Page 4 - New England Condominium January 2021

4 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -JANUARY 2021 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM Industry Pulse Events New England Condo Introduces FREE We- binars—a New Resource for Boards and Man- agers at newenglandcondo.com/events New England Condominium , a Yale Rob- bins Publishing publication, has been a re- source for the boards, managers, and resi- dents of condos, HOAs, and co-ops for nearly two decades, both in print and online—and we are pleased to announce a new addition to our toolkit. Yale Robbins Productions re- cently launched New England Condominium Webinars, a Cooperator Event, which is a new series of FREE educational ‘town-hall’ style webinars sponsored by leaders in the multi- family industry and focusing on issues and challenges facing today’s boards. We have assembled expert panels on ev- erything from legal questions around the COVID-19 pandemic to optimizing your insurance coverage to disinfecting your com- munity’s pool. Registration and attendance are FREE to all—just visit newenglandcondo. com/events, choose the webinar you’d like to attend, and sign up. It’s that simple. You’ll get an email link and reminders for the event, and will have the opportunity to submit questions for the panelists before and during the webi- nar itself. Past events are archived and avail- able on-demand on newenglandcondo.com/ events. Serving on your board is a big job, and a big responsibility, but sound, timely advice from industry veterans can help lighten the load and make your building or association run more smoothly. We’re committed to help- ing you achieve that, and look forward to ‘see- ing’ you at an upcoming webinar! Trivia Night on Zoom Pour your favorite beverage, wear your favorite college sweatshirt, and settle in for an afternoon of trivia with the Connecticut Chapter of the Community Associations In- stitute (CAI-CT). The Chapter will hold the light-hearted contest via Zoom at 4 pm on January 20. For details and to register, visit www.caict.org. Industry News IREM Offers Management Scholarships The Institute of Real Estate Management is again offering scholarships for management professionals interested in advancing their education. Managers who are IREM members or are employed by an Accredited Management Or- ganization (AMO) and have expressed an in- tent to pursue at least one IREM certification (CPM, ARM, or ACoM) are eligible to apply. The IREM Foundation scholarships provide certification seekers partial tuition for up to three certification courses. Recipients can apply for more scholarship funding once the original award is exhausted or has expired. For more information, visit www.irembos- ton.org. NAR, DOJ Reach Consumer Settlement The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has agreed to eliminate or modify a number of practices deemed anti-competitive and anti-consumer as part of a negotiated set- tlement to end a lawsuit filed by the Depart- ment of Justice (DOJ), according to a report from Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, PC (MEEB), in Braintree, Massachusetts. In a news update on its website, MEEB at- torneys noted that the proposed settlement was filed simultaneously with the lawsuit that “accused the NAR of condoning practices that misrepresent the fees charged by some brokers and impede competition in the resi- dential real estate industry.” The suit alleged specifically that the NAR: • Allowed brokers to claim that buyer bro- kers provide their services for free, when in fact they typically share the fee with the listing broker; and • Allowed brokers using the NAR’s Mul- tiple Listing Service (MLS) to filter out listings on which sellers offered a lower fee to brokers. The settlement requires “traditional” brokers (defined as those who belong to the NAR) “to provide greater transparency to consumers about broker fees,” Assistant At- torney General Makana Dereham, chief of the DOJ’s antitrust division, said in a press statement. “This will increase price competi- tion among brokers and lead to better qual- ity of services for American home buyers and sellers,” he added. The settlement also requires the NAR to end a policy that allowed access to the lockboxes (through which brokers gain entry to homes they are selling) only to bro- kers who are members of the national trade association. While agreeing to the required changes in its policies and procedures, the NAR did not admit any wrongdoing, insisting rather that the changes simply “clarified what is already the spirit and intent” of the association’s code of ethics, and underscore the association’s commitment to promote fair and competitive real estate markets. The NAR “disagrees with the DOJ’s char- acterization of our rules and policies, and ad- mits no liability, wrongdoing, or truth of any allegations by the DOJ,” Mantill Williams, the association’s vice president in charge of com- munications, said in a statement, “\[but\] we have agreed to make certain changes to the Code of Ethics and MLS Policies, while we remain focused on supporting our members as they preserve, protect, and advance the American dream of homeownership.” Preservation Group Honors Condo Com- munity The Portsmouth, New Hampshire preser- vation group, the Portsmouth Advocates, Inc., recently presented Rockingham Condomini- ums with a 2020 Advocates Award in recogni- tion of its restoration of four gilded lions that guard the condo’s entry. Converted from a hotel to condominiums in the 1970s, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and “is a contributing resource to the Down- town Portsmouth National Register Historic District,” the preservation group noted. For many years the lions graced stationery, adver- tisements, and souvenirs associated with the hotel, which used the tagline “at the sign of the lions.” Believed to have been in place since the 1870s, the cast iron lions required a complete overhaul after years of exposure. The Rock- ingham Condominium Association con- tracted with Cassidy Brothers Forge of Row- ley, Massachusetts to carefully disassemble, clean, and repair the four figures, an effort that took nearly seven months to complete. The lions were returned to their posts in late October. “Portsmouth Advocates commends the Rockingham Condominium Association’s commitment to historic preservation and awards them with the 2020 Award for Restor- ing the Integrity of a Resource,” the organiza- tion said in a press statement. The Portsmouth Advocates was formed to promote the maintenance of the histori- cal and architectural integrity of the buildings of the city of Portsmouth within and outside of the historic districts, and to encourage the preservation and restoration of historically significant structures. Real Estate Development NH Sales Boosted by Mass. Buyers A new report from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority said one-third of buyers in 2020 came from out of state—most of them from Massachusetts. “The majority of agents I speak with are experiencing an increase in calls from out-of- state buyers,” said Adam Gaudet, president of the Seacoast Board of Realtors, according to Seacoastonline.com. The Seacoast Board of Realtors reported record-breaking sales of expensive homes in October, as well as having the fewest active single-family listings ever. The board takes its sales data from 13 sample communities: Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook, and Stratham. The Seacoast set a record for the most million-dollar transactions—21, with seven of those sales going for more than $2 million. The Realtors group described sales of both single-family and condominium homes as “robust” in 2020. There were a record 80 sales with five $1 million-plus sales in October, the most ever for any month, and the median sale price for a condominium was $352,500, up 7.1% from 2019. RI Cloth Mill Revived as Affordable Housing Once the home of the Sayles Mill Com- pany—one of the largest cloth finishers and bleacheries in the United States—Lincoln Lofts is now being called “home” by Rhode Island residents. The adaptive reuse project located in the Saylesville Historic District required the res- toration and conversion of the Sayles Com- pany Mill Store House and Packing building. The original 42,000-square-foot mill build- ing—which dates back to the late 1800s—has been repurposed into a 45-unit apartment community by Dakota Partners. More than 720 applications were received for the afford- able housing units. According to the New England Real Es- tate Journal , the two-story red brick ma- sonry building with Italianate structure now features a mix of loft and flat style one- and two-bedroom apartment rental homes. The historic characteristics of the building have been preserved and are now unique features within each apartment. Residents will enjoy oversized windows with arched detailing, combined with the modern convenience of new construction. Lincoln Lofts represents Dakota’s first project in Rhode Island. Three additional projects are currently under construction or in development, as well as future phases of this Lincoln Lofts project, according to a com- pany press release. New Condos on the Way in Brighton, MA Surus Development & Construction has broken ground on a new condominium de- velopment for affiliated company Jumbo Cap- ital. The six-story, 120,000-square-foot proj- ect marks one of the first significant owned residential developments in the emerging neighborhood, according to the New England Real Estate Journal. “Surus is thrilled to play a role in helping to enhance the character of this neighborhood with appealing, long-term home ownership options. The team has been working closely with the city to ensure that this development would prove to be a real asset to the commu- nity. From parking mitigation to investment in neighborhood amenities, such as the park behind the site’s new bike lane, we are com- mitted to adding value wherever we build,” said Steve Laverty, a partner at Jumbo who also heads Surus’ construction operation. The building itself will be podium style construction with two levels of resident park- ing below grade, two stories of steel, and four stories of traditional wood frame construc- tion. n PULSE