Condo Media - August 2018 - 64

Ask a Busy Person
Your background is in mechanical
engineering. How did that lead you to
Advanced Reserve Solutions?
In high school I liked architectural
drawing and I enjoyed working on mechanical things. When I had to choose
between architecture and mechanical
engineering in college, I chose engineering, because I thought engineers
had better job prospects than architects. After college, I worked in process
engineering for a paper company for
several years and then took a job designing envelope folding machines for
the same company. I enjoyed that, but
I had also been interested in construction for a long time. I grew up in Florida
during a housing boom and I'd watched
a lot of homes being built around me. I
like seeing how things work-how they
go together. I also wanted to work for a
smaller company and I knew I wanted
to start my own company at some point.
So I took a job with a
small builder. I had
to take a pay cut,
but I was excited to
be watching houses
being built again.
That's when I realized I'm more interested in
buildings than in machines.
How did you move from building
homes to preparing reserve studies
for condominiums? I started my
own home building business in 2004.
As a sideline, I did some small consulting jobs for insurance companies,
reviewing construction damage claims,
analyzing what went wrong. When I
told a friend I enjoyed that work, she
introduced me to her brother-in-law,
who had started Advanced Reserve
Solutions with a partner 20 years before. They were looking for someone to
represent them in New England.
What do you enjoy most about this
work? Explaining complicated issues
to people. I like educating people about
their buildings. If reserve studies are

64

CONDOMEDIA August 2018

courses and writing articles helps the
association by educating its members,
but it also helps to promote my business. It's a symbiotic relationship in
the best way.

PAUL HUIJING, P.E.
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT,
ADVANCED RESERVE SOLUTIONS
only filled with spread sheets and
technical jargon, condominium
owners won't pay any attention to them. Maybe it's
because of my engineering
training, but I think if you
explain things in a logical
way, so people understand
"why" as well as "what," they
may not like your recommendations,
but they will have an easier time accepting them.
What do you find most frustrating? It concerns me when
associations kick the can down the
road. They know they need to increase
their reserves, but they take a shortterm view.
How did you get involved in CAI?
I joined when I began working with
Advanced Reserves Solutions. But I
already understood the importance
of belonging to a trade association.
I've been active in the local and state
chapters of the Home Builders' Association for years. I know how much
it helped me when I was building my
construction company, so I was eager
to get involved with CAI. Teaching

What would it surprise people to
know about you? Probably that I'm
an Iron Man (triathlon) competitor.
I was a big-time cyclist when I was
younger. I stopped when my kids were
young, but I started cycling again
when they were older. I decided to
try a triathlon and discovered I was
pretty good at it. I wasn't fast at any
of the events (swimming, biking, and
running), but I was consistent in all of
them. I can operate at 85 percent all
day. I biked more than 11,000 miles
training for my first triathlon and
finishing it was an amazing feeling.
Shortly after that race, I discovered I
had colon cancer. After I finished the
treatment, I decided to do another
Iron Man triathlon in
Canada in 2016,
and I finished it.
I don't know if I'll
do any more, but
it was important
to me after my
bout with cancer
to prove that
I could.

What's the best advice you ever got
and from whom? I've gotten a lot
of good advice, most of it from my
parents. Two things in particular have
guided me: "Be yourself," and, "Make
sure you enjoy what you do." I give the
same advice to my kids, or any kids.
I tell them to think about what they
would do for free, and then find a way
to get paid for it. I also tell them not
to be afraid to change direction if they
decide there is something else they
want to do.
Condo Media - August 2018

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