Page 14 - New England Condominium September 2020

14 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM MARCUS ERRICO EMMER & BROOKS, P.C. Representing Over 4,000 Condominium Associations... One Association at a Time 45 Braintree Hill Park, Suite 107 Braintree, MA 02184 (781) 843-5000/Braintree (508) 791-2120/Worcester (401) 351-2221/Rhode Island www.meeb.com | law@meeb.com MEEB_NEC_June14.qxp:Layout 1 5/19/14 12 Flynn Law Group 185 Devonshire St., Suite 401 • Boston, MA 02110 617-988-0633 “Quality Representation at Reasonable Rates - $150/Hr.” Contact Attorney Frank Flynn Frank@flynnlaw-ne.com www.flynnlaw-ne.com ATTORNEYS See Our Display Ad on Page 14 Condominium and Real Estate Law Phone: (781) 817-4900 Direct: (781) 817-4603 Fax: (781) 817-4910 We may be dressed up, but we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty. www.lawmtm.com See Our Display Ad on Page 11 Merrill & McGeary 100 State Street, Suite 200 Boston, MA 02109 617-523-1760 • Fax 617-523-4893 Contact: Mike Merrill, Esq. mmerrill@merrillmcgeary.com ACCOUNTANTS David A. Levy, CPA, P.C. Certified Public Accountants 20 Freeman Place Needham, MA 02492 Tel: (617) 566-3645 (866) 842-0108 Fax: (866) 681-2377 www.DALCPAPC.net DAL CPA 185 Devonshire Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02110 Quality Representation at Reasonable Rates. (617) 988-0633 Contact Attorney Frank Flynn: FRANK@FLYNNLAW-NE.COM Flynn_E4C.qxp:Layout 1 12/8/14 2:30 PM Page 1 ing. As a remedial action, Abbot power- washed all of the brick to remove the debonded coating, repointed the brick ma- sonry where necessary, replaced over 5,000 deteriorated bricks in various locations to match the original size and shape, and re- coated the walls with a high-quality water- proof elastomeric coating. Boston on List of Relocation Searches A record 27.0% of home searchers looked to move to another metro area this spring, according to a report by real estate broker- age Redfin. The spring numbers represented a new high in the share of Redfin.com users searching for homes outside their area—up from 25.2% in the second quarter of 2019 and 26.0% in the first quarter of this year. The migration analysis is based on a sam- ple of more than 1 million Redfin.com us- ers who searched for homes across 87 metro areas in April and May, excluding searches unlikely to precede an actual relocation or home purchase. To be included in this da- taset, a Redfin.com user must have viewed at least 10 homes in a particular metro area, and homes in that area must make up at least 80% of the user’s searches. According to Redfin.com, Boston ranked eighth on the “top 10” list of metro areas whose residents are eyeing migration, with a net outflow of 2,635 or 11.8%. The top desti- nation for Boston movers: Portland, Maine. New York (35.7%), San Francisco (22.2%) and Los Angeles (15.7%) led the net outflow list. “While there has been a huge increase in the number of people looking online at homes in small towns, the long-term impact of the pandemic on people actually mov- ing from one part of the country to another remains to be seen,” said Redfin economist Taylor Marr. “People are starting to take the plunge and move away from big, expensive cities, though most of them were probably already considering a lifestyle change. The pandemic and the work-from-home op- portunities that come with it is accelerat- ing migration patterns that were already in place toward relatively affordable parts of the country. But for many people, the lure of large homes in wide open spaces will be a passing dream fueled by coronavirus-in- duced isolation.” Mass. Condo Sales Increase, Prices Drop The Massachusetts Association of Real- tors® (MAR) reported an increase in closed sales of single-family homes and condomin- ium sales in June, compared to the previous month. In a press release, the MAR noted that new listings were down 6.7% for single- family homes but were up 9.9% for condo- minium properties compared to June 2019. Closed sales decreased 22.0% for single- family homes and 28.9% for condominium properties from this time last year. The MAR reported 1,657 condo sales in June 2020. The median sales price was up 4.1% to $458,000 for single-family homes and down 7.0% to $399,950 for condominium prop- erties. Homes for sale decreased 51.0% for single-family units and 28.8% for condo- minium units compared to June 2019. “We continue to experience low pro- duction of new housing inventory across the state and now, with the delay of listings entering the market due to COVID-19, the lack of available homes is compounded,” said Kurt Thompson, president of MAR. “Many sellers now listing their homes are pleasantly discovering that the market is very active with well qualified buyers. As a result, we anticipate a very energized summer selling season.” Industry News CAI Awards 10,000th AMS Designation The Community Associations Institute (CAI), based in Falls Church, Virginia, an- nounced in August that it has awarded its 10,000th Association Management Specialist (AMS) designation. Amy Nonaka, CMCA, AMS, of Action Property Management in San Diego, California was the recipient of this milestone designation. In a press release, CAI said, “The AMS designation is a highly regarded credential earned by community association managers to demonstrate a greater level of commit- ment, knowledge, and expertise in their pro- fession—working to support the millions of residents living in condominium communi- ties, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives worldwide.” According to CAI, a community asso- ciation manager provides professional guid- ance and assistance to a community associa- tion’s board of directors using their financial, administrative, and facilities management experience. The AMS designation provides managers a hands-on approach to property maintenance, best practices for developing, managing, and balancing budgets, prepar- ing contractor proposals, and understand- ing a community association’s reserve study. Candidates who want to earn the AMS designation must have two years of experi- ence in financial, administration, and fa- cilities management at a community asso- ciation, successfully complete at least two of CAI’s M-200 level courses, and successfully earn the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) credential admin- istrated by the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB). More information about CAI and the AMS designation can be found at www.caionline.org. New Reopening Guide Released As COVID-19 accelerates disruptions for condominiums and homeowners asso- ciations, the Community Associations In- stitute (CAI) has released “Status Check: A Reopening Guide for Community Associa- tions,” to aid and support communities nav- igating the closure and reopening of pools, gyms, playgrounds, and other common ar- eas, amenities, and business operations. According to CAI, as states began to lift stay-at-home orders, community associa- tions have been challenged with questions surrounding how and whether to reopen fa- cilities, and how to effectively phase in busi- ness operations. The common areas, ameni- ties, and operations guidelines are organized by risk level or reopening phase, which are unique to each state, county, or city. In gen- eral, the high-risk category would apply to the shutdown and stay-at-home phase, moderate-risk to reopening phase one, low- risk to phase two, and normal to phase three. The new guide is available for homeown- ers, community managers, and business partners online as part of CAI’s interactive Coronavirus Resource Page and offers each individual community the opportunity to modify templates that fit the needs specific to that community. Other resources include: • A sample letter template to update resi- dents about common areas and amenities • Common area signage templates • Guidelines for community association common areas, amenities, and operations For more information about the impact of COVID-19 on community associations, visit www.caionline.org. n Please submit Pulse items to Pat Gale at patgale@yrinc.com PULSE continued from page 13 Accounting • Auditing • Taxes • Consulting Worcester 67 Millbrook Street 508-797-5200 Grafton 80 Worcester Street 508-839-0020 Holden 795 Main Street 508-829-5544 M Love Associates, & LLC Certified Public Accountants Serving Condominium Associations mlove 2.25 x 2.5 condo association color 9.19.2017.indd 1 9/19/17 12:59 PM