Frequently Asked Questions

Homeowners Association

  • The acronym HOA stands for Homeowners Association.

  • Many communities wish to manage the maintenance of common areas within their community which are outside of the Municipality’s responsibility.  Setting up a not-for-profit corporation under the Companies Act is a common approach to taking on that responsibility.  This responsibility is supported and enforced by the HOA Encumbrance, a legal document filed at the Land Titles Office and shown on the title to your property.  You should have received a copy of it with your real estate purchase documents.

  • The City of Edmonton is responsible for providing basic services to Starling at Big Lake homeowners, as it does for other neighborhoods in the city.  However, the HOA may provide services the Municipality does not provide, should the Board of Directors chose to do so.

    View the HOA responsibilities.

  • The Starling at Big Lake HOA website is intended to be the main method of communicating with the homeowner membership.  The website includes legal documents relating to the HOA and provides information, updates and notices about the community and special events.  In addition, the HOA board can send notices to you by email.  We ask that you keep us updated regarding changes to your email contact information.

  • No. The HOA is registered as an encumbrance against the title of your property and individual homeowners are not able to opt out

  • Directors were elected by the 2025 Starling at Big Lake HOA via proxy at the Annual General Meeting for a one-year term.

    Current Directors:

    • Raf Tenderenda

    • Art Kominek

    • Ross Marks

    • Brian Mulawka

    • Dan Stokes

    • Jeff Thompson

Fees

  • At present the annual fees are $100+GST per unit, per year.

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    •      We offer three easy ways to pay your invoice:

    1.      CHEQUE: Mail your cheque or bring cash to Starling at Big Lake HOA at #1250, 5555 Calgary Trail NW. Edmonton, AB T6H 5P9 (no additional fees)

    2.      ONLINE: You may login to your Starling at Big Lake Homeowners Association account (3% convenience fee for any payments made with a credit card).

    3.      TELEPAY: To pay by phone with your credit card call 780.784.2958 and follow the prompts, using the Access Code shown on your invoice (3% convenience fee for any payments made with a credit card).

    •      To pay your invoice online, go to https://central.ivrnet.com/starling/  click on “Log In”. Enter your email address and password.

    Once you are logged in you will need to click on “Profile” and then “Payments Due”. From here you will see a little green button with the $ sign on it. That is what you need to click on to pay with credit card online. If you need a receipt after you click “past payments” and click on the little blue button with an eye on it.

    •      If you are unsure of your login credentials, please contact Core

    •      If you need help paying your invoice or would like to receive a copy, please contact Core

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    Call or Email Core at 780-651-1577 or email info@coremanagement.ca

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    May 1, 2026 - Interest is applied to all outstanding accounts (interest charged as per encumbrance at a rate of 5% per annum above the TD Bank Prime Rate calculated and compounded monthly).

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  • No. The HOA is registered as an encumbrance against the title of your property and individual homeowners are not able to opt out.

  • The usual practice would be for the lawyer who acted for you on your purchase to review a copy of your title and explain any of the registered encumbrances.  Even if that was overlooked, your title has been charged with the HOA Encumbrance which requires each homeowner affected to pay the fees.  Owning property in Starling at Big Lake automatically makes you a member in the association as outlined on the encumbrance registered on each title.

  • Your elected Board of Directors will decide and direct where fees are spent, usually based on homeowner input.

  • Your fee may be used to pay some or all of the following: fees to an external Management Company, fees to an external technology provider, maintenance of common area landscaping, upkeep of structures in the neighbourhood, insurance required for liability, Directors and Officers coverage and replacement of entry features. Please visit “financials” under the “Resources” tab on this website, for further details.

  • PAYMENTS ARE DUE JANUARY 1ST OF EACH YEAR. May 1, 2026 - Interest is applied to all outstanding accounts (interest charged as per encumbrance at a rate of 5% per annum above the TD Bank Prime Rate calculated and compounded monthly). If you do not pay your fees, your Board may decide how they wish to enforce payment

  • Please keep your mailing address and contact information current with Core Management (info@coremanagement.ca or call 780-651-1577).  If you move or sell your house, send updates to Core Property Management.

  • We are often asked what is included in the Management Fees and we understand this is a large budget item.  The Management Fee is for the management of the day-to-day operations of the HOA on behalf of the Board of Directors.  Those fees pay for the services of a professional property manager, assistant property manager and accounting staff and includes, but is not limited to:

    1. Working on behalf of the Board of Directors to establish procedures, policies and annual budgets; communicating with members, facilitating board meetings, following through on recommendations and mandates as put forward by the board of directors; communicating and enforcing the HOAs governing documents, including Bylaws and Rules & Encumbrances;

    2. Managing maintenance items including obtaining quotes, board approval for expenditures, hiring and monitoring contractors and labourers, completing regular community site visits to ensure quality and contractor compliance;

    3. Working with the City of Edmonton to coordinate maintenance schedules, community safety and communicating owner concerns;

    4. Managing membership requirements including verifying and updating owner and property information, providing information to owners and solicitors during property sale transactions, educating owners on HOAs and the governing documents, providing direction to owners regarding expectations and responsibilities, managing owner disputes, providing IT support for owners to access their online profiles, referring owners to appropriate agencies outside the HOA, such as the developer, EPCOR or the City of Edmonton as appropriate;

    5. Managing communications with owners, contractors and the Board of Directors including receiving, responding, recording and storing owner questions, concerns and complaints; liaising between owners and the Board of Directors; receiving and responding to emails, phone calls, letters, visitors;

    6. Managing financial aspects of the HOA including annual invoicing and communications, managing accounts receivable and collections, receiving payments, paying invoices, data entry, compiling monthly financial statements, financial reporting, working with auditors to complete annual audits.

    7. Facilitating Annual General Meetings (AGMs) including arranging venues, producing AGM packages, delivering AGM packages via email or Canada Post, hosting the meeting, presenting the Association’s audited financials and facilitating elections, recording AGM minutes and managing HOAs annual return.

  • While both go toward maintaining and enhancing shared spaces, the nature of these shared spaces and the extent of ownership differs.  Condos and HOAs have different ownership structures, which influence how fees are assessed and the division of responsibilities for maintenance and repairs.

    In a condominium each owner has individual ownership of their interior space and shared ownership of common areas or ownership of their home and lot.  Condo fees are monthly and cover all maintenance requirements and are divided according to the number of unit factors a unit has.  Those unit factors are determined by the Developer, Surveyor and Lawyer when a condominium is set up and are often determined by living space area.  In an HOA, homeowners own their lots and the homes built on those lots and the HOA is responsible only for the maintenance of shared areas within the community.  Those fees are often assessed equally for each homeowner and are generally charged on an annual basis.  In some cases, you may pay both condo fees and HOA fees if a condominium property is part of a greater HOA.  HOA fees are paid by individual owners as they are mandated by the encumbrance registered on the title of each individual unit and are the responsibility of the individual homeowner.

General Questions

  • A Restrictive Covenant is a binding and enforceable restriction on the use or uses permitted on the specified property on which it is registered.  To determine what restrictive covenants are applicable to a specific property, a search may be made of the applicable title at any Registry Office in Alberta.

  • Architectural Guidelines are generally registered as part of the Restrictive Covenant or may be reqistered by way of Caveat.  These are binding and enforceable restrictions on the overall look of the homes within a community which include architectural requirements of home style, roofing materials, exterior colours and fencing materials and construction.  To determine what requirements apply to a specific property, a search may be made of the applicable title at any Registry Office in Alberta.

  • You may contact Core Property Management.

  • Please contact Core Management.  The management company will reply back to you within 2-4 business days.

  • Contact the City of Edmonton at 311.

  • Monterey Grey by Cloverdale Paints (CLA002 tint code Weather one solid Hide Stain, Product code – 72301)

  • You should inform your real estate agent, any potential buyer and Core Management.  In addition to mentioning the mandatory annual fee, we suggest you take the opportunity to highlight the features and services provided by the HOA.  Take advantage of what’s provided as an additional selling feature of living in the Starling at Big Lake neighborhood.

Your Community

    • Boulevards:  Homeowners are responsible for maintaining the lawns up to the curb (front and side yards). 

    • Trees on the boulevard are the City’s responsibility.

    • Pond and surrounding land:  The City of Edmonton has responsibility for the pond and surrounding landscaping and walkways.

    • Pathways:  The City of Edmonton has responsibility for maintaining the paths or walkways that follow ravines and conservation areas, as well as the landscaping for one metre on each side.  Lawns between the pathways and the homes are the responsibility of the homeowners other than the one metre abutment.  Pathways that lead to the ravine path and or the pond areas are also maintained by the City, but the lawns adjoining the individual properties are the responsibility of the homeowner.

    • Fences:  Fences that surround an individual property are the responsibility of the homeowner.

  • If you contract with or hire someone to do some work on your property, please ensure they are aware that any damages done to the community property or amenities must be repaired or returned to the original state they were in before the work started.  This includes damage to and clean up of landscaping (trees, shrubs, flower beds, lawns, etc.), fences and other  items.  As the property owner, you will be liable for any damages that are not repaired to the satisfaction of the City of Edmonton.