CONDO lIFESTYlES
by Salvatore Sciacca, Chicago Property Services
Top 10 Ways to Guarantee Disaster for Your Next Capital Project Now that the warmer weather is upon us, it is time to take on capital improvements projects for your community association. As a result, I would like to share some thoughts on ways that WIll guarantee a complete disaster for your capital repair and/or improvement project. So sit back, relax, and follow these step by step instructions for a most assured complete failure. 10. Short Term Planning is BEST. Capital planning is for the birds. And a reserve study is a COMPlETE waste of money. Besides, you are probably planning on selling within 5 years so why should you help build the association reserves if you’re on the way OUT.
9. Spontaneous Capital Planning and Decorating is FUN. In fact, it’s much better to wake up on July 4th and decide as the board president that the hallways WIll get repainted and that the stairwells WIll get re-carpeted by the end of August at a cost of $250,000.
8. Lump Sum Special Assessments are the ONLY way to Pay for Capital Projects. We need the money TODAY to pay for the hallway and stairwell renovations. So why not just ask the homeowners to pay their share of the special assessment in one HUGE lump sum. Doesn’t everyone have $15,000 laying around for flash cash purposes?
7. Cheaper is BETTER. Since we’re asking all the homeowners to pay for the capital project in one lUMP SUM, it is probably best to go with the cheapest bid. Who cares if all the other bids are 50% higher. Besides, the vendor who is the least expensive said they have been around for the last 10 years under 20 different company names. So that is probably a good sign.
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6. Confusion on Who is the Project Manager is BEST. Why appoint a specific project manager? Besides, since we have a management company, I’m sure that the property manager will just handle it. That’s what we pay them for. I’m paying $500 in monthly assessments and I think it is reasonable to just expect things to get taken care of as the board president. We certainly don’t want clarity for the contractor and the homeowners on the proper channels of communication.
5. Poor Communication Rocks. Homeowners should know that the common areas need to be renovated. It’s common sense and as a result, there is NO need to send out any notices or waste money on printing pieces of paper to post on bulletin boards. Besides, no one ever reads the notices anyway. In addition, we don’t have to tell the homeowners about the special assessment. We’ll just add it to everyone’s assessment statement next month. And in terms of the start date of the project, once the dust starts flying in the hallways, the homeowners will get the picture, so to speak.
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