Page 25 - CooperatorNews NJ Expo 2022

NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY —EXPO 2022 23 Your Association is in Good Hands with Homestead Management Services. Responsible Property Management that responds to your needs • Personal, responsive customer care with 24/7 emergency call service • Modern, fully intergrated databased network for quick response to problems and solutions • Live, expert staff of experienced management personel A complete financial package: • Complete Monthly Financial Statement •Accounts Payable • Accounts Receivable •Deliquency Report •Annual Reports www.homesteadmgmt.org Family owned with over 35 years years of experience 328 Changebridge Rd. Pinebrook, NJ 07058 973-797-1444 284 Rt. 206 South, Hillsborough, NJ 08844 908-874-6991 © AAMC ACCREDITED ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY Sebco the safety concerns for these tenants are pandemic. front and center.” Numerous as they are, the role and re- sponsibilities of managers haven’t devi- ated much over the years—but they took basically business as usual,” says Wollman. a sharp right turn during the pandemic. “Some buildings still want one person on Managers faced situations they’d never en- countered before, and had to take on roles have to adapt to their policies.” that were not part of their original job de- scription. “We’re not doctors or medical person- nel,” says Wollman, “and we got thrust changed the landscape of building man- into managing a pandemic. It’s been ex- tremely difficult. My company manages everyone’s eyes to new possibilities that about 75 buildings, and I am responsible maybe were shunned previously,” he says. for the 6,000 people who live in them, the “For example, board meetings and month- 1,000 people who work in them, and all ly meetings can now be conducted over the people who work in my office. That’s video calls, regardless of your location. a pretty big responsibility that I take ex- tremely seriously.” Wollman explains that the managers longer centralized. It’s a tremendous time- in his firm and all around the region and saver, and opens new possibilities.” the country had the added responsibility of following the CDC and state guidelines tions have changed even a little bit, how in their daily tasks. “We bent over back- ward to make sure that our people were their property managers? A board should safe, and had to design and implement neither shy away from conducting a thor- new procedures for using the common ough, honest and open performance re- areas like the gym or the laundry to keep view of its management agent—nor should everyone safe.” Other COVID Considerations The pandemic also added a new set of frontation is never easy, but the associa- challenges that managers needed to deal tion is a client of the managing agent, and with—including maintenance and repair as such can set the terms. jobs that took significantly longer than normal because of contractor crew issues dor, associations should review that ven- and supply shortages. Contractors’ crews were often short- staffed due to illness or exposure, causing with Becker & Poliakoff in Morristown. a backlog, “So jobs we were doing were “The determination to make a change taking twice as long,” says Wollman. Also, should not be based on price alone— management had to work closely with meaning that you don’t necessarily have to contractors to make sure the safety pro- tocols put into place were being adhered with the capabilities of your management to, including keeping contractors six feet company and, more importantly, the ser- apart on scaffolding and adding hand- washing stations and new elevator proce- dures. Management also had to become ad formal review,” says Wollman. “Instead, hoc public health agents, enforcing the when a tenant or board has a problem with wearing of masks and social distancing, our responsiveness, wrong decisions, or a which often led to interpersonal conflicts staff that isn’t operating at an appropriate as the pandemic became not just a health level, the boards just talk to us about it.” issue, but a political one. “If contractors didn’t comply \[with task and only item on our checklist is to rules and guidelines\], we just didn’t let pick up the phone and call the ownership/ them in the building,” says Wollman, “but board and take their pulse on my progress when you have a shareholder without a and services,” he says. “We are in the busi- mask and they curse at you, what do you ness of providing time and service and in do? Those were complex issues, and we my opinion, I owe it to the ownership/ didn’t want management having alterca- tions with residents, so there were letters least once every quarter so I can gauge and and signs for the safety of the tenants— but some people don’t care about anything and services the boards are asking for.” For like that.” With the reduction of COVID cases (as of this writing, at least), and lifting of federal mask mandates, Wollman says that now boards can make their own decisions on masks, distancing, and other measures they may have had in place earlier in the “I have some boards that are extremely conservative, and others that are extreme- ly liberal in terms of policy, and some are the elevator at a time and masks, so we Putting Performance in Perspective All this being said, Movahedian says he doesn’t think COVID has significantly agement. Rather, “I think COVID opened The same applies to real estate closings and tenant/shareholder interviews. They’re no But if property manager job descrip- does a board gauge the performances of it be afraid to up the frequency of reviews should management underwhelm. Con- “Regardless as to the nature of the ven- dor’s performance on at least an annual basis,” says Martin C. Cabalar, an attorney go with the low bidder if you are satisfied vices which you are being provided.” “Some boards evaluate or do a critique of what we’re doing, but they don’t do a Movahedian agrees. “The number one board that hires me to call the boards at measure my capacity to adjust to the needs example, Movahedian recently called his MANAGEMENT... continued from page 1 continued on page 24 See us at Booth 419 NEW JERSEY See us at Booth 420 NEW JERSEY