Page 27 - NJ Cooperator Winter 2020
P. 27
Advertise In The New Jersey Cooperator Marketplace —Call 212-683-5700— Target Key Decision Makers In The Condominium, Co-op and HOA Community By Placing Your Ad Here MARKETPLACE For schedule and ad rates, contact Fred Marks at (786) 404-1701. LAUNDRY EXPERT TESTIMONY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT NJCOOPERATOR.COM THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR — WINTER 2020 27 Commercial/Residential/Condos • Flat Roofs, EPDM and TPO • Spray Foam Insulation • Shingle Roofs – Lifetime • Siding • Slate/Tile Experts • Solar • Chimney Repairs and Flashing • Garden Roofs • Leaders and Gutters • Professional Roof Inspections • Wood Shake Roofs • Snow Plowing OVER TWO DECADES OF EXCELLENCE! –One MIllion Dollar Liability Insurance Policy– –Full workman’s compensation policy– –Member of the Better Business Bureau– Montclair, NJ 07042 Phone: 973-783-6770 Bernardsville, NJ 07924 Phone: 908-580-5005 Wyckoff , NJ 07481 Phone: 201-891-2424 Sparta, NJ 07871 Phone: 973-729-7663 Washingtonville, NY Phone: 845-294-7554 www.alpineroofi ngexperts.com possible liability with them.” Halper says that while management fi rms carry errors and omission insurance, there’s still liabil- ity, and most fi rms will part company with a truly dysfunctional board before they become liable for the board’s mismanage- ment. “Th is is tough, really tough,” says Pet- renko. “Even when you work for a very long time on a problem, you may fi nd yourself so overly stressed or have a board that is in disagreement with not only you, but each other, that you walk away—and in truth, I have walked away. But regardless, you shouldn’t burn the bridge. You never know when paths may cross again.” Petrenko, Ruccolo, and Halper all point out that the management business can be stressful enough as it is—managing even one chronically distressed property can add to that stress and can take time away from other properties in one’s portfolio. “You don’t fi nd fi rms that only handle distressed properties,” says Ruccolo. Partly for the rea- sons already mentioned, but furthermore, Halper continues, it’s a matter of reputation. Nobody wants to be known as the compa- ny whose portfolio of properties is riddled with problems, lurching from one crisis to the next. “It’s a small business, and every- one knows each other,” he says. “You have to be careful of your reputation.” n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for Th e New Jersey Cooperator, and a published novelist. A According to Hubert Cutolo, an attorney with the fi rm of Cutolo Barros in Freehold: “In 2017, the Planned Real Estate Devel- opment Full Disclosure Act (‘PREDFDA’), N.J.S.A. 45:22A-43 et seq., was amended to address, among other things, board elec- tion procedures in community associations. Pursuant to this amendment, community associations having 50 or more units ‘shall not provide for a term of an executive board member to be for more than 4 years.’ (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2(c)(1).) In other words, the bylaws of a community which contains 50 or more units cannot provide that the term of offi ce for any board seat is longer than 4 years. Th is provision does not pre- vent the association from setting term lim- its. Rather, it sets a statutory limit on the length of time for any single term of offi ce. “Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:22A-45.2(b) and (c)(4), no community association can prevent the nomination of any member in good standing for the board. While these provisions do not expressly prohibit set- ting term limits through an amendment to community association governing docu- ments, it is evident that the 2017 PREDFDA amendments were intended to facilitate, rather than limit, member participation in community association governance. It is therefore likely that a court would inter- pret an amendment to a community asso- ciation’s bylaws setting limitations on the number of terms that a member in good standing can serve as being in confl ict with PREDFDA.” n Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues. Q&A continued from page 5 Write to The New Jersey Cooperator and we’ll pub- lish your question, along with a response from one of our attorney advisors. Questions may be edited for taste, length and clarity. Send your questions to: darcey@cooperator.com. Q&A