Canabury Square Condominiums

This place is awful. It's cheap. Thins walls and no soundproofing. The garage is falling apart. Literally falling apart. They put up temporary beams to hold the place up! As soon as they try to fix one thing a whole new problem pops up costing the owners a lot of money. The emailed meeting minutes record the board members fighting and it gets so serious they want a police or sherriff to attend the meetings to keep the peace. One member accused another of putting glue in her front door lock! It was all recorded in the meeting minutes! The people running the show finally got a little bit of power in their miserable boring lives and they take it to a level of unprofessionalism I have never encountered prior to living there or since. I was so disgusted with that place. Living there was miserable and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I would never recommend this place to anyone. I go out of my way when people are looking for places to live or rent to make sure to tell them to stay away from this place. I will never forget how the staff treated myself or the residents there. I stayed under the radar as much as possible, but I saw first hand how others were talked to and treated. I have not lived there for a year and I still get furious thinking about having been stuck in that place. It is so not worth $900/mo. You're better off going elsewhere and saving yourself the stress and frustration of that pit. more

I really love more

I am an owner of a unit at Canabury and would like to put in my two cents. The effort put forth by the dedicated board and staff at Canabury deserve much more credit than the naysayers on this site will recognize. Canabury has emerged the last two years of updates a much better place to live and invest in. All of the work that was done was accomplished with an eye toward quality, low maintenance and long life. Yes, that costs money and time, but folks that call Canabury home know it is money well spent and will make the units more attractive to tenants and owners. Condo living is not for everyone, and those that complain of having to abide by rules, that are in place for the beneifit of everyone, should look elsewhere to live. Having said that, if condo living is for you, it would be difficult to find a better value this close to major freeways, being centrally located, many amenities and reasonably priced. Don't listen to the whiners, come and see for yourself, you'll be impressed! more

This is like a condo if it was ran by The Soprano more

This place is one step out of the trailer. Walls are paper thin and the ceilings are even worse. Come visit and just walk up and down the stairways here. Notice how loud it is. Now imagine having to listen to that in your apartment 24/7. Customer service is non-existant in the management office which is only open 3 hours a day at most. You're lucky if they respond to any phone call or emaill. The people manning the management office are tenants and the rudest people you will come across. Mean as snakes. The condos are selling for as low as $25,000 on Edina Realty. Check it out online. There is a reason. Many of the owners are selling and getting out of here and despite the ""improvements"". This place is lower end at best. You can polish a turd, but it's still a turd. A big issue I see is there is zero sound proofing. If hearing your neighbors above you and on either side doesn't bother you than you will find this place to be a dream. If you like people up in your business snooping around and being general busy bodies than you're in store for a treat. Ineffective management is another perk for those that want to act loud and bother others without consequence. Basically, if you are straight out of the ghetto you will love this community. Very low class and I can't wait to get out of here. A few have taken the time to write and some management have tried to counter the critics with, but the fact that poor reviews have been written should not go unnoticed. Do your homework and talk to the people that live here. Ask them about the string of break-ins and theft and criminal activity and lack of security. Ask them how people are treated by management. Dig deeper. Don't just scratch the surface. You're going to find a lot of dirt. It's your call in the end, but you've been warned. more

My husband and I are public school teachers who bought here in August of 2008. We feel we got the best deal in town and here is why: more

My name is Marge Beauvais, I am a board member and yes, an ex-nun. I would like to put the record straight. First I applaud Sandy Gravel for taking ownership of her words. When people write the vile and incorrect stuff that was written and do not take ownership of their words they are COWARDS. I bought in 1980 when Canabury Square was turned into condos and when Canabury was ?the place to be.? Then, with home interest rates of 18%, and 25% down, a condo that was selling for 10% interest and 10% down was a good deal. Many of the people who moved in were educated professionals who appreciated a well-kept building. Over the next thirty years things did change. For ten years we did not receive an increase in our association fee. Required maintenance and upkeep was let go. In 2007 the rubber hit the road! We had several water intrusion events. The board hired an engineer to assess the condition of our building. The report came back that we had mold and rot throughout our building. We had very little money in our reserve accounts to fix the huge problems we faced. Fortunately, there was a new program out that helps buildings such as ours. It is called HIA - Housing Improvement Area. Our association had to vote to do this work. After a first failed vote for a $3,400,000 project we went into mediation with both sides of the issue present. That included a divided board and two homeowners from each side of the issue. The mediation resulted in a 100% agreement on a new HIA proposal to be voted on by the membership, of a $4,900,000 project. This was passed by over 80% of the membership voting. If we did not do this repair and renovation project our building would have been condemned in approximately five years. This is not my opinion; it is what was told to me by the experts we hired. We had $100,000 more in mold abatement than was budgeted. The scope of work included repair and replacement of deteriorated interior wall elements, mold abatement, spray insulation, patio repairs, new vinyl exterior and new permanent entrance canopies. Everyone got new windows and most got new patio doors. Additional work included a new 30-year roof, two new elevators, required by State law, new air conditioners, pool restoration, courtyard drainage system, new fob entry system and security cameras. At every point of the project, professional overseers and inspections occurred. The fact that the work had to be done is indisputable. Major testing on our building was done not once but twice. The work had to be done. What I find interesting is that in the beginning when we were begging for homeowners to be on this committee no one - that is, not one person - offered to help. I am offended and appalled by the character assignation of those of us who are doing the work. People have called me a bully, and said that I only want my own way. I have had threatening notes left on my door and on my vehicle. And then to add insult to injury, glue was put into the key entrance to my condo. All this was, of course, done anonymously: the work of cowards. I find it ironic that the same people who challenge my ethical behavior without facts do so in a cowardly manner. They do not sign their names. Cowards, all of you!!! So, why spend over 2 1/2 years on such a project. Why work on the average 25 hours or more per week for no pay. Why endure the small-minded pettiness of self-serving cowards? The answer is simple. This is my home. I have lived here since the building became a condo. I love it here and for the good part of 30 years have enjoyed my neighbors. This too will pass. Our units are selling; we are financially sound. The major work that is needed has been done. We are collecting our association fees and our building is filling up. I am hopeful for our future. Canabury Square will again be ?the place to be.? more

I have lived at Canabury Square since 2002 and some of the published comments are factual and others are based on misinformation and or malicious intent. Pros: No shovelling or lawnmowing, indoor and outdoor pools Cons: Community Living more

Please reconsider buying here! The board members are a nightmare. All of our reserves have been spent on frivolous things. Why would anyone on earth assess owners $30,000 (avg. 2 bed with 6% interest) when their place is only worth $50,000.00? We do not need sidewalks and fancy pillars in our building! The few board members want to get their way by spending money no matter what. Life has been so bad, the decent board members have now quite. We cannot get ethical board members because nobody can put up with the verbal abuse and harassment that board members put upon residents, and anyone who disagrees with them. They hire their own companies without regard to looking into better companies for LESS MONEY! Board members should not be allowed to hire companies that members personally know, or have something to gain from hiring! The board members have no right to make decisions on things they know nothing about. Why would an ex-nun argue to an engineer about construction? Please do not buy here! You will be living in a place that will continue to spend your money. Every year, association dues are being increased! Last year was 10%. You would think that borrowing FIVE MILLION DOLLARS we would have enough money, but NO! They have spent more than they can handle and now we do not even have money for security cameras! Security should be the number one concern, yet board members do not care! When there is crime in the building, it is just looked at the other way with no regard for owners safety! If you want to get your car or condo broken into, or possibly raped, maybe you should consider this place! Pros: Good Amenities Cons: Terrible board members, bad staff, bad management & more more

! I have lived here for a little over 5 years. My life used to be pleasant, until the last 2-? years, where the board members quest for power has become so fierce that they will try everything possible to become in control of the building and making owners lives miserable. Major jobs have been done poorly and end up costing us more money, (paint and carpet are just a few examples.) Many board members are trying to get new ?improvements? to the building. Currently, there is an assessment in the works charging us $15,000.00 for a two bedroom plus interest for the next 15 years. Owners feel stuck here, nobody will buy knowing they will have to take on this debt. There is so much control over our lives here that it feels like we live in a government dictated society. All I wanted was a peaceful home to live in, now my life has been constant torment. Please do not buy a place here; you can go somewhere nicer, and better for much less money! Pros: Great ammenities Cons: Too many to list! more

I?m the type of person that just come and go, you know, mind my own business and exchange pleasantries in the hallway. I was recently divorced and didn?t see myself doing any house repairs or snow removal and such so I moved here because I liked what the place had to offer and the fact that it was access controlled was even better. Pros: Indoor and outdoor pools, underground parking, car wash Cons: Board members, high association fees, thefts more

Currently owner requests and concerns aren't being met and haven't been met for several years. Monies are continuallly being spent needlessly with no concern for owners who may be on restricted budgets, i.e., Social Security etc. Recommendations from various inspectors are not being taken into consideration nor is anything being done to rectify any of the existing problems. The current property manager and several board members are not paying any attention to the owners whose needs are not being met. There's been talk that the current property manager appears to be accepting kickbacks from a wide area of items and the condo owners get the brunt of this with no say. This is unacceptable behavior for a property manager, and one who is only present at meetings and then not always all meetings either. Owners will be unable to sell their properties at this juncture because of the impending one (1) milion dollar assessment which is unacceptable. Those wanting to move out will have this assessment blocking their sale and potential buyers will be unable to see past this impending assessment ultimately resulting in them not wanting the property. There are also renting residents who are not owners that are causing considerable problems within the complex; i.e., security gargage car thefts and more. Measures haven't been taken to eliminate the ""renter"" problem thus resulting in continual theft problems. Even though condo owners are supposed to have a voice in all matters, there's no evidence that owners have any say at all. The property manager is well beyond the physical age to be managing not just this specific property but several others as well. This writer can only hope that the Canabury Square Condominium property manager doesn't manage her five (5) other properties in the same manner. As a current owner, I would STRONGLY DISCOURAGE anyone in purchasing a condo at this facility until measures are taken to eliminate the undesireable property manager and board members. more