Condo Media - October 2013 - 28

by David Isenberg

MAINTENANCE

Selecting Association Vendors
Skills, Knowledge, and So Much More

hen it is all said and done,
there are many competent
vendors. However, with
condominium associations
it’s important that vendors not only
understand the job at hand, but also
have an appreciation for the unique
decision-making process of associations
and more importantly, the specific needs
of board members and managers. While
you hope that the job is performed to a
high standard, there is much more than
that to a successful job.
Board members and association managers are responsible for making decisions
that serve the best interest of the community and its owners. While you are unlikely
to achieve perfection, it is possible to have
a better success rate when hiring a vendor
if you keep in mind some basic criteria:
• First and foremost, create a clear and
well-defined scope and specification.
The scope should include the details
of the project, as well as the specifics
of the materials to be used, i.e. material descriptions, thicknesses, lengths,
height, color, warrantees, etc. These
should be thorough and complete to
avoid surprises and additional costs.
• The contractor should be licensed
(when required) and insured. Liability
coverage in most cases should be a
minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate. Worker’s
Compensation should meet statutory
requirements and Hired & Nonowned Auto should be a minimum of
$500,000. In all cases, the association
and management company should be
named as additional insured. Certificates of insurance should also be provided to the board and/or manager.
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Condo Media • OctOber 2013

• Ensure permits are obtained by the
contractor from the local town/city
building department and a copy is provided to the board and/or manager.
• Hold a pre-start meeting on site to set
expectations and establish a schedule. The meeting should include the
manager/board members, site person
if there is one, the contractor, and the
project engineer if applicable.
• Communicate effectively and often
with the contractor. It should be
determined what the best form of
communication is—in this modern
age, most prefer the computer. What
matters most is developing a relationship with the contractor where all
the parties involved understand each
other. More important than the form
in which you communicate is the level
of understanding you have with the
contractor and the frequency of these
communications. Too much is always
better than too little.

Project Operations

Once the above items have been addressed, the project is ready to begin.
As important as the quality of the
work, if not more important, is the
manner in which the project is carried
out. Owners and residents may know
little about the technical aspect of the
job, but they can tell when a job is not
being performed in an organized and
professional manner. Perception is reality. The contractor you have selected
should help you in the following ways
to create a positive perception:
• Perform a pre-start inspection of the
common areas and units. If the job may

create disturbance to the walls or roof,
you should be looking at existing conditions. This means cracks on the walls
and ceilings, staining, ripped window
screens, broken glass on windows, etc.
If you are doing interior work, look for
conditions of the adjacent walls and
flooring. This will help avoid confusion
on what damage was caused by the contractor and what pre-existed. Memories
are foggy at the end of a project and this
step will help to avoid disagreements
and minimize resident frustrations.
• Assist in drafting a pre-start memo
to the residents providing specifics
of the project’s start date, completion date, what to expect, what to do
if problems arise, and contact telephone numbers. The memo should
also answer as many anticipated and
perceived residents’ questions as is
possible in advance.
• Establish a system for providing
regular updates to board members
and the association manager.
Prior to the commencement of the
project, the board members, manager,
and contractor need to review and
establish work site conditions. This
covers where storage containers and
dumpsters may be placed, bathroom
facilities, where breaks should be taken,
allowance of egress to the building for
residents, and how the property must
be left at day’s end.
Once the project is underway, it is
important that the contractor provide an
orderly work site. As you are dealing with
a work site, the site will not always be
spotless. It is realistic, however, to expect
tools and materials to be neatly stored,

Condo Media - October 2013

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