First of all: DO NOT USE RESIDENTIAL REALTY. Let me be specific. Your managing agent may not be knowledgeable of Maryland laws regarding condo associations and the eligibility requirements of FHA/HUD. They may be unprofessional in demeanor with little communication skills. Information maintained by this company, on your behalf, will be treated as personal information belonging to them alone. They will not be helpful in providing you any information contained within your association files. They will resist each individual homeowner’s right to review ALL records pertaining to their unit. They have no organic knowledge of best practices, contract preparation and review, construction, small repair, reconstruction and remodeling, correct invoice review and preparation, proper water damage/mold mitigation procedures and physical plant maintenance. They are almost entirely dependent on the knowledge of the contractors they utilize for repairs and have no real system of properly vetting and credential approval procedures. Managing agents may lie to you at any time regarding their actions, lack of action, regulations and directives regarding your specific community. Do not expect this company to serve as an advocate in any insurance matter that you may be involved in. They have no experience at any level that you are likely to observe. You will have to do all the legwork on your own. Expect to be told things that are passed on to you as fact , wherein you are only really dealing with an inexperienced opinion or something that a contractor/vendor might have said. You and your association are on your own. Generally this is a systemic problem that begins with the owner and trickles down to the operations staff (that you are most likely to come into contact with). IF YOU ARE ALREADY USING RESIDENTIAL REALTY: You probably take some comfort in the fact that annual record audits are conducted and your company passes. Don’t. Annual audits are not designed to detect FRAUD, WASTE and ABUSE. For a reference to this and most matters regarding your association, visit the Maryland Condo Association’s website. Each homeowner should ask to see and inspect all maintenance files for their own home. Make copies of everything. This is your RIGHT under Maryland law. They will be reluctant to let you see the files and will attempt to give you only what they want you to see. Persist. HAVE AN AUDIT CONDUCTED BY A CERTIFIED FRAUD EXAMINER (CFE) OF ALL FILES AND OPERATIONS PERTAINING TO YOUR ASSOCIATION. Pay for this audit at your own expense and have the results provided solely to your Association Board. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE MARYLAND CONDO ACT. Ensure that Residential Realty is in complete compliance with ALL aspects of the act and ASK TO SEE the relevant documents. Remember: If you do not personally see it, it probably does not exist. HOLD Residential Realty accountable for their mistakes. The one thing that this company does not like to do is admit to mistakes. The other is to be scrutinized regarding their operations. Your association operating budget may be inflated due to unforeseen expenses and fees that are passed on to you. Ask to see original documentation. ENSURE THAT IF THEY SEND ANYONE TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE IN YOUR HOME THAT YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THE INVOICE TO INCLUDE, MATERIALS USED, LABOR RATE AND TIME, AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED AND ANY COMMENTS OR NOTES USED IN PREPARATION FOR WORK. Ensure that your Association prepares and creates its own meeting minutes. Do not rely on this company to create and compile your minutes for you. Follow up on all approved association measures and have your board visually inspect Residential Realty’s working space and ask specific questions about how your work is processed. BOTTOM LINE: Find another management company that services your needs and communicates freely with you and your Association. Never transfer records to or from this company ( or any other for that matter) without having your Association Board’s representative in attendance. This is the only means by which you can be assured that files are not missing, misplaced or destroyed. GOOD LUCK!
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:05:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015