Page 10 - New York Cooperator January 2019

10 THE COOPERATOR — JANUARY 2019 COOPERATOR.COM MANAGEMENT Running Small Associations Unique Communities, Unique Needs BY A J SIDRANSKY C ondominium associations come agement in Secaucus, New Jersey, “that’s in all sizes and shapes. They can pretty much what you’ve got!” contain hundreds of units, or as few as two. While many of the issues faced up a sizable portion of the market in by associations are universal regardless of places like the Upper West Side and East size, small condominium associations do Village in Manhattan; Park Slope and ad- face some unique challenges that set them jacent ‘brownstone” neighborhoods in apart from their larger cousins. Those Brooklyn; and in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. challenges touch all aspects of life in these According to Frank Lombardi, a principal communities, from legal to management with the law firm of Goodman, Shapiro to social issues. A Cozy Alternative Not all prospective condo owners are sociations under six units are \[also\] very seeking the same type of living environ- ment. Some prefer a large, all-inclusive may constitute as much as a third of all community with tons of amenities and associations in the region.” activities to choose from, while others prefer a smaller, cozier and more intimate tate operator in Chicago: “People who buy community. That type of vibe is often in small associations are usually drawn to found in smaller properties – typically the low common charges. Carrying costs walk-ups and brownstones – and often in in larger buildings are much higher, due urban settings. Small associations are not to those buildings offering more services. unusual, and indeed dominate the avail- able housing stock in certain locations. tional neighborhood as well, something For example, “if you want to live in Jersey more personal,” like the aforementioned City or Hoboken,” says Joseph Rosenberg, Lincoln Park, where brownstones are the Chief Operating Officer at Atlantic Man- Small condo associations also make and Lombardi, which has offices in Mas- sachusetts and Rhode Island: “Small as- common in New England. In fact, they According to Kevin McIntyre, a real es- They may be looking for a more tradi- order of the day. “There’s no particular profile of a typi- cal owner in a small association,” says to-day upkeep and maintenance. “The Ariel Fox, a property manager with Cor- nerstone Management Systems in Man- hattan. “It has more to do with the type of ment, and managers can’t work for the fee building. We manage old-style tenement that a small association can afford. That buildings where the units are smaller, and often leads to self-management, or to one the owners tend to be single, perhaps buy- ing their first unit. We also have conver- sions of old mercantile buildings where one’s own attorney. “As the old adage goes, you may have say, eight floor-through a man who represents himself has a fool lofts on eight floors. Those buildings at- tract families and investment bankers.” To Hire, or Self-Manage? David Abel, a property manager in Abel, “it doesn’t pay to handle small as- Boston with national firm FirstService sociations. The manager has the same Residential, says: “Many small condo as- sociations are mostly the result of con- versions of our old housing stock. The ments, arrange and attend inspections, apartments are worth more as individual monitor compliance requirements, set up units than the property is as a whole.” Put and attend meetings, and handle commu- another way, three condominium units nications with and between board mem- are worth more individually than a three- family house. “The problem with small associations,” small associations together.” Abel continues, “is that they’re small. They often can’t afford proper management. A four-unit association has the same ‘mov- ing parts’ as a 150-unit association – but in a larger association, management re- sponsibilities are not usually undertaken by the board.” In a small association, the few members may be responsible for ev- erything from day-to-day maintenance, to tax filing, to conflict resolution be- tween neighbors. Florin Nenciu owns two condo units in Chicago. He lives in one located in a 16-unit building, and leases the other in a three-unit property. In the 16-unit building, the association itself owns a unit that is leased to a building custo- dian and handyperson who does mainte- nance and things like snow shoveling in return for the living space and a stipend. In the three-unit building, the cost of hir- ing people to do chores and maintenance is just too high to be easily absorbed by three owners, so they pitch in themselves to help. Owning a unit in a micro-associ- ation is like living in a private home; if it snows, you better grab your shovel. Abel lived in a six-unit association at one time. He told his neighbors that while he wasn’t offering to take over the management of the property, he would be willing to oversee certain aspects of day- catch-22,” explains Abel, “is that small as- sociations can’t afford the cost of manage- or two people assuming the bulk of the responsibility,” which Abel likens to being for a client.” Management Issues “From a manager’s point of view,” says responsibilities as in larger associations; they have to produce financial state- bers. The management model to tackle this problem of scale is to ‘bundle’ several He further explains: “Let’s say you continued on page 22 ISTOCKPHOTO.COM