Condo Media - April 2011 - 40

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

The Niles Company
Management and Maintenance Backed by Experience
by Pamela Schweppe

hose of us who lived through the historically heavy rains that hit the Boston area last spring vividly recall the flooding that ensued. The city of Quincy, Mass., was among the towns that were hardest hit by the storms. And the Furnace Brook Condo Association in Quincy was a victim of that flooding. “Our building is in a low spot, and the parking lot in the lower level was completely flooded,” reveals Tom Feenan, a unit owner in the commercial condo association. “We had 10 to 12 feet of water.” As a result of the flooding, the building lost heat and electrical power, and the city “shut us down,” says Feenan. For him, the timing couldn’t have been worse. He is a financial advisor, and it was the middle of tax season. Getting back into his office as quickly as possible was critical.

its operations, even during these difficult times for the housing industry. Over the past year or so, the company has added a dozen new properties to its management portfolio, bringing the total number of units in its care to roughly 7,000. It also has hired an additional property manager to help handle the added responsibility.

Bob Elder (third from right) supervises a crew of licensed professionals who offer a wide array of maintenance, remodeling and renovation services.

Staying Around by Staying Young
Fortunately, his property management company, The Niles Company, had the resources to respond immediately to the crisis. Founded in 1907, Niles offers an array of real estate services — from rentals and investment sales to consulting and financial reporting. But property management and project supervision have always been at the heart of their business. Niles has been able to remain vibrant and thriving throughout this long history by listening to its clients and evolving to meet their needs. It is by continually innovating — for example, by offering a new interactive website — that Niles has been able to expand

Introducing Niles Contracting Services LLC
Hand in hand with this new growth has been an uptick in demand for physical maintenance, repair and renovation among the properties the company serves. While Niles has always provided for the physical requirements of the properties in its portfolio, “The expansion of our portfolio created a growing demand for these services,” explains James T. Collins, CPM, executive vice president of Niles. “At the same time, it became increasingly difficult to find people who do this kind of work, who are reliable and insured. It’s best to have these services inhouse, where we can be better assured of the quality of the results.”

That concept led to the establishment of Niles Contracting Services LLC (NCS), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Niles Company. “Our maintenance services were set up years ago to facilitate the needs and requirements of our clients,” says Jerry Ragosa, CPM, president of Niles. “NCS simply formalized it. We’re responsible for the management of each property and the quality of the work of the vendors we hire. With NCS, we have better pricing and control.” With NCS, Niles maintains its own well-equipped, reliable staff of skilled, licensed contractors ready to handle routine maintenance jobs or to mobilize instantly at any time in the event of an emergency. As Linda Stearns, senior vice president and executive director of NCS, puts it, “We offer 24/7 service, 365 days a year, at the highest level of quality. We’re accountable to our clients, so they know we’re here for the long haul.” Take the Furnace Brook flooding crisis, for example. NCS was able to respond immediately with licensed staff professionals, who took swift action to repair the damages left by the flooding, from pumping water and replacing electrical switches to negotiating with the insurance company and working with local officials to get the building reopened. “They worked night and day, around the clock,” Feenan praises. And not only did NCS handle the immediate emergency, they also took steps, such as sandbagging the area behind the parking lot, to help prevent a similar disaster in the future. “We didn’t have to do a thing,” says Feenan.

Condo Media - April 2011

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