West Byron Condo Association hires Prairie Shores

In October of 2010, the Chicago Tribune real estate section featured a story about West Byron Condominium Association that focused upon a small group of homeowners who had been abandoned by the developer of their condo property. The developer left behind incomplete renovations and a pile of unpaid obligations.

Prairie Shores Management reached out to the Board of Directors of West Byron Condominium Association with an amazing offer of assistance. Prairie Shores agreed to manage West Byron without cost for one full year. Further, we will share our expertise and vendors who will focus on solving the problems left behind by the developer.

Prairie Shores Management offers unique management services to clients. We call them concierge services. Our expertise focuses on vintage property management.

Prairie Shores Hired for Rogers Park Properties

Prairie Shores Management LLC was recently retained as managing agent for a collection of large apartment buildings in Chicago's north side neighborhood of Rogers Park. These buildings include Hoyne Terrace Apartments, Ridge Manor Apartments and properties on Birchwood and on Ashland Avenue.

The rental buildings are owned by a limited partnership of attorneys and real estate developers.

Prairie Shores Hired for Homes on the Rivers Edge Master Association

The Board of Directors of the Homes on the Rivers Edge Association I, II and III hired Prairie Shores Management LLC to manage their Master Association effective January 1, 2011.

The Master Association is comprised of two 38 unit condominium properties, an 11 unit townhome association and single family homes.

Seminary Commons Appoints Prairie Shores

The Board of Directors of Seminary Commons Condominium Association voted to retain Prairie Shores Management LLC as managing agent effective November 1, 2010. The eight unit vintage building includes a large parking area and is located at 2801 N. Seminary in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.

Homes on the Rivers Edge II

I am most pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of Homes on the Rivers Edge Condominium Association II has retained Prairie Shores Management Co. to manage their 38 unit condominium association.

Homes on the Rivers Edge is a Walsh Development project with condominiums, town homes and single family residences. For more information regarding sales in these award winning homes, please contact Peter Walsh at 773-807-6143.

City of Chicago Scavenger Rebate Deadline

For all condominium and town home associations and cooperatives, the deadline for filing for the City of Chicago Scavenger Rebate is October 14, 2010. If your management company has not accumulated copies of the invoices your Association paid for trash and recycling pick up with your scavenger firm and completed a simple City of Chicago form, they should do so immediately. The form and receipts and a signed sworn affadavit attesting to the information by the Board President is due in the local Aldermanic office by October 14th.

Niles on Marion Condominium Association

Prairie Shores Management Co. LLC is pleased to announce that we have been selected by the Board of Directors of the Niles on Marion condominium association to manage their historic landmark property. Niles on Marion is located on South Boulevard and Marion Street in downtown Oak Park.

Prairie Shores Appointed Managing Agent

We are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of Niles on Marion Condominium Association has retained Prairie Shores Management Co. LLC to act a property manager for their historic downtown Oak Park condominium association. The 1893 building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ground floor commercial spaces contain LaBella, a popular Oak Park Italian eatery and the Oak Park Jewelers.

We believe that our decades of experience managing vintage building will benefit the wonderful condominium property for many years to come.

Catherine Courts Condominiums

I am very pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the 498 unit Catherine Courts Condominium Association in Chicago have voted to hire Prairie Shores Management Company, LLC to provide full management services beginning October 1, 2010.

Prairie Shores will retain the full time on-site property manager to provide services during regular office hours.

Dog Friendly Chicago

Did you know that Chicago is considered among the most dog friendly cities in America?

Think about it....Chicago has restaurants, parks, beaches, hotels and even a cruise. You can visit Navy Pier and take a cruise with fido and the two of you can enjoy the skyline and the lake breezes. Many bars and restaurants have come to the realization that people are more willing to eat out if they can their pet along. Now, all over the city there are dog spas and day care facilities opening to accomdate this market.

Even apartment and condominium owners are responding to the overwhelming demand to accept dogs. Landlords are finding that to stay competitive they must accept dogs. A recent study showed that over 30% of people seeking to rent have pets. Dog owners can choose from highrises to walkup buildings, some with very accomodating dog runs.

In some cases, landlords or condominium associations will set both breed and size restrictions on the type of dog. Some buildings may choose to charge a pet fee or an extra deposit.

In any case, as an owner of four very large rescue dogs, we are heading in the right direction.

Really Good News

On a rare occasion I get to share good news with the homeowners and friends that are nice enough to view this blog. Today is such an occasion. Prairie Shores Management Company, LLC has been named managing agent for a very large condominium complex in Chicago. We had the privilege of competing with some of Chicago's better condominium management firms. But, in the end, the Board of Directors decided that the many years of experience providing excellent service would be the reason to select their next property management company.

Next week, we will issue a more detailed and complete announcement with commentary from the Board President and others.

Directors and Officers Insurance Coverage

Directors and Officers insurance coverage is crucial for each and every condominium, town home and cooperative Board of Directors. This insurance provides for the necessary protection an elected Board needs to set policy, make important decisions in open session and enforce the rules and regulation of the building.

If someone wishes to file a lawsuit against the condo association corporation, they may also choose to name both the corporate entity and the Board of Directors as defendants. It is not sufficient to have liability coverage for the building for such lawsuits. There must be a separate policy that covers the actions, or inactions of the elected members of the Board of Directors.

When the Board is working with an insurance agents, the Board should make certain that their Directors and Officers insurance coverage provides for the appointment of an attorney by the insurance carrier at the cost of the carrier in the event that a lawsuit against the Board is filed. These days, homeowners will actually sue the Board for not acting in an appropriate amount of time to resolve a problem. For example, I have seen a homeowner file a lawsuit against both the Association and the Board of Directors because they believed that the Board did not act quickly to resolve a ceiling leak. I have also witnessed in instance where the insurance carrier denied coverage under the Directors and Officers policy coverage because they agreed that the Board did not act with haste. Boards should make sure, with their insurance agent, that all the various loopholes are closed when securing proper D&O coverage.

Working with an independent insurance agent who has experience securing coverage for condominium associations is important. I have witnessed Boards insist upon using All-State, State Farm or Farmer's policies simply because their premiums tend to be lower than Best Guide A rated carriers such as Greater New York, Hanover and Travelers Insurance. Penny wise and pound foolish. Each Association or corporation needs broad form coverage that protects those homeowners who selflessly volunteer their time and energy to sitting on a Board of Directors.

That is why the right agent and the right coverage is very important.

Maintaining Your Roof

Let's say that your building has just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars replacing the roof. The Association has paid the roofer and received the warranty as promised in the contract. Warranties can be good for ten, twenty or longer depending on the type of roof installed. As a member of the Board of Directors you think your focus can now turn to another issue your building faces since the roof is brand new. Wrong!

For a few hundred dollars per year you can enter into a maintenance agreement with a reputable roofing firm which calls for them to visit the roof one or two times per year and inspect all of the roofing seams, vent stacks and the flashing to make certain that there are no issues that may have occurred that would jeopardize your brand new roof. Typically, roofing companies that provide maintenance agreements charge $89. per hour for two men for a couple of hours to perform this important inspection. If the roofers, while at the building, notice a crack, ponding or that the flashing has come away from the parapet wall, they can immediately repair the problem. You should budget approximately $700 per year for a simple roof maintenance agreement.

The result is that you can, by Board vigilance, extend the life of your roof well beyond the warranty period.

Another event that can occur that spells doom for roofs is the satellite dish. Many installers working for Dish and Direct TV are independent contractors who only want to install as many dishes as possible over the course of their day and do not care about your roof and how they do the installation. That is why you can venture to the roof of many buildings in Chicago and see dishes attached to the elevator housing, the parapet wall or simply anchored into the roof in a convenient location. This can cause cracks and holes in your roof and, more important, void any warranty. There is a proper way to install a satellite dish and a process that your Association should abide by so that you are certain that the dish has been correctly installed.

Briefly, the correct way to install a dish is on top of a "sled". The sled is weighted so that it cannot move in a high wind and there is no puncture to the roof. Never on the parapet wall or a balcony or the facade of your building. Even better, the best way to install a dish is to have one central dish for all residents to hook up to and policies and procedures that govern the installation. The less people with access to the roof the more likely the roof will not experience damage over the years.

One such firm that installs master dishes and offers bulk service agreements for all residents is Access Media 3. However, there are other reputable firms that provide this service.

Kickbacks in the City

There is a long held practice with Chicago property management companies to accept compensation for arranging certain work in behalf of a client. The following are examples of this practice:

The Board approves a proposal to paint the common areas of a building based upon the recommendation of the property management company. The management company tells the painter to charge the building "x" but requires the painter to give the management company a percentage of "x". This little financial arrangement is not disclosed to the Board.

Or, the property management firm pre-arranges for set pricing on all types of work perfomed by a vendor. The management firm charges the building more than the set pricing and keeps the difference.

Or, some property management firms actually have written right into the fine print of their management contracts that they get to charge the building a percentage of every repair or replacement they are involved in. So, if the building approves a proposal to tuck point the facade for a million dollars, the management firm actually charges the building a percentage of that proposal.

Or, the management company establishes a separate wholly owned subsidiary for the express purpose of providing their clients with various services such as maintenance, snow removal, common area repairs and the like. They tell the client and the homeowners who call asking for a referral to a good painter or plumber that they will arrange for the work to be completed. What the client or the homeowner does not know is that the management company has obtained a quote for the job from a vendor and has added on a fee or percentage simply for making the arrangement.

Or, and this is my favorite, the management company swears that they do not participate in any of these practices and then when the owner of the management firm needs work done on his personal home, there is no charge.

The bottom line is that there are lots and lots of ways that your management firm may improperly benefit from their relationship with their clients. Management firms routinely deny that they participate from these practices and hide the reality from their clients. However, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck--it is a duck.

The fair, honest and decent way to service the client is to charge ONLY the management fee that is pre-agreed upon and nothing more. The management company should negotiate the best possible prices for all work and pass all discounts and savings on to their clients 100%.

Rick Holtzman
Prairie Shores Management Co.

Excellence in Association Accounting

If you are a member of the Board of Directors of your Association or Corporation, you already know how important comprehensive and timely financial statements are to your oversite as a member of the Board.    

Most buildings that become unhappy with their property management firm report that the lack of a timely, easy to understand and complete monthly financial statement is a driving reason to seek new management.    

All financial statements should clearly report the current balances in Association reserve accounts, how the building is performing against budget, all accounts payable, all accounts receivable and should be available to Board members well prior to the end of the following month reporting.

If you worry about understanding the information provided you as a Board member in the reports that you receive, it may be time to explore other management options.   Further, all members of the Board should have real time access, 24/7, to this information through your management firm's accounting portal.   

Your financial statements should also be reviewed by a CPA.   Your fiduciary responsibility as a member of your Board should dictate the quality of your monthly financial statements.   Having Directors and Officers insurance is not protection from bad accounting management.

You can find out why Prairie Shores Management offers the finest accounting services to all their clients by calling our office at 773-878-3300.