Page 23 - New York Cooperator January 2019

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — JANUARY 2019 23 “We are proud of the role we play in helping our New York association clients achieve their goals.” — David Byrne (djb@ansellgrimm.com) CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION 1 (800) 569-3886 DJB@ANSELLGRIMM.COM WWW.ANSELLGRIMM.COM WE CURRENTLY REPRESENT ASSOCIATIONS THROUGHOUT THE NORTHEAST, INCLUDING: • URBAN • CO-OP • RESORT • RURAL • SUBURBAN • ACTIVE ADULT CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION New York I New Jersey I Pennsylvania It’s one of the most important things we do!!! There were many factors in our developing a Green Management Program to conserve energy and save money; most of all, we wanted to create a healthier environment for our children. Ira Meister, President | 375 Pearl Street - 14th Floor | New York, NY 10038 T: 212.699.8900 F: 212.699.8939 imeister@matthewadam.com | matthewadam.com We invest in Future their bers; two want to pay for lawn mainte- nance, the third does not. What then? Sometimes documents in small associa- tions require a unanimous vote, and one member can hold up the whole process. You need a good set of condo documents specifying that the association must hire professionals to do the necessary tasks. These people are your neighbors. It’s just easier to put it in the docs so there’s no other choice.” Turk describes one situation where there was a two-unit condominium as- sociation. “One owner was completely irrational. He wouldn’t pay for anything to get done, and wouldn’t do it himself. This ended up in litigation, which was prohibitively expensive.” Ultimately, one owner sold to some- one else. “They were lucky to find a buy- er,” says Turk. “If the buyer had looked at public records and seen the lawsuit, they might not have bought. That brings up another consideration. You never know who your neighbors may be in the fu- ture.” While that’s true in any multifamily environment, one unhinged neighbor in a 100-unit property may be less impact- ful than in a five-unit property. Words of Advice Abel has lived in a small condo as- sociation in Boston and says the experi- ence was a positive one. But as a property manager, he offers the following obser- vation about micro-associations: “Lack of professional guidance is the biggest problem. Owners tend to make things up as they go along, since they don’t have guidance on how to enforce rules, hire properly insured contractors, etc.” Rules need to be put in place, respected, and enforced. Fox adds: “One of the challenges of small buildings is that the entire building may be on the board. In a small build- ing that can be challenging, as often the members are inexperienced with respect to the ownership and management of real estate. On the flip side, it can be very gratifying because when you as a man- ager do something well, everyone knows about it and recognizes it.” Small association living may not be for everyone. McIntyre cautions poten- tial owners. “The buyer often isn’t think- ing about this when they’re looking for a place,” he says, “and often doesn’t real- ize the responsibilities they’ll have until they’re in and have to participate.” So, if you’re thinking about living in a small association, go in with your eyes open. When it snows, someone has to shovel – and that may be you. n AJ Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with The Cooperator, and a published nov- elist. that someone doesn’t reside in the build- ing, so they will take that into consider- ation when voting.” Occasionally the conflict boils down to perception, notes Gary M. Daddario, a law partner at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks P.C., which has offices in Mas- sachusetts and New Hampshire. “Some- times, when non-residents are elected to a board, there is real split interest,” he says. “Other times, it is something that the community perceives to be a split interest. But in general, it just seems to be human nature that people will treat something they perceive as a home dif- ferently than they treat an investment.” Regardless, non-residents are certain- ly eligible to run for the board, unless the association documents specifically pro- hibit that. “Some argue that, if elected by the community, the concern ends there, because the people have spoken,” says Daddario. “But I believe that it depends on the circumstances. In any event, if a community finds \[non-resident board members\] to present a problem, amend- ment of the governing documents pres- ents a straightforward solution. If the amendment passes by requisite vote of the owners, then residency can become a qualification for serving on the board.” n Mike Odenthal is a staff writer/reporter for The Cooperator. NON-RESIDENTS... continued from page 17 occupied. An older resident in a near- by unit may want to close up shop at 6 p.m., but the young professional who’s not even in the building from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. is likely to protest. And an older demographic with minimal need at all for a gym – not to mention playground equipment – might not be as quick to prioritize upgrades and enhancements to those amenities, so the onus is on the new guard to champion those common areas. “The biggest thing we see in regard to changing demographics is that money actually gets spent to revitalize the old and unused equipment,” says Brucker. “It’s not a rewriting of a rule necessarily, but rather a signal of evolving philoso- phies.” Satellites? A less obvious issue related to Amer- ica’s unquenchable thirst for additional entertainment options is that of the sat- ellite dish, about which attitudes have changed significantly over the last de- cade-plus. In the heyday of DirecTV during the mid-aughts, satellite television appeared to be the wave of the future. “Sometime AMENDING RULES continued from page 19 continued on page 24