Page 23 - CooperatorNews Nevada EXPO 2021

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COOPERATORNEWS NEVADA—
EXPO 2021
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approved hours. Fobs are flexible and can the most complete iteration of the technol-
be programmed down to hours. Old fobs ogy. That platform generally includes key-
can be easily reassigned to new owners or less entry, surveillance, and intercom—one
different points of access.
Useful as they are, however, key fobs do
have their drawbacks. According to Ron, no everyone just left their doors open, we can
electricity means no keyless entry—because also rest easier now, knowing that at least
fobs will not work during a power outage. some forms of technology may have made
So boards and managers need to have a us a little safer.
backup plan, says Stuart Halper of Impact
Management, which has offices throughout
the New York area. “There aren’t a lot of op-
tions, though,” he laments. “Basically [in
the event of an outage], you need the super
to man the front door to keep it open and
under surveillance.” In extreme cases like
2012’s Superstorm Sandy in which electri-
cal power was out for days all along the East
Coast, “a backup battery-powered genera-
tor wouldn’t work either,” Halper says. “The
battery wouldn’t last that long. So you still
need the super.”
Climate is another consideration. In an
arid climate like Nevada’s, extremes in tem-
perature can have an effect on the function
of fob-based systems. “Because of the heat
and cold,” says a representative with 24/7
SuperTech Locksmith, which services the
Las Vegas valley, “you can have a problem.
The fobs may not work. With conventional
keys you don’t have that problem.”
And while not as acute, one other major
drawback could still be critical. In conjunc-
tion with apps on your smartphone, fob
systems can be synchronized to provide
remote access from almost anywhere. You
could be on vacation in the Caribbean, and
if someone wants to be buzzed into your
building, you can buzz them in through a
phone call. That may sound great—and in
many ways, it is—but these apps don’t neces-
sarily come with video capability, and that’s
the big drawback. You might buzz in some-
one you didn’t want there. “Old-fashioned
buzzer systems are secure,” says Maunsell,
“in the respect that you only buzz someone
in if you’re in your apartment. With phone
entry, you could be anywhere—and that’s
less secure.”
Price
Dahlin says the cost of fob systems is
dropping thanks to both the technology be-
coming more accessible and the increasing
demand on the part of residents, boards,
and property managers. “People want this,”
he says. A very simple system can cost un-
der $700 to install and get up and running.
The cost of entry is lowest for new con-
struction, where a fob system and any other
complementary technology system are in-
stalled during the build-out of the property.
Retrofits of older buildings without any
existing technology are more labor inten-
sive, and therefore more expensive. Such
projects may also require extensive physical
alterations to run wires, components, and
other equipment throughout the property.
For buildings and associations look-
ing to retrofit their properties with key fob
systems, Maunsell recommends installing a
fob system with a unified platform, which is
program on one server on one platform.
So while we may mourn the days when
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A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for
CooperatorNews, and a published novelist.
bors. Every owner has the right to attend
the meetings of the board and learn about
things going on in their community.
“2. During the ‘owners’ section—here in
Nevada, right at the beginning of the meet-
ing—any owner may stand up and express
their concerns about any item on the agen-
da. Try to keep your remarks to a minute
or two.
“3. As an owner you will also have the
right to stand up and express your con-
cerns about anything—even if not on the
agenda—at the end of the meeting at the
second ‘owners’ section. Again, keep your
comments to a minute or two. Always try
to include something positive—‘I am new
here and looking forward to getting to
know all my neighbors…’
“4. Contact your association’s manage-
ment company and introduce yourself.
Then ask when the next election will be.
“5. When the pre-election call for volun-
teers to run for the board [comes]—fill out
that application and send it in!
“6. Run for the board. Campaign. Talk
to your neighbors about things that are im-
portant so that if you are elected you can
better represent them.
“7. Locate your escrow package and read
through any documents relating to your
new community—i.e., Covenants, Condi-
tions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), Rules &
Regulations, any policies—learn about how
things are run where you live.
“8. If you continue to have problems, or
believe that the owners are somehow being
prevented from fairly participating in the
running of their association, take a look at
the Nevada Real Estate Division’s website.
They have a lot of resources there for get-
ting help.
“I would hope that simply getting some
new people elected onto the board will
remedy most of your concerns, but you can
also look at how to file a complaint if that
becomes necessary. The board representa-
tives all ‘work for free,’ so I’m sure they will
appreciate your help and participation.
“Oftentimes, simply getting more of a
voice is all you will need to feel welcomed
into a community. It is up to you to become
an active participant in your association.
The current board and the management
company will more than likely appreciate
your help.”
Q&A
continued from page 7
After the Floods
Q
I own a condo that I sublet to
a renter. Recently, the apart-
ment flooded twice: once when
the renter, who is ill, had left the water on
by mistake. The second time seems due
to plumbing issues that I am responsible
for, and which are being repaired. To my
knowledge, there wasn’t any damage to
adjoining units either time, but the condo
board now refuses to approve my renter’s
renewal lease. Do I have any recourse to de-
lay or appeal their decision? I am less con-
cerned about my loss of income than I am
about forcing someone who has significant
medical problems to move immediately, es-
pecially while the pandemic continues.
—Trying to Keep My Renter
A
“In Nevada,” says Adam
Clarkson, attorney at The
Clarkson Law Group, with
offices in Las Vegas and Reno, “an associa-
tion has no right to approve or disapprove
a lease unless the association’s Covenants,
Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) ex-
pressly provided that power to the associa-
tion at the time the owner purchased the
unit. See Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)
116.335(2). It is actually incredibly unusual
for the CC&Rs of Nevada community as-
sociations to actually contain such a provi-
sion. Therefore, it is highly likely that your
association is attempting to exercise a pow-
er that it does not lawfully possess, which
you would not have to comply with and the
association would have no right to enforce.
A review of your association’s CC&Rs will
likely confirm this to be the case.”
n
Disclaimer: The answers provided in this Q&A
column are of a general nature and cannot
substitute for professional advice regarding your
specific circumstances. Always seek the advice of
competent legal counsel or other qualified profes-
sionals with any questions you may have regard-
ing technical or legal issues.
Authority (SNWA), according to the outlet.
SNWA is authorized to rebate businesses and
HOAs up to $3 per square-foot of removed
grass up to 10,000 square feet, and $1.50 per
square-foot beyond that.
SNWA’s Bronson Mack tells
News 3
that
since AB 356 passed, the rebate program has
already received 170 applications from non-
residential customers. “They want to be ahead
of the curve. So they’re getting in line so that
they can apply for the water-smart landscape
rebate programs as they take out their grass,”
he says.
Spearman Sponsors Bill Making HOA
Foreclosure Judicial
State Sen. Pat Spearman (D-Clark) is
sponsoring Senate Bill 144, which would
change the process used by HOAs when they
PULSE
continued from page 6
foreclose on homes over fines and fees owed
to the association. Currently, as the
Nevada
Current
reports, such foreclosures are non-ju-
dicial, omitting a level of scrutiny over HOAs
that many say is lacking.
Spearman argues that SB 144 would insert
a needed layer of due process for homeown-
ers. “Right now, it’s really whatever the HOA
says you owe [that goes],” he said during
the bill’s first hearing in the Senate Judiciary
Committee this March, “and who you gonna
call? Ghostbusters? They can’t help.”
According to the
Current,
the bill would
also require associations to create a website
or portal where homeowners can easily track
important information, including what out-
standing fines and fees they have, what col-
lection agencies work with the HOA, and the
name of the community manager.
Supporters of the bill include homeowners
like Brenda Bertsch, who told lawmakers that
her association initiated a foreclosure on her
unit after a dispute involving a plumbing is-
sue that flooded her condo with sewage while
she was recovering from major back surgery.
Others recounted experiences trying to navi-
gate the confusing process of catching up on
fines and fees that are often passed around
and compounded.
The bill was opposed by groups like the
Nevada Association of Community Manag-
ers and the Creditor’s Rights Attorney Asso-
ciation of Nevada on grounds that changing
the process would lead to increased costs and
unintended consequences.
Two Republican lawmakers raised con-
cerns about smaller HOAs that might not
have a dedicated community manager. Spear-
man said a conceptual amendment that ex-
empts HOAs with fewer than 100 homes is
expected to be introduced, reports the outlet.
Spearman framed the bill as following up
on a resolution declaring racism to be a public
health crisis, which was unanimously passed
by the Nevada State Legislature during a spe-
cial session last summer, notes the
Current.
Referring to that resolution, Spearman said to
fellow lawmakers, “We have to ask ourselves
the question: Were those just pretty words,
were they just something we did, was it just
something to make us feel good and make
us forget there are people that are suffering?
What do we intend to do about ending struc-
tural racism?”
Spearman referenced an analysis using
foreclosure data from the Nevada Associa-
tion of Realtors that found HOA foreclosures
happened most frequently in zip codes with
higher percentages of people of color. With
home ownership being one of the primary
ways people attempt to build generational
wealth, says the outlet, removing that method
of wealth-building over an unexpected HOA
fine contributes to the disproportionate lack
of generational wealth that systemically im-
pacts communities of color.
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Please submit Pulse items to
Darcey Gerstein at
darcey@cooperatornews.com