we helped to source resources to help tenants and condo owners  access sources for help regarding rental payments, payment of condominium fees. Where able, we assisted with payment plans, where to go for income, food and mental health supports.

Secondly, since property management is and has been face-to-face or in-person, Emerald has continued to provide personal service as much and whenever possible and permitted. For instance, they say, “Smile, it is free therapy”.  We have seen the positive impact of a thank you or a kind check-in with out team from vendors and customers.  

Lastly, our team also found a way to safely continue with our annual warm winter clothing drive in support of Project Warmth Society.  The opportunity to make a difference and support of community in dropping of clothing was greatly appreciated. 

  • Leasing – The pandemic has changed how we work with prospective tenants and the techniques used to market available apartments and homes for rent.  Prior to COVID19, we had already been doing online marketing and using virtual tour techniques when required. However, given the restrictions in place, our leasing team responded immediately to this challenge.  One of the amazing outcomes achieved was the ability to collaborate with current tenants on virtual showings. Leasing and marketing ramped up with the use of YouTube and FaceTime. At the same time, our leasing agents reignited basic sales techniques where face-to face interactions and accessibility was a challenge.

In-person tours also continued in accordance with safety and social distancing protocols in accordance with Alberta Health Services and supported by the Alberta Real Estate Association and the Real Estate Council of Alberta.

  • Maintenance: Early on, emergency work orders were prioritized for the protection of residents and the properties.  From there routine or regular maintenance was scheduled as a collaborated effort with our in-house maintenance team and residents to coordinate times where residents could be out of their homes or socially distanced.  Our in-house maintenance team was outfitted with protective gear and cleaning supplies for everyone’s safety, to maintain empathy, and for respectful management of fears and risk of transmission.

Our team is monitoring construction resources and supply chains to assist in the completion and prioritization of work moving forward.  Communication remains key as product availability can be uncertain with employee quarantines and infection outbreaks in the manufacturing sectors.

  • Education: We have continued our weekly team meetings and increased brainstorming and team building ways to improve service and learn about PPE requirements and safety protocols.  The Emerald Team has also looked for ways to have some fun at work and build connection.  At times, meetings and celebrations have been by zoom or over the phone – everyone’s input, creativity and support has been greatly appreciated. 

So … what have we learned?

We have learned that:

  • Simple things like: Washing your hands, Wearing masks and Staying 6 feet apart – can help prevent the spread of disease.
  • No matter how well we think we are prepared, sometimes life throws a curve ball and and you have to change course.
  • We are great at thinking outside the box to problem-solve and help each other.
  • We are innovative, creative and efficient when addressing emergency situations.
  • A small act of kindness and interacting in a human way can make a difference.

Our team at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. remains optimistic that this pandemic will eventually end. In the meantime, as the economy cautiously opens we believe in many ways we will be better on the other side of this crisis. 

In conclusion, we are proud of our team and their dedication to ensuring that we provide the best possible service in the safest way to our property management clients in Calgary & Area.  Despite the anxieties, stress and fatigue that the pandemic has placed on many lives, our team has embraced new policies and practices with open minds and positivity.  Thank you for belief and supporting local small businesses in Calgary like us.

Stay safe. Stay well. Stay positive.

on behalf of the entire team at Emerald Management & Realty Ltd.

Jodena Rogers & Lauretta Enders

Emerald Management & Realty Ltd. is a family owned and operated Property Management Company based out of Calgary, AB. We have almost 50 years of experience in providing responsive asset management services to condominium, commercial and rental properties in Calgary & Area. Our ability to foster positive relationships based on mutual respect and communication has nurtured our commitment to the provision of management services congruent with our customer’s needs and goals.
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