Self managed condo

I self managed my condo for awhile- similiar in size to your building. At the time, we had a lot of issues that were brewing-so it was a lot of work and the only ones that can appreciate it are the ones that have previously served. If your building/finances are in good shape- then I would recommend you remain self managed- the cost and effort of managing most managing agents might not justify itself. Because we had so many issues to deal with- we ultimately did switch to a managing agent...but honestly, the current board members are spending almost as much time managing the managing agent as they would have spent managing the building themselves(and this is a far better managing agent than our first attempt- but still far from excellent). It would probably cost about $700-1,000/month to hire a managing agent- with the caveat that it might not save you much time/effort. If you are having signficant problems with the building- then the expertise of a managing agent might be worthwhile. In our building, we only have a part-time contract based porter (not an employee of the building). As to duties- it will depend on who else is participating in the building. I was formally treasurer at the time of being self managed..but it was a full time job with all the problems we had to deal with. It doesn't sound like that would be the case for you since you said the building requires very little maintenance (we were a brand new construction building- but there were problems and the developer didn't want to do anything to fix the problems other than patchwork solutions that didn't fix the underlying issues). Your responsibilities will vary- but hopefully the current board has a solid list of vendors to choose from when something needs to be fixed. Liabilities should be covered by your buildings insurance policy (a directors and officers add on will limit your personal liability). Honestly if the building was in good condition- I could have done most of the bookeeping work in a matter of minutes every month, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I spent most of my time emailing and calling owners addressing their concerns and updating them on options/decisions we made.

Thanks semerun for these comments.

I live in a prewar so we have from time to time a leak or a damage here and there, but the roof is new, same thing for the plumbing. No one expects any major job in the years to come (fingers crossed)

The financials themselves... I have a hard time to judge: the maintenance is low and we get assessments when something "unusual" needs to be done. Bottom line is: there is no reserve funds, and the building gets exposed if someone stops paying its share (people do now, but this could be a big issue). So the budget right now is sort of balanced, but given what has been done lately this completely normal - next year an assessment is coming, we'll see if this stays like that.

We will discuss the managing agent solution anyway, but I suspect a $1000 fee will not be accepted. (a better solution would be a small increase to build some reserves?). Yet I totally understand the views expressed in some other threads about this (a managing agent looks useless until something big and ugly happens - then you are happy to have someone to work with).

phil
sounds like a lot of work and a reasonable amount of grief. Sit and talk with the current president and get a fix on the time and effort that actually goes into the job. Your comment about the financials is a red flag. Could be a steep learning curve and a recipe for angry neighbors. If everyone in your building won't fork over $70/mo to have tgheir building managed you just might have your work cut out for you.

Actually, the most important person/position in any self managed building is the Treasurer. They must be completely familiar with all city ordinances and filing deadlines, as well as tax and financial requirements. They must be organized and proactive. It's a big job, and a great Treasurer can make a self managed building a much smoother running operation - or cause endless headaches and financial wreckage.

I had no previous experience as a Treasurer (though I do have a finance background). The developer gave no guidance as to city ordinances or filing deadlines- so it was a bit rough getting things aligned at first- though much of the difficulties were because no one was paying the bills for many months before I agreed to take on the role. Once I got a reasonable handle on things- I proposed a 30% hike in the common charges (we were operating on the model provided by the developer which was unrealstic long term- but made it easier to market the building). I got lucky because not a single owner argued against the increase-of course no one liked the increase, but no one fought against it either. Sometimes you have to make an argument for increasing the monthlies for all the right reasons and from what you have said- I would suggest raising the common charges. First I would include a bit of cushion for 2 owners not paying their common charges simultaneously. As I said, when I created the budget for my building I didn't have experience running a building. While recreating a budget for the building I built in a cushion for 1 owner not paying. I was damn lucky I did because we have one owner that isn't paying for an extended period. In retrospect- I wish I had built in the assumption of 2 owners not paying at the same time because it would have given us a far greater cushion. The other area I would address is building a monthly reserve into the common charges. Since you mentioned there is no dedicated reserve for long term projects and there is no immediate pressing projects- now is the right time to start one. The approach I took was a balanced one- owners wanted the common charges to remain relatively low (the original budget never had a reserve calculated in) so I kept the monthly contribution for a reserve relatvely low. This would allow us to have some funds when the time came for larger projects- but it would also require an assessment. It was a balance approach so that the common charges would still be low- but that when assessment time came it wouldn't be nearly as painful.

Echo the thoughts about lot of work and grief. If you wanted to manage your own building then own the building outright. If something goes wrong no upside, lots of downside.

are you a complete fool or just an idiot?

Is it an either/or?

We've been on the board of three condo buildings, two self-managed, and at least one, I think two, as treasurer. It hasn't been a problem for us.

>are you a complete fool or just an idiot?

Ooh, a leading question.

>We've been on the board of three condo buildings, two self-managed, and at least one, I think two, as treasurer. It hasn't been a problem for us.

Red flag if the treasurer isn't sure if s/he is the treasurer.

Oh please, it's been years. I'm certain I was treasurer years and years ago, I think my husband was a decade ago, and he is now again.

>and he is now again.

You sure?

I'm just joking with you aboutready. In fact, my original comment was just a generic joke but you just happened to be present.
Lighten up, get in the Christmas spirit. Think about your childhood, mom baking gingerbread cookies, the aroma wafting in Tacoma... mmm