Page 21 - CooperatorNews Nevada EXPO 2021

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COOPERATORNEWS NEVADA—
EXPO 2021
21
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service cleaning &
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Serving the Las Vegas valley since 1998
separate professional from property manage-
ment, the state has its own set of rules and re-
quirements for this profession. Aft er complet-
ing a 60-hour course, one must work under
a community manager for two years before
being eligible for a full license. Continuing
education is also required.
Career Longevity
Pretty much anyone would agree that mul-
tifamily property management isn’t the easiest
job in the world. So...do managers stick with
it? Do they adapt to changing variables to ad-
vance their careers? Both Wollman and Wolf
say yes.
“If you stay in fi ve years or longer, chances
are, you’ll stay in permanently,” says Wolf.
Many factors aff ect that decision, and that’s
something that’s been consistent over time.
Management involves long hours—manag-
ers are pretty much on call 24/7—and little
appreciation, along with heavy workloads.
Wolf points out that “While the number of
unit owners that tend to take advantage of a
manager is overall a very small percentage of
the whole, they can be very disturbing for the
manager—so the ‘thank yous’ the manager
gets from the other 97 or so percent make all
the diff erence.”
“Some managers who leave the business go
on to do project work,” adds Wollman, “but
the truth is there aren’t a lot of alternatives.
And we do everything we can to keep good
people.”
In the fi nal analysis, real estate manage-
ment has certainly changed, but at the same
time what makes the profession special has
stayed the same. Despite email, text, apps, and
other innovations, it’s still a people business
and is likely to stay that way.
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with
CooperatorNews, and a published novelist.
the member lives locally, but is not a resi-
dent in the association. In other instances,
the members are snowbirds, and as such
they are ‘absent’ for several months at a
time, but otherwise live at the property.
“I think there is only a slight diff erence
between those two types of non-resident
board members,” he continues. “Th e snow-
birds generally think like resident board
members. Th e main diff erence I tend to
see is that the snowbirds oft en will want to
put off projects or certain business until the
spring, when they will be back on-site—and
that’s usually in proportion to the number
of snowbirds serving on the board. When
one or more are away, board business tends
to be conducted only as-needed. On the
other hand, some things may be addressed
sooner than they normally would, such as
working on the annual budget before those
snowbirds depart for the winter. So the tim-
ing of when things get done is what is most
aff ected—not the substance of the decisions
so much as when those decisions are made.”
Th e full-time non-resident board mem-
ber presents a diff erent dynamic than his or
her seasonal counterpart. “Th ey typically
reside locally, but just not on the property,”
Slowikowski continues. “Strictly speaking,
from a legal perspective all board members
have the same duty to act in the best inter-
ests of the association, and residency should
not matter. But from a practical perspective,
we do see some diff erences in how they ap-
proach their duties. In my experience, the
non-resident board members tend to ap-
proach the operation of the association as
a business; they are protecting an invest-
ment.”
As long as that business is fi nancially sta-
ble and solvent, off -site board members may
be satisfi ed. “Th is type of board member is
typically not as concerned about funding
reserves, paying or adopting special assess-
ments, or borrowing funds as needed,” says
Slowikowski. “Th ey will want the parking
lot re-paved, rather than simply patching
potholes. While resident board members,
on the other hand, may have more concern
for day-to-day operations, and how the en-
forcement of rules and regulations aff ect
residents’ daily lives. Th ey tend to be more
in touch with smaller maintenance projects
that can have immediate eff ect on those at
the property, and are more likely to want to
keep assessments lower—even when assess-
ments should be raised—as they may not
possess that investor mentality.”
Nothin’ Goin’ on but the Rent
Non-resident board members may see
their units as assets to be monetized; as
such, they’re likely to want to rent their
apartments to maximize their investment.
“Many associations prefer owner-occu-
pied units, so in instances where confl ict
arises, it’s typically between those who live
there and those who don’t, and who want
to rent,” notes Marc H. Schneider, a partner
with Schneider Buchel LLP in Garden City,
New York. “But there is an obvious com-
monality there as well, as they all presum-
ably want to keep the property at maximum
value. So it’s not an automatic confl ict of
interest. But disputes can arise if someone
who rents their unit out doesn’t want to im-
prove the building in a way by which they
can’t immediately ascertain value, and they
feel will only cost them more in common
charges or maintenance. But they have to
remember that when you sit on a board,
you’re supposed to take your ‘I’ cap off and
put your ‘We’ cap on, and make decisions
in the best interests of the entire building.”
“Interestingly enough, board members
are on the same page regarding the running
of the association, regardless of their liv-
ing status—at least most of the time,” adds
Coleen Crawford, owner of Desert Com-
munity Management LLC in Las Vegas.
“Th ey aim to save money where they can,
and to keep the biggest amenity—whether
pool, spa, what have you—open for as long
as they can during the year.”
When it comes to renters, they, too, are
NON-RESIDENT...
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