Page 9 - New York Cooperator January 2019

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — JANUARY 2019 9 ROSENWACH TANK THE FIRST NAME IN QUALITY CEDAR WOOD TANKS WE ARE CERTIFIED and IT MATTERS! 718.729.4900 43-02 Ditmars Boulevard, 2nd Fl., Astoria, NY 11105 www.rosenwachgroup.com Rosenwach is proud to announce that Rosenwach’s tanks are certified to NSF/ANSI 61 by NSF International, a leading global independent public health and safety organization. NSF/ANSI 61 addresses crucial aspects of drinking water system components such as whether contaminants that leach or migrate from the product/material into the drinking water are below acceptable levels in finished waters. To receive certification, Rosenwach Tank submitted product samples to NSF that underwent rigorous testing to recognized standards, and agreed to manufacturing facility audits and periodic retesting to verify continued conformance to the standards. The NSF mark is our customers’ assurance that our prod- uct has been tested by one of the most respected indepen- dent certification organizations. Only products bearing the NSF mark are certified. contract itself, and/or perhaps the terms of the declaration,” says Dawn Moody, Prin- cipal at law firm Keough & Moody, which has offices in Chicago and Naperville, Il- linois. “I believe that a management con- tract is one of the most important contracts entered into by an association. Because of this, that contract should be reviewed by the association’s legal counsel to ensure that its rights are protected and that it does not enter into a contract which exceeds its authority. By way of example, if the asso- ciation’s declaration limits the length of a management contract, the board does not have the legal authority to enter into a con- tract for a longer period of time.” Almost any management contract will allow for the managing agent’s services to be terminated for cause, notes Wurtzel. “The better documented the problems are, the easier it is to prove cause,” he says. “Be- ing able to show that numerous letters ad- dressing a particular issue were ignored by management helps as well. Of course, the scope of the agent’s services are limited by the terms of the contract. If the contract does not require the manager to solicit bids, you cannot terminate them, or be unhappy with them because they failed to do so. “And, when signing the contract,” Wurtzel continues, “make sure expecta- tions and obligations are spelled out there- in. If the agent tells you in its sales pitch that you will get monthly reports by the 15th of each month, put that in the contract. If it’s important for the agent to visit the prop- erty at least once per week, put that in the contract. This way, the failure of them to do so becomes a clear violation allowing for termination if and when it does not occur.” “The initial review of the contract is vi- tal, as it will allow the parties to fully under- stand their rights if or when the relationship view of the termination provision is para- between the association and management mount to properly protect the association by maintaining an ongoing and regular pol- sours and cannot be salvaged,” adds Kreibi- ch. “All too often, the board does not ad- dress this issue in advance, because, during any penalty provision be removed and ad- the honeymoon stage with a prospective dressed. Ideally, the board should be able new manager, there are no signs as to what to freely terminate an agreement if they are might go wrong. But once the contract is unhappy with the services rendered without signed, it’s too late. Therefore, a close re- in case something goes wrong. Through its icy of communication.” legal counsel, the board should be sure that penalty. That said, the goal should always be to avoid the need to terminate management n Mike Odenthal is a staff writer at The Co- operator. “The most important thing to do when questioning the quality of your management services is to have a heart-to-heart with your agent and, if need be, a discussion with upper management or the owners.” — Stewart Wurtzel