Page 10 - New England Condominium January 2022

10 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM
-JANUARY 2022
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Though usually smaller in terms of
overall staff than big generalist manage-
ment firms, ‘boutique’ doesn’t mean a
company with less ability or experience.
“Boutique firm managers will find what
the client needs,” says David Goldoff,
president of Camelot Realty Group, a New
York City-based management firm. “If
necessary, boutique firms will go out and
hire someone to fill a specific need for a
client. A big company might have some-
one like that already, but access is typically
limited.” After all, with a huge portfolio
of clients to cover, that in-house person
may be handling problems at numerous
properties. “So size is not the issue,” says
Goldoff. “Expertise is, and that applies to
any management firm of any size. It’s re-
ally more about access and attention to in-
dividual client needs.”
Andrew Marks has seen both sides of
this quandary. He is senior vice president
of new business and marketing for New
York-based management firm Maxwell-
Kates and was president of his Manhattan
co-op for seven years. (Maxwell-Kates is a
subsidiary of Associa Community Man-
agement Corp, located in Fairfield, New
Jersey.) According to Marks, “Large firms
offer the potential for greater resources
and bulk purchasing options to be ac-
cessed for the benefit of managed prop-
erty, board, and community. Larger scale
also means more stability and staying
power in the event of a downturn, as we’ve
seen with COVID.
“On the other hand,” he continues,
“market pressures and a ‘grow at all costs’
mentality can stretch managers and back-
office operations, leading to breakdowns
in basic communications and responsive-
ness, one of the biggest frustrations and
most common complaints I’ve seen from
my vantage point on both sides of the ta-
ble.”
For Daniel Wollman, CEO of Gum-
ley Haft, a management company serv-
ing about 6,000 units across 75 New York
cooperative and condominium buildings,
“personal service is the difference. Because
we are a smaller company, we are nimble
and flexible. We work with less red tape,
and have fewer layers to get through in or-
der to get something done, whether man-
aging a renovation or a complicated repair
job.” Wollman adds that “our managers
communicate daily with superintendents
and resident managers of all our buildings,
and stay in touch with our board members
throughout the week. We are flexible and
accessible, in a way that simply cannot
happen in larger companies.”
Building Size & the Choice
of Management
Should your choice of a management
company be based on the size of your as-
sociation or corporation? Clearly, a 200-
unit high rise with a full staff has different [They weren’t] as nimble with things like
needs than a 10-unit walk-up, or an 80-
unit townhouse development with acres of necessary innovations.”
landscaping, but your choice should still
be made based on the needs of the com-
munity as a whole, not exclusively on its
size.
DiNocco says, “Communities should
pick a management firm with which they
can have a good relationship and work as
a team. The truth is that many larger firms
can’t make a profit from smaller proper-
ties, so they simply don’t take them on.
Your decision should not be based on large
or small, but rather on who offers the ser-
vices you need, and what type of relation-
ship you want to have. Large companies
can provide great service, but smaller firms
know more about the property. They know
every customer and unit owner. Do you
want a close, day-to-day relationship? Or
does that not really matter? It’s about what
you like. You need a good fit.”
Goldoff points out that one important
issue is whether a property employs a staff
that needs to be managed. If there are
doormen, concierges, handymen, etc., a
larger management firm may be more like-
ly to have the ability to handle the human
resources component, including personnel
and payroll management.
Smaller corporations and associations
face different needs. They rarely have a
building staff to speak of, and with fewer
owners/members, they may have a shal-
lower pool of experience among board
members and trustees, and therefore need
more support from management in terms
of understanding and overseeing the finan-
cial health of the community. In this case,
the more tailored, individualized approach
of a boutique firm specializing in small co-
ops and condos might be in order.
Marks observes that “many clients
complain of the same pain points over and
over: they suffer from a lack of attentive-
ness, responsiveness, and communications
from their managing agent. They can’t rely
on their management company to do the
basics, and too much falls on the shoulders
of board members. This is actually an is-
sue for both clients we’ve interviewed that
have one of our larger competitors as their
managing agent, as well as [those that use]
some of the smaller agents. I was president
of my board in my 210-unit co-op for five
years, and while we did have a larger cor-
porate entity as our managing agent, until
we demanded more accountability and at-
tention, we experienced quite a bit of frus-
tration with lack of communication and at-
tentiveness, as well as a lack of innovation.
technology, communications, and other
Board Confidence &
Management Support
One area of particular concern to
board members and trustees is their ability
to understand and adequately monitor the
financial health of their community—and
this in turn may influence what manage-
ment model feels best for their co-op or
HOA. In the case of larger management
firms, getting a prompt response from a
manager on questions about financial is-
sues can sometimes be a problem; in the
case of smaller firms, sometimes there
is a lack (real or perceived) of individual
specialization within the firm about those
issues. Boards may question their current
management or be uncertain about what
to look for in new management. This issue
is also a central concern for self-managed
co-ops and condos, which don’t have the
educational element offered by any man-
agement company relationship.
Technology may offer a solution to
at least part of this challenge. Parapet, a
Brooklyn-based startup, is developing soft-
ware that integrates with a building’s bank
account, analyzes the building’s financial
data, and suggests ways for the co-owners
to save money and improve the building.
The platform is slated to launch in the
coming months, initially targeting self-
managed condos and co-ops in NYC. “We
have talked to many condo and co-op own-
ers across New York, and it’s clear many are
struggling to understand their building’s
financial situation and take concrete steps
to improve it,” says Nate Krinsky, Parapet’s
co-founder and CEO. “The software pro-
vides transparency into the building’s fi-
nances for treasurers, board members, and
co-owners alike and makes it easy to com-
plete money-saving tasks such as filing the
NYC condo-co-op tax abatement that can
save buildings thousands [of dollars] each
year. Parapet’s solution will eventually be
offered to buildings that employ manage-
ment companies as well, as a tool to keep
the board and residents in tune with the
building’s financial trajectory.”
With so much of management and
maintenance—physical, financial, and
even relational—going virtual, it may be
that the size and scope of management
firms will level out as more services can
be handled remotely or online. For now,
the choice of a managing agent rests more
on what your community needs rather
than what the public image of the poten-
tial managing agent is. Size doesn’t matter;
approach does. When seeking a managing
agent, give thought to what makes your
community unique, and what its unique
needs are. Then look very carefully at what
company can fill those needs and work as
your partner.
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for
New England Condominium, and a published
author. He can be reached at alan@yrinc.com.
WHAT SIZE...
continued from page 1
“It’s about what you
like. You need a good
fit.”
— Stephen DiNocco