Strata Unscripted

Welcome back to Strata Unscripted! In this episode, hosts Thomas Beattie (OctoAI) and Katharine Olson (Groundbreaking Strata) are joined by special guest Sat Harwood, Managing Partner at Lesperance Mendes Lawyers in Vancouver. With experience as a strata lawyer since 2007, Sat has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of strata living. Together, they dive into the complex world of strata governance...

In this episode of Strata Unscripted, Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking Strata and host Thomas Beattie of OctoAI discuss the unique dynamics of families and children within shared living environments. Prompted by Mother's Day, they explore the necessity of building inclusive communities where children are welcomed rather than treated as a "nuisance". The conversation covers the legal...

What does it really take to manage the strata corporations that everyone else ignores? In this episode of Strata Unscripted, Thomas Beattie (OctoAI) and co-host Katharine Olson (Groundbreaking) sit down with Sean Michaels, founder of Obsidian Property Management, a strata management firm quietly doing the work that the big players won't touch. Sean built Obsidian around a deceptively simple id...

What happens when strata meets Friday the 13th? Nothing good...and we have the receipts. In this episode of Strata Unscripted, Thomas and Katharine dive deep into the real-life horror stories lurking in BC's strata world: from hoarders to midnight elevator raids, weapons at AGMs, and the cautionary tale of the Grand Central building in Coquitlam (media has questioned if it is the most dysfunct...

Welcome back to another episode of Strata Unscripted! Thomas Beattie from OctoAI is joined by fantastic co-host Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking Strata. In our dynamic, Katharine usually brings the gut feelings and early warning signals, while Thomas brings the cold, hard data—though to be fair, his data-heavy approach recently got him mistaken for being AI at the Buildex conference. In this disc...

Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking and Thomas Beattie of OctoAI are back to discuss what happens in stratas with tensions over capital projects, the priorities of resident owners vs investor owners, renters and rent control, and the 2026 outlook for renters. Also, the impact of this years' requirement to update depreciation reports (if over 5 years old), what it means, and how property manageme...

Yang Fei of Strata Engineering joined Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking and Thomas Beattie of OctoAI for a discussion of recent events. Strata Gal Training Series: Engaging, Experiential LearningThe panel kicks off with reflections on the innovative Strata Gal training series. This hands-on, roleplay-driven experience brought real-world strata governance challenges to life, making complex regulato...

In this episode of Strata Unscripted, Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking Strata joins Thomas Beattie from OctoAI to unpack some of the biggest conversations in the BC housing world right now, from multiplex zoning reform to the future of strata education. Fresh from the Urban Development Institute (UDI) luncheon featuring Rick Ilich, Bob Rennie, and Premier David Eby, Katharine and Thomas share can...

Join Katharine Olson from Groundbreaking Strata for the first episode of Strata Unscripted, diving deep into the education gaps facing multiplex developers and the strata manager shortage crisis. By the end of this segment, you'll understand why thousands of small stratas are non-compliant, learn about the paradox of high demand but low hiring in strata management, and discover how technology...

Mike Browne of Advantage Property Management joins ‘Strata Gal’ Katharine Olson of Groundbreaking and Thomas Beattie of OctoAI for a candid chat about the wild ride that is the BC strata industry. From inheriting—and transforming—his father’s brokerage (“The Wild West days”) to surviving a dramatic staff exodus, Mike pulls back the curtain on managing not just one, but two overwhelming portfolios...