Simplifying Strata Review: The Real View with Andrew Armstrong

Think today's mortgage process is complicated and stressful. You're right, it is. But it doesn't have to be. This is the House Rich podcast and we've simplified the mortgage process. Your host, Matt Parker, AKA Mortgage Matt, delivers practical advice in a fun and entertaining way to help you understand your mortgage so that you can start making money, not the bank. So let's get your homeownership journey started. Here's your host, Matt Parker.

Hey, Matt Parker here. Super excited. Have Andrew Armstrong with me today. Andrew, thank you so much for joining me today.

Absolutely. Thanks very much for having me.

Andrew has, has co founded a very, very cool platform called the Real View, which is definitely helping a lot of home buyers and real estate agents in the marketplace analyze and make good decisions when it comes to Strata Properties and go through Strata documentation as well. Before we get into that, Andrew, I'd love to ask a question. Just how did you get to this place? Like, how did you get into the real estate industry? And just sort of want to give us a background on. On where you came from and how you got to this point?

Yeah, so it's kind of a funny story, actually. So I have, I have a business partner who's the technology mind behind all this. And it started during COVID His honeymoon got displaced, and so basically a year or two later, they managed to scramble and end up in Italy on their honeymoon, but his wife, who's a realtor, has kicked him out and he's had to go to the bar by himself in Italy, who I know, but he's sitting there because his wife is reviewing Strata documents for a property and a deal that she's still trying to close back home. And he's sitting there thinking, you know, there's got to be a better way to do this. And so this was before the existence of ChatGPT or any of the other AI platforms out there. And he built a. Basically a working model on his own. And then as soon as the. The ChatGPT interface came out, we. We just jumped right on it. And then in terms of how I met that guy, he happens to play on a hockey team with one of my best buddies from high school. And then so of course, I ended up various birthday parties and social events with them over the years. And he knew that I had a business background from the Ivy School and said, hey, let's get together on this and see if we can make it a reality. And here we are.

Fantastic. It always happens that way, right? Just like a pain, like something. Something is bothersome. It's like, how do we fix that? Like, how do we.

Absolutely. That's always the way, right? Because everybody's looking for an easier, better way to do things, right. And this we think is a much easier and better way to do it.

So, so the real view. So I would imagine that, you know, real estate agents sign up for it to provide this service for their, for their clients and just to make that review of the, the documentation a lot quicker. And also so you don't miss anything. Because I know that buying Strata Properties over the years as well, it's, there's generally, especially depending on the age of the building, there can be a lot of stuff to, to go through, right. To review. So can you just summarize and highlight sort of the main points and sort of why, you know, someone would want to use the platform and the benefits that they would receive?

Absolutely, yeah. So, yeah, you mentioned it kind of. It's really key that these are complicated documents and the older the building or the larger the size of the development, the more complicated they tend to get. And as a Realtor, there's a lot of risk associated with representing that, you know, you're the expert in the industry, but then having something get missed in these documents, that ends up with kind of like a financial hit on your clients. And I mean, some of the biggest reasons that realtors end up in what they call real estate jail is because, you know, something was missed and there was like some, some hurt to your clients. And then there was, you know, somebody says, well, there was some negligence there. So this is designed to be as thorough a product as anybody has ever seen with. When you run a report, you get 165 point inspection on the building. It covers absolutely everything that you need to know. And so you're talking about the special assessments. If there's any lawsuits, has there been any issue with insurance? Are there any renovations coming up which are obviously all like financial aspects of the building, because there could be some capital expenditure to solve that. But then there's also a lot of kind of the nice to know stuff that a client might not know that they wanted to know. But it does make the appreciation for the building or the livability factor of the building come right to the forefront for them. So they know that when they get in there, they're going to be, this can be the right place for them. Because there's a lot of things that come up like, you know, pet policies and, you know, noise complaints, you know, do you live over a nightclub? If that gets brought up a Bunch of times you might be like, well, you know, I'm kind of a retiree now. I don't necessarily need that. And so they can kind of assess that, that need for themselves and for the realtor. Yeah, it's a big, big covering yourself in terms of the, the insurance side of things, because we're asking everything. We interviewed 20 plus realtors with over 150 years of experience and said, hey, what's everything you've ever wanted to know? What's everything you've ever seen cause an issue for a client? And so we asked all those questions and that way you're getting the experience of a huge number of years of. Well, yeah, experience put into these reports, which, you know, absolutely ups your offering to your clients as well.

Very cool. Because I know, you know, we, we get. Because we'll see the strata documents on our end when it comes to the mortgage side. And oftentimes it's a Dropbox for file or, or some sort of file. It's just like everything dumped in there. Right. It's like, okay, where do I start? Where do I, where do I go? So what would, would someone just like, would they actually go in there and just put everything in there or there specific documents that we're trying to review? Would it be annual, general meeting minutes, special assessments? Would you also put in the, like, strata form B as well and all those items, like sort of what would be so the best process or way to, to go about it?

Yeah. So you do basically put whatever you want reviewed in there. We do ask questions that are generally found in the depreciation report, engineers report, agm, SGM meeting minutes and bylaws. Okay. And then usually there's some budgeting in one of those documents. So it'll show you like, you know, how much is collected and spent on everything. The one thing we do recommend, because, you know, it's AI and it is 100% thorough, is to just curate a little bit what you put in. So if you put in a AGM meeting from 10 years ago where they were discussing that the roof needed to be replaced, we're going to say, hey, the roof is coming up a replacement, or there's mention of a roof needing to be replaced, but if the roof was actually replaced five years ago, that's no longer kind of a valid point. So really you're kind of looking at the last two to three years of things. Maybe if there's a very long ongoing issue, you're looking at three or four years. But the only thing we do recommend is to just, you know, don't try and put so much information in there because we'll find it. And then you might end up having to have a tougher conversation with your clients because they're like, hey, what's this million dollar assessment? We're like, well, that's actually from 1996. You don't need to worry about it.

Taken care of.

Yeah, that's, that's long said and done. So yeah, just keep it to the relevant information. Not because it's, it's going to make anything of a problem in terms of the results. It's just we're going to find things that are no longer important, which could be difficult for your client to wrap their head around right away. And you don't want to put that, that concern in their, in their front of their mind.

Right? Yeah, because I know that with, with Strata Properties, especially a couple of buildings in Vancouver specifically, like there's, there's been a lot more, I guess, water issues and things related to, to water damage. And I know that when, when arranging financing, especially if it's insured or we have an insurer in the picture for mortgages, it's, you know, the main ones are, does it mention water and is there anything about parking membrane and all these kinds of things? So I guess the platform would go in and it would pull out things of, to highlight like items of highlight. Would it reference where to go find the specific details around those, those items? Or like how would that report visualize it to make it easier for the, for the buyers, I guess, to navigate the endless documents?

Yeah, for sure. So again, when we created the report, we asked 165 questions. Right. So we'll use the parking membrane as an example. It's definitely a question that we asked. And what you're going to get in the report is one, the first thing you're going to see is like a plain English layman's terms explanation. Yes, there is a issue with the parking membrane. There's been some leaks and it is, you know, as part of a discussion right now on how to get that repaired. Right beside that answer, kind of at the end of the sentence, you're going to have a couple of hyperlinks and so it's going to say reference 1, 2, 3, 4, however many there are. And if you click on those hyperlinks right on the same page, it's going to pop up with kind of a screen in screen and it's going to take you right to the page in the document set that you uploaded where we got that answer from. So it's going to say, hey, you know, on page three of the SGM from three months ago, this is where we found that. You click on the link, it will show you page three of the SGM from three months ago and you can read it for more context. Generally speaking, you're going to get the 90% of what you need to know in the summarized answer. But if you do want to go in and check and see if there's anything else, I haven't seen an issue where that's really added value beyond that. But I do think that it is important that people can go double check because this is kind of a new technology that, you know, it's funny because we talk about it in terms of AI is now the worst it's ever going to be again because it gets better every 30 seconds. Yes, but people don't necessarily trust it yet. Right. So we do leave that in there because people do want to double check on some of those, those key things. But yeah, honestly, in the last little while when people have come to us saying, oh, hey, we think you made a mistake in each, in each case since we've released, it's been a situation where the realtor themselves didn't understand and in one case it was actually her own home. She didn't, she didn't really understand the short term rental policy herself of her own home. So yeah, we're not, we're not missing anything anymore. We're making very sure to make sure that we're, we're looking at everything from, from multiple angles so that it can't just be like worded poorly. But yeah, it's there for you to double check if you need.

Yeah, I mean, like just a convenience factor. Right. Of, of being able to, to streamline this process. Because how would, so the reports generated, how would that be shared with the potential buyer? Is a web report, is it a downloadable PDF or how would they view that information?

So yes, it comes as two parts. So when you create an account, as somebody who's reviewing the documents, you log into your dashboard, you click, generate new report, you walk through the process, you upload your documents, 20 minutes later you get an email saying, hey, it's ready to go. So as the realtor, you log in and the first page you get to is the realtor view. So that's where you can really customize this report. Because we're all about bringing data and not opinions. Because as the realtor, you're the one who's going to know the most about that neighborhood, you've been servicing it for quite some time. So we're going to say, hey, yes, this is the balance of the contingency reserve. But we're not going to say that sounds like a lot of money or that's not very much money because you don't want to have an issue where it's being compared to some other buildings. And then that that reference doesn't necessarily apply. You're going to know best as the Realtor. And so you can, in this Realtor view, customize in a couple of different ways. First off, you can remove any line items that don't apply to your client or don't apply to your customer or, sorry, your client or the building. If there's, for example, no bicycle storage in the building, we're still asking the question because we want to catch that if there is, but for this particular building, say there isn't. There's going to be a line item says, hey, there's no mention of bicycle storage anywhere in the document package that was uploaded. So you can just uncheck that box and it's not going to show up on the second part of the report, which is what we're calling the client view. So as you go through, you can kind of remove anything where there was no answer because there just wasn't a, you know, reference point for that in the data set. And then also there is the ability to add comments, which is another big one because like you'll see in the the section on financials or AGMs and SGMs, if there's an assessment coming up, those often look like big scary numbers. But when you go in and apply the unit allotment to that, maybe it's not that big of a deal. So at the head of each section, whether it's bylaws or financials or whatnot, you can add comments to say, hey, listen, in this next section you're going to see a couple items. I want to draw your attention to this in particular because you've talked about this being an important factor for you. I also want to mention that there's such and such coming up that looks concerning, but you'll find that in every building in North America and it's not, you know, something that needs to be worried about. We can talk more in person, for example, and then you publish that and it goes straight to the client view. So as they're reading it, maybe they're seeing it before you or after you've gone through it, they're reading it more thoroughly. On their own. It does preempt those concerns that sometimes get brought up when people don't really know what it is they're looking at. So you can add your, your wisdom and your experience right in there and it stays with them. So if they're reviewing it afterwards as the code, constant reminder, like, yeah, everything's good, you're okay and you know, you put your own value in there too. Right?

So, yeah, wonderful. I mean, that is a very good point. That contingency reserve fund, it's like, well, it's, it's, it's so unique, right, to the number of units, how much they've used for assessments, how much they're earmarking for it or how, how long the strata is. Is it a, is it a, is it a younger strata? Well, that amount probably going to be a lot lower anyways, all these different factors. So I think that having the ability to go in there, like you said, and put in the expertise. Right. Because these real estate agents are very experts a lot of the times and know these buildings inside and out and it could be very valuable in those cases. But you also brought up another point which is, so from a location standpoint, is this able to be used sort of across Canada or how does the platform recognize different, I guess, provinces or areas differently or is strata documentation relatively similar across the. Across Canada?

It's similar across Canada, but it's not exactly the same. So at the moment we're only in B.C. we've been on the market for six weeks or something. I've already started some conversations out in Alberta with, and it sounds to me like they're almost identical over there as well. So the moment it's basically only a BC service, we don't think it's going to stay that way for very long. But yeah, so when you're going to generate a new report, it's only going to recognize addresses in British Columbia. We've tapped into the Google API for that. So it will automatically pull up, yeah, you know, 1, 2, 3 Main street and it'll fill in the postal code, etc. But yeah, it won't be long before we get out into other areas. We just need to be, you know, talking, working with realtors in those areas to find out what differences there might be because, you know, somebody who's looking at something up in, you know, Edmonton, they're going to be seeing much colder temperatures. Maybe there's a different set of questions that need to be asked out of Alberta properties and B.C. properties and then Vancouver, prime thing, you Know all the rain screening questions because so many condos had so many issues, you know, however long ago. And so we're asking a lot more questions about that. But does the cold involve this? Having to look at something different when you're looking at the Prairies or Alberta or whatever. So it's, we are customizing that. It shouldn't be long, but yeah, just be safe for the moment.

Exciting times ahead. No, that's great news because I'm sure it could be so valuable. Just all areas. Right. And that's wonderful. If so. So I guess when it comes to pricing, I can imagine there's, there's a, there's a cost for the service from a real estate agent's point of view. Is it, is it per report pricing? Is it a monthly subscription? How would they, how would they, how would they pay for the service?

Yeah, ala carte per report. Because we know that the real estate industry is up and down. So, you know, if you're really slow in January, nobody needs bills that, you know aren't for a service they're not using. And so we do it by building and it's $45 per building. And then, yeah, you've got it for life. It'll stay on your dashboard so you can go back and reference it and then, yeah, it takes kind of 20 to 30 minutes to have your report generated once you've clicked go. So it's quite quick. And it is a web platform, so it's available 24 hours a day. There's no kind of person on the other end who's splitting things up and taking a look at stuff. So, you know, if you're on an overnight from Vancouver to Toronto, you can upload it and then kind of do any customizing you want, like in the air if you've got the Wi Fi, even if it's 3 o' clock in the morning. So.

Oh, fantastic. And how would, how would someone sign up? What's the best, best place to go to sign up? Learn more about your platform?

Yeah, the easiest way to do it is just on our website, so. Www.therealview.ca. and I mean, signing up is as easy as creating an account that you've done anywhere, like Amazon or Netflix, whatever. You just need an email address and a name and a phone number. We do encourage people once they've gone in there to check their account settings right away because one of the features of our product is the marketing angle. So you can put in your brokerage name, you can put in your photograph, because every report is going to come out designed to be a bit of a marketing tool for you as well. So when you see that client review or client report, sorry, it is going to have your picture on it, it's going to have a link that says contact Andrew. And so that if your clients send it to friends and family and they like this, they're going to be able to reach out to you directly and you're going to be earning some new clients that way. We did put a lot of work into making this not just a time saver for the realtors and something to impress clients, but we really do want to impress new people and bring them into the fold for realtors as well. With that in mind, we do have something we're calling the Leads tab right now, which is basically somewhere where you can download principal PDF that you put on the welcome table at any open houses. So got a QR code on it again with your picture and a little bit of information about the building. But anybody wants, wants to scan that QR code will, you know, get asked for their contact information in exchange for getting access to the report. And so far we're hearing just like raving feedback about how, how many more clients people are getting as a result because you're offering something so valuable in return. So it's, yeah, that's another way that people are using the service to generate new clients out of their current, current ends.

Great idea. No, I love that because it's like we have them at an open house. It's like, how do we, how do we, you know, get more clients from that open house? And if you're giving value like that, which is significant, right, which is such a deep dive analysis on the, on the building itself. What a valuable thing. I know that a lot of realtors, I know they're very mobile, like they're on the go. Is this mobile friendly? Like, can they, can they, I guess, edit reports on the go, or is this, can they view reports on their mobile? How does that, how would that work?

Yeah, so the client view is viewable on mobile. We're working on getting the Realtor view on mobile, but it's really a bit of a large thing to be trying to do on a phone screen. So you really are looking at wanting to have your laptop there. You can't upload documents from a mobile either just because you don't have like file storage in the same way on the computer. So you are like, when you're creating a document, you do need to kind of have a computer that you're at. But a laptop is more than capable. It's just the same way as getting the files and moving them around. But yeah, clients will be able to view this on their phones or like what I often see is people are saying, well it's on my iPad because they're sitting on their couch taking a look at it after they've kind of gone to see a place. And you know, iPads are usually what gets used for that or their tablets. But yeah, so it is, it's mobile friendly on the client side, but because of what we want to be able to do with it, it's recommended that you're using a laptop or a desktop for the, the Realtor view where you're doing all the customizing and stuff. You need proper keyboard and enough screen space to see what's going on.

Yeah, I think the important one is the client side, obviously the convenience for them and being able to visualize it because they probably want to keep it simple on their end as well. So. No, that's, I mean, any other, any other parting words, Andrew? I think this was very informative. I think it sounds like a very effective solution to definitely help save time, avoid mistakes. Right. Those, those errors that us as, as, as people can, can oversee or, or make. Right. If we're tired or we miss whatever the case is. So I think that the values. Value significant if, if, if they use your platform. Yeah, Any, any parting words? Any, any, anything else you'd like to add?

Yeah, just hop on the website and you know, if you want a better explanation or if you like it and you've got a team of people, there's a button to book a demo. That's an email that comes straight to me and I'm more than happy to do a live demonstration for any individual or group of people who think they want to take a look. And the other only thing is, you know, with onboarding any new tool, you kind of want to try these things out before you got a client looking over your shoulder. So do you know, take a look at it before you got a live deal in play? Because it's something that, it's fantastic. But you know, if you're under the pressure of an offer that needs to go in the next kind of five hours, uh, it's not going to be, you know, the most relaxing time to figure everything out. So reach out. Whenever you've got a few minutes, you're happy to, to do a demonstration and yeah, gonna show you all the different kind of tips and tricks on what people are using to, to make it the most valuable for them.

Very cool. Well, thank you so much Andrew. All the best. All the, I wish you all the best success as you, you know, grow and expand the product across, across the country. And you know, I'm, I'm looking forward to see you just, just to take over that space. So fantastic job and congratulations on what you've achieved.

Awesome. Thanks so much Matt for having me and I really appreciate letting us come and chat about what we got here. And yeah, if ever you got any questions yourself, by all means give me a call anytime.

Wonderful. You have a great day.

Thanks for listening to the House Rich podcast with Matt Parker. We hope you enjoyed this episode. For more information and resources to get you started on your home ownership journey, visit www.mattparker.ca and don't forget to rate and review this podcast. Thanks again for listening.