Condo Media - July 2013 - 36

“Not My Problem”

E ssex Management Group ...

we listen to our
clients and develop a strategy to support their needs and
objectives. We combine personal communication, state-of-the
art technology, courtesy and mutual respect to achieve
optimum results for our client communities.

Why Essex Management Group?

Innovative Financial Reporting & Capital Planning
“User Friendly” On Line Support Services
21 Years of Specialized Condominium Mgmnt.
Commitment to Client Satisfaction
Website Management Support
Paperless Options
Investor Supported Services

J• N•R

After going through two
management companies, I was
amazed to see the unit owners
actually stand up and applaud
the eﬀorts of Essex Management
Group. They are really the
cream-of-the-crop when it
comes to property management.
—Joe Arone,
Home Association Annual Meeting

GUTTERS, INC.
We Install the Best and Repair the Rest

“ JNR completes an average of 100 projects each year,
making them one of the most experienced roofing
companies in New England. They get the Job Done
Right, On Budget, On Time and Always SAFETY FIRST.

“

Roofing is just One
of our Specialties!
Including: Steel,
Shingle & Rubber

800-966-9238
www.jnrgutters.com

ROOFING • GUTTERS • SIDING • WINDOWS • DECKS
Haverhill, MA 978-372-4088 Andover, MA 978-475-3723 Woburn, MA 781-937-4212 Boston, MA 617-423-3559
Massachusetts 800-552-0030 Nashua, NH 603-595-2272 Portsmouth, NH 603-433-1811 Manchester, NH 603-666-5502

Condo Media • July 2013

Sometimes resistance from owners, or
the fear of it, discourages boards from
tackling reserve funding gaps even
when they recognize the importance
of doing so. One of the arguments
Mackey hears frequently: “I’ll move (or
die) long before the roof needs to be
replaced, so why should I have to pay
for it?”
What many owners don’t recognize,
Cozby says, is that building a strong
reserve fund can improve the value of
their units by making the community
more attractive to prospective buyers.
That logic will be more persuasive with
some people than others, however.
It can be difficult to persuade owners
who have a short-term perspective to
support the long-term reserve planning
their communities need.
Boards that avoid reserve planning,
or seem to lack a sense of urgency
about it, may be assuming (correctly
in some cases) that they will be able
to finance capital projects partly or
entirely with bank loans. There is no
question that banks are more willing
than they used to be to offer condominium loans; many financial institutions now actively solicit that business.
But industry professionals agree that
loans should be a last resort, not a default position for most communities.
Reserves are usually a better choice,
they say, for the obvious reason: Associations don’t have to pay interest
on those funds.
In addition to increasing the cost of
capital projects, Cozby notes, loans also
mask a community’s reserve funding
gap instead of forcing boards to “fix”
that problem. Equally important, she
suggested in a recent CAI-NE presentation, loans reduce the market value of
condominium units, because prospective buyers “want to see reserves, not
loans. They [don’t want to worry
about] the threat of special assessments.”
Scott Wolf, CMCA, AMS, PCAM,
principal in greater Boston Properties,
Inc. (AAMC), says he doesn’t encounter many prospective buyers who are

http://www.jnrgutters.com http://www.jnrgutters.com

Condo Media - July 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - July 2013