Catalyst Condo Management Ltd

I was surprised they charged me for parkade cleaning towing chargeback. My car was never park in my stall when they scheduled a cleaning. When I looked at the invoice it was a different vehicle, it was a wrong stall number, it was not my plate number. Obviously, it wasn’t mine. I emailed them and informed that they charged a wrong owner. After a month, I received a notice of overdue invoice. This is unbelievable! I am completely disappointed. It seems like No one is taking action to make this right.

If I could give this company a negative -1000 I would. I have lived in my condo for over 30 years. Seen a few management companies during that time. This one by far the worst I have ever experienced. NEVER ever use this company unless you want serious delays, waits, no action. The condo corp contract was terminated after a mere 2 years.. and that was 2 years too long!! Re: their response: They rarely responded in a timely manner. Would never answer questions. Could not find documents sent in. Basically a nightmare dealing with catalyst on many levels. Stay far far away!

Catalyst Condo has been great since my husband and I moved into a townhouse managed by them. I have spoken to multiple agents and have always gotten an answer or redirected to the correct person. I have only had one occasion where the agent was not as helpful. Due to this, I decided to email Fariz Ali as he's always been helpful. Thankfully, I emailed Fariz in regards to a pet application and he let me know it will take 3-5 business days for the condo board to review. Sure enough, it took them 5 days and I got that pet approval back from Fariz! Out of the multiple agents I have spoken to, Fariz has always found a way to resolve my problem or direct me to a person who can solve my problem. Thank you Fariz Ali!

I like to share my statistics with everyone who wants to know Catalyst real rates. Today is Jan. 28, 2022. ?under ONE star: 1622, 91.6%, under two stars: 26, 1.5%, under three stars: 9, 0.5%, under four stars: 0, 0%, under five stars: 114, 6.4%. This is the service owners got from Catalyst. If there is NO ? option under comments, the rate is not truly one. Above details have to be counted to represent true rate. Catalyst: DO NOT PRETEND YOU PROVIDE GOOD SERVICES TO OWNERS. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Can you explain to public why there was heating only for two buildings, not for others in October 2021? Who gave you the right to do DISCRIMINATORY operations in Canada? We all pay the same monthly fee. You said "many owners likes myself misinterpret......". Can you explain why none of board members living in the community, and when one owner asked if they got paid, you did not answer? WHAT IS BEHIND THIS? Don't say "sent email or call......", because I don't want to see or hear again "We can't tell you what happened before" or "Only board members can know it" (They all were on the emails Catalyst sent to me). Catalyst only want owners to pay money like idiots. That is just a little of my experience. I like to help public know Catalyst more. I shall post more my experience in future.

I had pleasant experience with Catalyst Service. I spoke with Ali regarding my pet application and I was very worried that it won’t get approved in time for my adoption since usually you don’t get a lot of time to get the approval done before you meet and adopt the pet (~2/3 days). But Ali was very understanding and promised that he will try his best to get the approval. He truly worked his magic and my application was approved in a day!! Thank you so much Ali ! And keep doing the great job! Know that people appreciate it !

If you are a board member considering Catalyst to manage your building please read this review. I do not recommend this company for your condo corporation. As a member of the condo board for my building, we had Catalyst manage our property for 3 years but we had to terminate our management agreement with them. What they do well: Their approach to condo management is truly unique and has so much potential with the various software platforms. Trello for managing the day to day tasks and projects, Xero for real time access to all things financial and Condo communities as an interface with the residents of the building. The company owner and founder, Drew Spencer is an outstanding salesman and was always available to discuss with me when big problems did arise. Unfortunately it appears from my perspective as though he has stepped back from the business to pursue other things. What is problematic: One problem with the largely computer based platforms is if you have older residents or board members in your building, they can struggle learning these platforms making it more difficult to accomplish your business. So when residents turned to using phone or email, we had 3 straight years of complaints from our residents that these emails and condo communities messages were ignored or extremely delayed in responding to. Furthermore, the phone line was either never answered or directed to a call center in India with a person that was speaking on a poor connection and insufficiently knowledgeable or trained. Furthermore, often times our residents would be given misinformation such as being told they could bring in large dogs in direct violation of the bylaws putting the board in a position to have to contradict Catalyst staff and levy fines. Despite asking Catalyst to fix these issues time and again, they were ongoing for years and never properly addressed. Staff retention and quality at Catalyst is extremely poor. From when we first hired Catalyst in Jan 2019 to when we let them go in Dec 2021, only one staff member, Angie Norman, has remained the same. Outside of that, Catalyst has had a revolving door of people, many of whom were grossly incompetent. Time and again, while some things did get done, many tasks would be waiting weeks to be completed or would be handled incorrectly. For example we would frequently be offered a single quote from a Catalyst-favored company with claims that other vendors were not getting back. Approved work would sometimes not be signed off on or initiated in a timely manner. Catalyst staff would then often lie that they had initiated the work or blame the board of directors for the errors or inaction rather own up to their own mistakes. Dustin is currently appears to be taking the lead and he is very knowledgeable with an engineering background and also a computer wizard. He assisted us with hosting a virtual AGM during COVID which was fantastic. Unfortunately his people skills are poor and he is very arrogant and temperamental to deal with. Furthermore, his loyalties clearly lie with his favorite trades, contractors and service providers that he has business lunches with so that he can then push boards to use them. And then when issues arise, he will invariably side with them over the people he actually works for. One large problematic example is that Catalyst has an incestuous relationship with Onside restoration, a large and poorly run company owned by Intact insurance, that is out to make big dollars on the backs of your residents. Upon the writing of this review, Catalyst has even handed off handling of their emergency phone line to Onside to push more business their way. I think Catalyst has a great platform with a lot of potential but they have outgrown themselves, become dysfunctional and corrupted. The news of their termination was met with great joy and relief from many residents living in our building. I cannot offer a recommendation for them.

Haven't been here long, but so far the experience has been great! I've had to send in a few requests for standard things like updating the intercom system, setting up pre-authorization for condo fees even a renovation request and so far the team at Catalyst is very efficient and professional! They make it very easy to find the information you need, and have a bunch of people on the team to answer any questions you might have! Keep up the great work!

I moved in a building managed by Catalyst and so far they have been amazing. They helped me throughout the entire move-in process and answered all my inquiries in a timely manner. They sure made my moving experience a lot easier and more pleasant. Thank you Catalyst, thank you Lindsey and Ali! Keep up the good work!