Condo Media - June 2011 - 35

to work effectively with association trustees, especially those with an eye for quality and a need for economy — and who doesn’t need both? At Pegan Brook Condominium in Natick, trustee Nancy Elacqua describes a scenario all too familiar to unit owners living in properties “in need of a little freshening up,” to borrow her expression. Elacqua, who owns a thriving kitchen design firm and also does home staging for residential real estate brokers, took a hard look at the exteriors of Pegan Brook’s townhouses when she assumed the chairmanship of the community’s association. “Clapboards were cupping, wooden trim was rotting, paint was peeling and a whole lot more,” she says. “I asked some of the contractors I work with in my own business and an engineering firm to take a look.” Elacqua anticipated the time and expense required to put Pegan Brook back on an even footing. “I developed an improvement list and financing plan that avoided burdening unit owners,” she says. “I called in three bidders for each aspect of the overall project, thinking I’d find vendors with specific craft skills. By the time I was done, I had 15 bids in hand.”

Out of the Ordinary
“Then something out of the ordinary happened: I heard about Sean O’Connor and Preserve Services, whom I thought might be a good choice to bid on the painting part of the work, which is quite extensive. They came with gold-plated references and when we began to discuss the job, I realized they could handle the whole thing. As the bidding process progressed, I put the numbers together and discovered Preserve Services’ response to our RFP covered everything we needed to do and still beat individual vendors. “Preserve Services started right on time in mid-March and they’ve been here every day except Sundays ever since. Sean O’Connor and I go out

and walk the property constantly, which I know from my kitchen design work is always the sign of a contractor with an eye for detail and job quality. The materials we’re using are excellent, costs are in hand and we’re well ahead of schedule.” What Pegan Brook Condominium is also getting for its money (according to Elacqua) is “an honest, trustworthy and energetic vendor.” Forty miles north of Natick, Steve Curly, a trustee at Tedesco Pond Condominium in Marblehead, is one of the trustees who have assumed coequal responsibility for managing the complex. Situated on seven acres on the Marblehead border, the property is nicely laid out and attractively landscaped. “All our units have decks and good expanses of glass looking out over a small pond. People say we have a kind of a California look. It’s all kind of unique,” Curly adds. But pond-side living in a seaside community poses unique maintenance problems, as Curly explains. “Five of our units were experiencing exterior rotting because of the quality of trim boards used at the time of construction and sun bleaching on the exteriors of other units was a problem, too.”

“Preserve Services helps us keep costs in hand,” Curly says, “On their suggestion we now have a yearly maintenance review, which makes real sense given the weather conditions here. We’re replacing a lot of rotting wood — our decks need attention — and installing PVC trim, which Sean pointed out, is a great choice for condos because of its ability to hold paint and resist rot. “Preserve Services’ crews come and go on the property now,” Curly adds. “We have a lot invested in landscaping, so we’re especially pleased at how respectful the men are of our grounds. Their presence is seamless. We don’t even bid jobs anymore. We just call Preserve Services.”

Assess, Plan and Execute
There’s a back story here, of course — good general contractors with the ability to assess, plan and execute a complex capital improvement project don’t keep multiple balls in the air without solid planning, administration and communications skills. “We work with iPhones in the field,” says O’Connor, “and our trucks carry hot-synced laptops, so we have real-time control of warehouse inventory. Bills of material, progress reports and finances are always visible, too, which gives us good control in the field and the ability to limit client costs.” Great craft skills, personal involvement on the part of Preserve Services’ principal officer in all projects, competitive pricing and solid operational controls all add up to the quality, service and economy value-conscious association trustees and managers are looking for. “Maintaining your condominium property so it looks its best is our business,” says O’Connor. And he means it! For a complete evaluation and estimate of your property, call Preserve Services at (978) 745-8745, or visit www.preserveservices.com.

Confirming Impressions
Unbidden, Curly confirms impressions about Preserve Services previously shared by Pegan Brook’s Elacqua. “We went through a pretty exhaustive search before we found Sean and asked him to do a site visit,” says Curly. “He spent a lot of time assessing the situation, which impressed us immediately.” “They weren’t under any obligation,” Curly continues, “but Preserve Services brought in a coatings expert on their own who had some pretty compelling ideas about how to handle our problems. We liked that because we’ve had painters in here in the past whose work required re-doing only two years after completing a job.”

http://www.preserveservices.com

Condo Media - June 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - June 2011