Page 9 - New England Condominium January 2021

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -JANUARY 2021 9 Greater Boston’s Full Service Condominium & Property Management Firm 617-202-3815 admin@yifmanagement.com www.yifmanagement.com | • Competitive Customized Rates! 100% Transparency! • • No Unnecessary Fees! Guaranteed Communication! • DAL CPA David A. Levy, CPA, P.C. Certified Public Accountants Areas of expertise in Condominiums ■ Cooperatives ■ Timeshares ALL COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENTS Call our office for a complimentary review of your financial needs 617-566-3645 or 866-842-0108 20 Freeman Place, Needham, MA 02492 DavidALevy_E4C_NEC_Sept15:Layout 1 10/7/2015 3:54 PM Page 1 SERVICING THE EAST COAST FOR OVER 30 YEARS Member AICPA, CAI-NE www.DALCPAPC.net dlevy@dalcpapc.net deal with the financial fallout. What to Do The CDC moratorium ended December 31, 2020, but is “subject to further exten- sion, modification, or rescission, as ap- propriate.” The moratorium is being chal- lenged and it is interesting to speculate, but impossible to predict, how the courts will rule in those pending cases. For now, rental property owners and condominium associ- ations will have to comply with the CDC’s rules while they are in effect. Our advice: • Owners of residential rental properties should proceed as they would in “normal” (pre-pandemic) times to evict tenants for cause or tenants who aren’t paying their rent, unless tenants complete a COVID- affidavit, in which case the eviction efforts would be temporarily barred. • Owners should apply to the RAFT program for emergency rental assistance and advise their tenants to do the same. You can’t force tenants to seek assistance, but you can certainly encourage them to do so. Condominium associations should provide this information to investor own- ers to pass on to their tenants. Owners will be able to collect back rent or recover their units eventually. But the courts will be backlogged once the pandemic are lifted, so the recovery process will take time. Own- ers should do anything they can to mitigate their potential losses. • Association boards should anticipate that some owners who rely on rental in- come from their units may have trouble paying their monthly condominium fees. Boards should also take all steps necessary to ensure the association’s ability to collect delinquent payments under the Massachu- setts Superlien (M.G.L. c. 183A). But they should balance that fiduciary obligation with compassion for owners who are strug- gling with the effects of the pandemic, and an understanding of the restrictions on the ability of investor owners to collect rent from non-paying tenants. Patience may not be required, but it is advisable. • Boards and managers should check with the association’s attorney before ini- tiating any eviction, collection or foreclo- sure-related actions. There is no way an attorney can make this statement without sounding self-serving. But there is also no question that timely legal advice can help the board protect the association’s interests while avoiding any steps or missteps that could undermine the interests the board is trying to protect. n Dillon G. Brown is an associate with Mar- cus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks (MEEB), a Brain- tree, Massachusetts-based law firm represent- ing condominium associations of all sizes in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hamp- shire. As a member of the firm’s Condominium Practice Group and Real Estate Departments, he advises associations and property managers on all aspects of community association law. (several of whom were professionals in ar- chitecture, engineering, or real estate them- selves) were unhappy with the management companies—mostly because of deferred maintenance. Residents with relevant, ap- plicable experience took over the board and ended the management relationship. Since then, says Price, “Self-management has served us well. The dynamic of the prop- erty has changed. With the pandemic, people are home much more, and they notice things” like maintenance projects left too long with- out being addressed. “This has caused some conflict. Younger owners want more work done to improve the look of the property.” For example, Price continues, “There’s been an issue with landscaping—some con- tention between older and younger residents. We have 12 acres—but our landscaper hasn’t had the staff needed to do the work, and the older people don’t want to spend the money.” That said, Price adds that they haven’t had any other vendor problems during the pan- demic. All their vendors are family-operated businesses, and there was no interruption in services this past spring or summer. Neigh- bors have also stepped up to help neigh- bors—especially the elderly—and even when some conflict arose over younger community members wanting the association’s indoor pool open, the issue was eventually resolved. The board abided by the governor’s man- dates and those of the local Board of Health. Maintenance on the pool had been five days a week before, but was expanded to daily clean- ing and sanitization, including the clubhouse. The association’s attorney drafted indemnifi- cation forms, and the board required waiv- ers from pool users. The Sandwich Board of Health inspected the pool and clubhouse, and initially advised against opening it for use—but the board went back to the draw- ing board and was eventually able to map out protocols satisfying the health inspectors that the amenity could be opened with minimal risk. The pool has been open since Septem- ber, and according to Price, “Everyone wears a mask, and it’s never an issue.” A Condo Grows in Brooklyn Benjamin Weinstein is the vice president of a 10-unit condominium building located on Lorimer Street in the Williamsburg sec- tion of Brooklyn, New York. The five-story elevator property was built in 2018 and is 100 percent sold. Weinstein explains that when the asso- ciation was originally formed, they had out- side management. However, with minimal reserves and residents and board both very conscious of spending and keeping an eye on money, the community reconsidered their situation. “Having off-site management was expensive,” says Weinstein, “and we weren’t getting the quality and attention we felt we paid for. We had the experience we needed in the building; one owner was a real estate SELF-MANAGEMENT continued from page 1 continued on page 10