Nevada Cooperator Winter 2020

Winter 2020 NEVADACOOPERATOR.COM continued on page 10 property is generally the result of fiscal mismanagement. For example, boards may choose to undertake the wrong projects at the wrong time. They may decide they prefer to renovate the lobby when in fact they should be upgrading their boiler. Or they may decide to put in solar panels when they should be converting from oil to gas.” And those aren’t just theoretical, Halper is quick to note. “These are real examples that we’ve encountered over the years.” NEVADA THE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION RESOURCE THE COOPERATOR continued on page 10 Like so many other sectors of the econ- omy, residential real estate management has changed and evolved since the turn of the millennium—and like those other sectors, much of that evolution is directly linked to the development and adoption of technol- ogy. Yet the essence of the manager’s mission remains the same: one of close interpersonal interaction. Technological advances may have sped up response times and analytics in many situations, but good, old-fashioned personal contact still remains the keystone to effective management. The Game Changer, for Better or Worse What seems to have changed the most in the last couple of decades is the manag- er’s work hours. Daniel Wollman, the CEO of Gumley-Haft, a management firm based in New York City, explains that years ago, his job—while not a traditional 9-to-5 po- sition—was more or less limited to regular business hours. Particularly during the sum- mer months, the pace of work would slow as many people in the industry went away for long periods of time, often as much as a month or even the whole season. With the advent and adoption of email as the primary means of communication between managers and their client communities, that’s definitely changed. “Email changed everything,” Wollman says. “Thirty years ago, there wasn’t an inter- net. Now I get north of 300 emails daily. This Despite the best intentions of board members, residents, and even managers, condomin- ium properties and HOAs don’t always run like well-tuned machines. Sometimes they hit a bump in the road...and sometimes they break down completely. The reasons behind such a breakdown can come from many directions, including financial missteps, physical plant prob- lems, and interpersonal disputes. Money and Maintenance In any business, money is always a potentially huge problem—and co-op corporations and condominium associations are no exception to this rule. Financial complications tend to come from two directions: One is financing, the other is reserves. Condominium associations undertake community-wide financing for any number of rea- sons that can make the whole community liable in the event of default. Reserves (or the lack thereof) are the other area where communities may find themselves in financial distress. Like just about everything else, physical plants and common elements age— and if proper reserves have not been built up and maintained, buildings may find themselves in the financial weeds if a major physical component like a roof or boiler suddenly needs repair or replacement, or if a bad winter or other unforeseen event causes extensive damage to the property. According to Stuart Halper, vice president of Impact Management, a co-op and condo man- agement firm with offices in Manhattan, Westchester, and Long Island, New York, “A distressed An individual’s interest in their com- munity association is rarely just financial; in most cases, a building or HOA is also that individual’s home—and as such they’re motivated to contribute to its quality of life, neighborhood congeniality, and aesthetics, just to name a few of the things that make a place somewhere people love to live. For that reason, most of the people who volunteer to serve on their association board are full-time residents of that association. This is not always the case, however. Oc- casionally, people who don’t actually reside in an association pursue board membership— usually due to some combination of free time and personal and/or financial interests in the community. While there’s nothing inherently problematic with having non-residents on a co-op or condo board, it does present cer- tain considerations. We reached out to some management experts to delve into what may motivate these non-resident members, whether or not their presence on the board increases the likelihood of conflict with the members who do call the community home, and how potentially differing interests can coexist harmoniously and productively. Motivating Factors When a person who doesn’t live in an as- sociation year-round runs for a board posi- tion, a voting resident should evaluate them with much the same criteria as they would a full-time neighbor: what is motivating this individual to seek a board position, and will they put the interests of the greater associa- tion above their own? “Over the years, we have represented some boards with non-resident members,” says James A. Slowikowski, a partner with Dickler, Kahn, Slowikowski, & Zavell, Ltd. in Arlington Heights, Illinois. “Sometimes the member lives locally, but is not a resident in the association. In other instances, the members are snowbirds, and as such they are ‘absent’ for several months at a time, but The Challenges of Managing a Distressed Property Getting Back on Track BY A J SIDRANSKY The Evolution of Property Management Big Changes in the Last Decade BY A J SIDRANSKY Non-Resident Board Members Managing Absentee Decision Makers BY MIKE ODENTHAL 205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED THE COOPERATOR EXPO 2020 WHERE BUILDINGS MEET SERVICES 200+ EXHIBITORS, SEMINARS, FREE ADVICE & NETWORKING LAS VEGAS’ BIGGEST & BEST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION EXPO! LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER — WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 10–3:30 FREE REGISTRATION: LV-EXPO.COM continued on page 11