Page 9 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Winter 2022

NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY —WINTER 2022 9 ATTENTION BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS Maintenance of any masonry/concrete mid to high rise building is CRUCIAL From parking decks, to balconies, to brick pointing, window caulking, parapet walls, and roof structures, simple maintenance and inspection is IMPERATIVE to keep your investment DRY and STRUCTURALLY SOUND. Water intrusion can cause: • Structural damage • Damage claims from tenants and owners • Mold issues and lawsuits • Safety issues, e.g., falling masonry & Restoration Inc, of Jersey City, NJ, successfully completing over $200,000,000 of restoration work in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. H2O Pro operates only in New Jersey and we pledge to you that if you trust us to oversee exterior repairs to your buildings we will treat them as if they were our own. Choosing the right contractor is extremely important! Who are we? Call Toll Free: 844-774-6776 Small maintenance issues can become large capital projects. We work with you or your architect/engineer, to establish a repair plan that keeps your investment safe and sound without breaking your budget. (201) 343-4424 restorationmen.com American Architectural Restoration WE ARE THE REAL DEAL and records of the condominium to the new agent. So for an extended period, the association was unable to access its bank accounts. Imagine a condominium unable to pay its bills? Or not having access to its own books and records? We worked with the board and new management, and the bank, and we were ultimately able to assist in facilitating the transfer of the accounts, and the books and records—but obviously, it took the threat of legal action to do so.” To minimize the chance of such headaches, Hakim says, “Especially in this day and age of digitized records, we recommend that a board have real-time access to its files, and also that a current board member always be a signatory to any account.” Management contracts are a critical cog in the co-op/condo machine. Even if your board includes members with contract ne- gotiation experience, it’s always wise to seek the advice of legal counsel—and to always read the small print. Most importantly, identify your wants and expectations and make sure they all get into the document in clear, concise language to avoid troubles later. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. He can be reached at alan@yrinc.com. so it makes sense to offer more servic- es. They may have an accounting arm, an insurance arm, etc. In some mar- kets, they can also offer a slightly bet- ter pricing structure.” However, he adds that bigger companies are often more bureaucratic and less flexible. DiNocco says that “clients also may be obligated to engage with the ancillary services the management firm provides. You will get ‘sold’ on their in-house service provid- ers, and may feel you have to use them for those services.” Though usually smaller in terms of overall staff than big generalist manage- ment firms, ‘boutique’ doesn’t mean a company with less ability or experience. “Boutique firm managers will find what the client needs,” says David Goldoff, president of Camelot Realty Group, a New York City-based management firm. “If necessary, boutique firms will go out and hire someone to fill a specific need for a client. A big company might have someone like that already, but ac- cess is typically limited.” After all, with a huge portfolio of clients to cover, that in-house person may be handling prob- lems at numerous properties. “So size is not the issue,” says Goldoff. “Expertise is, and that applies to any management firm of any size. It’s really more about access and attention to individual client needs.” Andrew Marks has seen both sides of WHAT SIZE... continued from page 1 this quandary. He is senior vice presi- dent of new business and marketing for New York-based management firm Maxwell-Kates and was president of his Manhattan co-op for seven years. (Max- well-Kates is a subsidiary of Associa Community Management Corp, located in Fairfield, New Jersey.) According to Marks, “Large firms offer the potential for greater resources and bulk purchas- ing options to be accessed for the benefit of managed property, board, and com- munity. Larger scale also means more stability and staying power in the event of a downturn, as we’ve seen with CO- VID. “On the other hand,” he continues, “market pressures and a ‘grow at all costs’ mentality can stretch managers and back-office operations, leading to breakdowns in basic communications and responsiveness, one of the biggest frustrations and most common com- plaints I’ve seen from my vantage point on both sides of the table.” For Daniel Wollman, CEO of Gumley Haft, a management company serving about 6,000 units across 75 New York cooperative and condominium build- ings, “personal service is the difference. Because we are a smaller company, we are nimble and flexible. We work with less red tape, and have fewer layers to get through in order to get something done, whether managing a renovation or a complicated repair job.” Wollman adds that “our managers communicate daily with superintendents and resi- dent managers of all our buildings, and stay in touch with our board members throughout the week. We are flexible and accessible, in a way that simply can- not happen in larger companies.” Building Size & the Choice of Management Should your choice of a management company be based on the size of your as- sociation or corporation? Clearly, a 200- unit high rise with a full staff has dif- ferent needs than a 10-unit walk-up, or an 80-unit townhouse development with acres of landscaping, but your choice should still be made based on the needs of the community as a whole, not exclu- sively on its size. DiNocco says, “Communities should pick a management firm with which they can have a good relationship and work as a team. The truth is that many larger firms can’t make a profit from smaller properties, so they simply don’t take them on. Your decision should not be based on large or small, but rather on who offers the services you need, and what type of relationship you want to have. Large companies can provide great service, but smaller firms know more about the property. They know every customer and unit owner. Do you want a close, day-to-day relationship? Or does continued on page 10