Page 26 - CooperatorNews NJ Expo 2022

24 COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY —EXPO 2022 NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM INSURANCE... ON THE GO! With our Mobile App & Client Portal you get 24/7 secure account access and paperless options in just a click! M ackoul R isk s olutions YOUR INSURANCE. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! WEB: WWW.Mackoul.coM BLOG: Mackoul.coM/BloG PHONE: (866) Mackoul EMAIL: inFo@Mackoul.coM Visit our Client Portal • pay your bill • report a claim • mobile auto ID Card • policy change request • view policy information • online certificate request board of managers for a condominium in Brooklyn to fi nd out how everything was going. “Th ey were very appreciative of my call and brought some staffi ng as well as cleanliness issues to my attention which were subsequently addressed.” But what if Mrs. Smith is annoyed that the manager or super didn’t get to a leak fast enough—what happens next? “We evaluate the situation, take action and de- velop a plan to bring it to closure,” says Wollman. “Some of those things may not be able to be done immediately, but we can evaluate it and get our plan together. Our next parts of the plan may involve Mrs. Smith or Mrs. Smith’s neighbor be- low her or the neighbor above her to gain access to her pipes.” Th e property manager also has to work with the dynamics of the residents. “Th ere might be someone who isn’t very coop- erative, and we have to fi gure out a way to convince them to let us in,” Wollman continues. “We may even need to sit with the shareholder and explain what we are doing.” Wollman says he also works closely with the board president so they know exactly what complaints or concerns are coming in. “We’re getting instant feed- back too, so they know what the process is and how we’re bringing whatever that is to closure,” he says. “Th e board may have a diff erent suggestion for us as to how we should handle it. I have to be diplomatic; I might need someone on the board who knows that person better than I do to help me explain to \[the resistant resident\] why I need to do what we have to do.” Problems do happen though. “If there is something going on with a manager, I sit down with them to understand exactly what happened—sometimes the manager is right, and sometimes the manager is wrong,” says Wollman. “If the manager is wrong, we need to identify what hap- pened and how it can be corrected. Many people are great at identifying problems, but they have to be solution-oriented too.” “Th e association-management rela- tionship is very unique,” Cabalar adds. “Th ere are many qualifi ed and well- respected management companies out there, and oft entimes, the decision to make a change has everything to do with the manager—not the specifi c manage- ment company. And the main signifi ers that management may be underperform- ing will usually be pretty obvious. For example, perhaps the manager was very responsive to the owners and the board during the fi rst year or two of their con- tract, but as some level of comfort sets in, so does some apathy. Maybe you recog- nize that the manager is routinely show- ing up late, or leaving the offi ce early.” Good managers and fi rms are com- mitted to doing additional training and continuing education in order to improve their skills and keep them current in a fast-changing fi eld. According to Woll- man, “Th ere is training on things like infrastructure,” he says, “and while there isn’t a one-size-fi ts-all training for all of the everyday problems that can come up, a good manager can apply some of the tactics they used to resolve one problem when they’re trying to resolve another.” Th e pros also agree that other team members, like attorneys, accountants, contractors, and architects, are also great resources for any manager seeking to guide a client community through any tricky situation, be it a major capital proj- ect, an interpersonal dispute, or—as we well know—a global pandemic. While nobody knows what the next few years may bring, and how it will impact the re- sponsibilities of property managers, the fact remains that working together with boards and residents—the human part of a complex equation—is still the bedrock of management success. n Lisa Iannucci is a freelance writer and contributor to CooperatorNews. MANAGEMENT... continued from page 23 clients who bought in the building to see if they are interested in selling.” Why is Inventory Low? “It all has to do with supply,” says Ke- skinkaya. “During the pandemic, we’ve had a lot of apartment units being rent- ed out instead of being sold, so many of those are rented and off the market. Owners who are satisfied with that rental income are renewing these leases, and that has resulted in an overall lack of in- ventory of units for sale.” Also, prices are back to pre-pandemic levels in many segments of the market. Buyers are seeing prices going up, and interest rates are rising as well, so they feel pressure to make their move and buy now. Even in less-hot markets where prices are still a bit down, there is upward movement. Market-watchers expect that, barring another major COVID surge, prices on units in those less-prime loca- tions will begin to rise in the spring. The bottom line: more inventory is needed. Keskinkaya believes unsolicited offers may trend upward in the spring as well, if low inventory continues. “It’s already a trend in the suburbs,” she says, “and with the recovery of the market here, we are expecting the same. There are bidding wars for everything now—so we’ll just have to wait and see how things develop.” In the meantime, brokers—and even some unit owners and shareholders— may increasingly find themselves the recipients of emails and letters from un- known sources, offering very large sums of money for very much occupied apart- ments. n UNSOLICITED... continued from page 8 See us at Booth 322 NEW JERSEY With locations in Northern and Central NJ Visit us on the web at www.WilkinGrp.com | 201.560.0900 Wilkin Management Group, Inc. 30 Years of History Wilkin Management Group, Inc.ilkin Management Group, Inc. Visit us on the web at www.WilkinGrp.com | 201.560.0900 W For over 30 years, Wilkin Management Group has held to an unshakeable corporate philosophy of Creating Value for Our Clients. Our People, Process and Performance demonstrates an un-wavering commitment to do so. See us at Booth 717 NEW JERSEY