Page 12 - New England Condominium August 2019

Attorneys at law We’re Here to Help. With our unmatched perspective, Fletcher Tilton has thrived for nearly 200 years by achieving successful outcomes for our clients. • Counsel to trustees, board members, and property managers • Assistance with condominium documents, policies & bylaws, liens & common expenses • Representation in financing, transactional, and litigation matters WORCESTER | FRAMINGHAM | BOSTON | HUDSON FletcherTilton.com Nelson Luz Santos, Esq. Fletcher Tilton PC 370 Main Street, 12th Fl., Worcester, MA 01608 Also with offices at: 69 Main Street, Hudson, MA 01749 508.532.3525 nsantos@fletchertilton.com 12 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -AUGUST 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM Challenging Transfers Of course, achieving a seamless tran- sition from one board to the next isn’t as simple as staggering terms and catching up with a property manager. Complications can and oft en will ensue, so board mem- bers both old and new should be prepared to navigate a less-than-smooth succession. “I had an upheaval a few years ago wherein two members of a nine-member board attempted to take over the entire operation,” says Gruen. “Th ey wanted to change everything, and had no concern for the feelings of the rest of the board. Th ey willfully sowed dissent, going behind the board’s back, sending out unapproved notices, scheduling secret meetings. Th e other board members, having caught wind as to what these two members were up to, sent out a rebuttal to the rest of the as- sociation. Th e two rogue board members failed in their attempted coup, but they were still re-elected, along with the rest of the board, for another term. So now you have this contentious board in place that can’t get along, and nothing gets done for a year. Eventually we had to bring in our attorney to help navigate the situation, and now I’m relieved to say that those two members are no longer on the board.” Unsurprisingly, communication and patience are crucial when a board is try- ing to restructure aft er a problematic run. “If new board members are elected to re- place those who were at least perceived as being ‘bad,’ it is critical for the incoming board to come to an agreement on goals and objectives,” says Renzi. “Sometimes seeking owner input on what the residents in general believe goals should be can be helpful.” Should a relatively green board desire guidance from outside sources other than management, Edie Davis, Senior Property Manager of Maine Properties in Portland, Maine, advises they consult former board members – but not the problematic ones – as well as professional resources like the Community Associations Institute (CAI). “While, to some degree, an incoming board should absolutely be ‘guided,’ every new board will fi nd its own direction, en- ergy and ideas,” Davis says. Because specifi c transition-oriented minutiae is rarely codifi ed in an associa- tion’s governing documents, it likely falls on a newly-confi gured board to fi gure out its own way. While all of the above is a great primer for those embarking on offi - cial association business for the fi rst time, there will almost certainly be trial-and- error elements at play. But a new board that trusts in its elders and outside advis- ers while remembering its fi duciary duty will most likely fi nd its footing and go on to govern well. n Mike Odenthal is a staff writer/reporter for New England Condominium BOARD TRANSITION continued from page 6 prior – that we would probably be sued by one of the owners,” says Wood. “The board had apparently missed many com- pliance issues over time, but had brushed everything off, assuming that the board was correct and would thus prevail. We quickly advised them of the severity of the issue, but they ignored our counsel as well. “Cut to us in court,” Wood continues, “with the owner suing us as management and the board as trustees. I thought that this would be easy because the board, as trustees, had directed us not to provide something to this owner, and as we were under their employ, the issue should be between the owner and the board. But 10 months, five court appearances, and a lot of money later, the judge instead repeat- edly ordered us to give the complainant things which, when we complied, had the trustees threatening to fight us. It was nuts. Finally, the last court hearing fea- tured a different judge who finally under- stood our role in the whole debacle and promptly dismissed us from the suit. At that point we resigned. But it didn’t end there: the board ignored our resignation for months, so it took an additional legal battle just to quit.” Occasionally, it’s the relationship be- tween the board members themselves that can render a situation untenable for a manager. “A nine-member board was plagued with factional infighting, with one in-group representing the younger members and the other, the older ones,” says Steven Greenbaum, Director of Property Management for Mark Green- berg Real Estate in Long Island City, New York. “Two entirely different mindsets where everything one group wanted to do, the other adamantly refused – and vice-versa. “For example, the younger group wanted new amenities, and to embrace the latest technology and services. The older group preferred to add nothing, and keep maintenance charges stable. When- ever the younger group would win a close vote 5-4, and we’d implement whatever their decision was, the losers would get apoplectic, asking, ‘Who told you to do this?!’ or ‘How dare you do that?!’ And we’d have to explain to them the signifi- cance of the voting process. We could never make that board happy. We spent so much time at meetings playing referee and dealing with nonsense politics, that the whole atmosphere became uncondu- cive to getting things done. The groups would rally shareholders against one an- other, write slanderous letters, screaming matches would carry out into the halls... Nothing we did seemed to mitigate any of this.” WHY MANAGERS... continued from page 8