Condo Media - March 2014 - 14

by Jack Carr, P.E., RS, LEED-AP

C A I

R e g i o n a l

N e w s

MAINE

Maintenance Planning
A Short Primer

aine has had a history
of self-managed condominiums and HOAs. From
high-rise towers on the
coast to large-scale duplex suburban
complexes inland, the Maine condominium community has a tradition of
wanting to go it alone with mixed success. Though I have been an advocate
of the advantages of having a professional property manager providing
guidance and maintenance services to
associations, I have come to realize
self-management for some condos
is here to stay. With this is mind, I
wanted to provide a short primer on
an organized approach to planning for
future maintenance to our independent downeasters.
Maintenance planning, of course,
falls into two general categories: annual operating expenses and longterm capital repairs. Taking care of the
everyday issues, such as snow plowing, landscape maintenance, and trash
removal, is obvious to even the newest
condo board. The long-term planning
issues in the early days are less pressing because shiny new condo façades
tend to have useful lives of more than
20 years and it is comfortable to drift
along in the fog of low assessments
established by the developer to attract
buyers. When the fog lifts, the planning begins.

Developing a Policy

First, the board establishes a maintenance and repair committee hopefully
made up of unit owners with the time
and energy needed for this important
responsibility. The committee should
meet at least monthly to review repair
needs and set priorities. The com14

Condo Media * March 2014

mittee's first order of business is to
develop a written maintenance and repair policy available to all unit owners.
This is important as it establishes a
clear procedure for performing repairs
and avoids future disputes of how
the association's funds are used. This
policy should include:
1. Definition of priorities (i.e., emergency, preventive, cosmetic)
2. Who will be responsible for regular
repairs
3. Processing routine repair requests
4. Process for hiring contractors
5. Regular maintenance contracts
(lawn, elevator, HVAC, snow plowing, etc.)
6. Need for a maintenance superintendant and who supervises
7. Handling complaints
8. Maintaining a planned maintenance
schedule
9. Maintaining records of past and
present projects.
To establish a firm foundation
for a repair plan, a building condition survey should be conducted.
This basement-to-roof review can be
performed in-house or by a professional building inspector engaged
to provide an informed, unbiased
assessment of the physical condition of
the various common building and site
elements, including: siding, roof surface, structural framing, foundation,
water infiltration, electrical, plumbing,
HVAC, ﬂooring, light fixtures, paving,
etc. Providing a questionnaire to the
unit owners during this process not
only engages the unit owners in this
important work but also may reveal
common defects not readily known.

Scope of Work, Budget

When repair projects are approved, the
committee is charged with creating a
scope of work and a budget. The various
projects should be sorted by priorities
and timing as rarely can any community
conduct all needed repairs at one time.
These individual project budgets will
form the annual budget for maintenance
and capital repairs and, in turn, establish
a long-term plan looking out no less than
10 years but often 20 years.
If the board decides a full- or parttime maintenance superintendant
is needed, the committee should
be charged with the hiring process,
including defining job responsibilities;
determining wages and benefits to
be offered; contractual terms; and to
whom the superintendant will report.
The committee will seek outside contractors when needed; solicit and evaluate bids; and recommend selection of
a qualified contractor to the board.
The policy may define how to handle
jobs costing less than $500; $500 to
$2,000; or greater than $2,000. This
may further dictate the need for job
specifications, payment schedules,
contract documents, and construction
monitoring and administration.
Needless to say, a maintenance and
repair plan will be an evolving tool
requiring adjustment as the board and
committee discovers what works and
what does not. The important thing
is there is a plan and a path for the
future well-being of the community. CM
Jack Carr, P.E., RS, LEED-AP, is
senior vice president with CriteriumEngineers in Portland, Maine. He is
a member of the Condo Media board
and a frequent author and speaker.

Condo Media - March 2014

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