Condo Media - March 2012 - 36

COVER STORY

review, he suggests. “The agent can say, ‘If that’s how the contract is written, let’s make sure the association’s policy covers it.’” Contractor’s obligations. This catchall provision — or series of provisions — should specify, among other details, that the contractor will: • Have all required licenses. • Do the work specified in the contract “and anything reasonably inferred from it.” • Comply with all applicable laws, building codes, and ordinances. • Warrant that all subcontractors and suppliers have been paid when the project ends, accept liability if that is not the case, and cure immediately any mechanic’s lien a subcontractor attaches to the property in a payment dispute with the contractor. • Indemnify the association should someone include the association in a

suit filed against the contractor for an injury or property damage related to the construction. This is another provision that is equally important in small projects and large ones, Flynn emphasizes. In a recent example, a contractor doing a minor common area repair cut through a water pipe, flooding the unit below, and creating a mold problem on top of the serious water damage. In a situation like this, Flynn warns, “the ramifications could go on and on.” • Warranties. The contract should require the contractor to obtain or provide all applicable warranties, which the board should review in advance, Galvin advises. “You want to know up front what the association will get at the end of the project,” he explains. • Housekeeping details. These are relatively small details that, left unspecified, can create huge headaches for

board members, association managers and contractors. They include, among others: • When construction work can begin each day, and when it must end. • Where work vehicles will park. • Where dumpsters and port-a-potties will be located. • Where equipment and construction materials will be stored. • When the contractor must clean up the work site. That might be every day, if the work is being done in a common area lobby or less frequently, if at all, on the roof. “If there is a 50 percent chance of something going wrong, then nine times out of 10 it will.” — Anonymous A thoughtfully written, comprehensive contact will protect the association’s interests, reduce its risks, and increase the likelihood that the project will meet the board’s expectations and maybe its timetable, as well. But it won’t provide any guarantees. The only guarantee in any construction project is that something unexpected — and probably several things unexpected — will occur, which is why industry executives advise boards to establish a contingency fund, including as much as 30 percent of the project price, to cover unanticipated expenses. There is one other thing a contract, however detailed, comprehensive and artfully drawn, can’t do: It can’t prevent poor construction. A solid contract is essential, to be sure. But the quality of the project will ultimately depend less on the contents of the contract board members sign than on the quality of the contractor they select. An outstanding contractor may make contract flaws unimportant, but an outstanding contract won’t have the same effect on a flawed contractor. CM Nena Groskind is president of eContentplus, providing editorial content for Web sites, print and electronic newsletters and magazines.

CONDO MEDIA • MARCH 2012

Condo Media - March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - March 2012