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CHICAGOCOOPERATOR.COM THE CHICAGOLAND COOPERATOR — SPRING 2020 13 vestigate the claim and work with the par- ties to find resolution. In either event, a family (and their pets, if necessary) to be determination should be made confirm- ing the alleged conditions, that they are dissipate—usually just a few hours’ time. the cause \[of the complaining residents’ “I don’t think we have to fail to protect symptoms\], and that \[those symptoms\] all the other owners from vermin,” Sha- rise to the level of disability under the piro says, “\[just\] because someone’s pet ADA and/or are sufficient to constitute doesn’t like pesticides.” a breach of the Warranty of Habitability or proprietary lease. Under most propri- etary leases, a shareholder is not permit- ted to allow unreasonable odors to escape poration is obligated to remunerate any their apartment, so if odors—caused by damage caused by the growth of mold on cats, for example—are escaping the apart- ment, it could constitute a breach under example, such situations usually fall un- the proprietary lease.” Hakim goes on to say that “In a con- dominium, where there is no proprietary sult of a natural disaster like a hurricane. lease and implied Warranty of Habitabil- ity, the association’s obligations—if any— would generally depend on whether the mold from the property after a flood or dander and odors are directly related to other catastrophic event. the cats, and whether the alleged sick- ness is so severe that it would constitute problems not caused by a natural disas- a disability under the ADA. If so, then the ter? According to Magill, “If one has mold condo’s board of managers would have to in their unit, it’s their responsibility. If the work towards finding a reasonable solu- tion—though generally speaking, in the the mold is in the association’s common case of both a co-op and condominium, area, it’s the association’s responsibility. they are not required to demolish, mate- rially change, or build something from In Florida, the law has changed so that scratch. Thus, possible solutions (short of the association insures the entire build- trying to have the offending animals re- moved) may include adjusting the airflow dows, doors, A/C units. This enables the in an apartment, sealing off gaps, or re- quiring the adjacent apartment owner to even if the unit owner decides not to step install HEPA or similar air filters.” Chemicals Another potential source of sensitiv- ity is the use of chemicals within and physically connected—think townhous- around residential units to control or es—“The owners are responsible for ev- eradicate insects and rodents, and out- door pesticides to maintain landscaping and control vermin. Many residents claim reasonable. If an association can make the chemicals used adversely affect them, an accommodation, they should.” As their kids, or their pets. Shapiro points with so many issues in co-op, condo, and out that in today’s ecologically conscious HOA living, after the incident, you’re still world, many associations request—and neighbors and you have to live together many exterminators use—environmen- tally friendly chemicals. If a resident has a problem with even those, that resident should be notified in advance that the ex- terminator is coming, so they can make arrangements for themselves and their away from the building until the fumes Mold In certain situations, it’s obvious that a condominium association or a co-op cor- their property. In the case of Florida, for der what is known under Florida law as a “casualty loss”—in other words, the re- Clearly, the association and its insurer will do everything they can to eliminate But what about other potential mold portion of, say, a pipe that is the cause of That is without regard to liability factors. ing; structure, internal plumbing, win- association to rebuild after a casualty loss, up and rebuild their apartment interior.” She adds that it’s completely different for an HOA. In an HOA, unless the units are erything.” In the final analysis, says Shapiro, “Be and among each other. n Darcey Gerstein is an Associate Editor and Staff Writer for The Chicagoland Coop- erator. YOU’LL LEARN SO MUCH YOUR HEAD COULD EXPLODE. (Our lawyers said we had to warn you.) STEPHENS CONVENTION CENTER, ROSEMONT — WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 10-3:30 FREE REGISTRATION: CHICAGOCONDOEXPO.COM THE COOPERATOR EXPO 2020 WHERE BUILDINGS MEET SERVICES his industry. “Email has upended communi- cations,” he says. “Years ago, everything was done by phone during business hours. To- day, email comes at any time, ‘24/7’ as they say. It can become overwhelming. An en- tire day can be spent responding, and other pressing matters may fall by the wayside.” Scott Wolf, a managing partner with Brigs, LLC, a New England-based real estate management firm, concurs. “I’d like to get rid of email,” he says. “Everyone’s expecta- tion is an instant answer. There’s something to be said for actually picking up a phone and speaking with people. With direct con- tact, it may be easier to resolve an issue”— and it might take less time. Stecko goes on to say that it’s important to take the right approach with email. “I use my best judgment as to when to respond— during the day, or after \[business\] hours. It depends on the circumstances. There is an expectation that if you respond after hours, you are making yourself available. I have a colleague who will respond to emails after hours but not send the response until the next morning so as not to \[set a precedent for\] 24-hour availability. I disagree with that approach. I try to respond appropriately de- pending on the circumstances.” On the Other Hand… While advances in communications technology have changed the way manag- ers work and allot their time, they do see benefits in it as well. “With the advent of the internet and online communications, one can accomplish things more quickly, even though more people are contacting you,” says Wollman. “It’s also less stressful. You don’t have people angry at you all the time,” he adds with a chuckle. “It’s also easier to deliver bad news!” While email does of- fer some remove from direct confrontation, it can also make some people feel entitled to be much harsher than they might be face-to- face. Additionally, it can flatten out nuance and tone, which makes misunderstandings and accidental offense not uncommon. Wolf says, “This type of communica- tion—electronic—ultimately provides you with more time to do other things, which means that you get more done, but you also work more because of the actual time it takes to \[read and respond to\] email. There’s always more email.” In the end, electronic communication is a mixed bag for manag- ers, but one they will continue to use even if it means more hours in front of the com- puter screen or on their smartphones. In regards to smartphones, the use of text messaging and other SMS technology like WhatsApp is another mixed bag for the management industry. While providing more immediate, in-real-time communica- tion—which can be useful in emergencies or situations where staying up to the minute is important—text messages from an entire client community can become a barrage of distractions. It can also become intrusive. Even if a property manager (or any profes- sional, for that matter) has a separate smart- phone just for work, giving the number out to literally hundreds of clients or customers can lead to an onslaught of calls and texts ev- eryday and every hour. However, as home- owners in multifamily communities start to skew younger, adoption of their preferred modes of communication—which for mil- lennials and others is decidedly texting (for now)—might be necessary to meet their ser- vice expectations. Speaking of Age ... As millions of American profession- als over 50 will tell you, finding a new job at their age is nearly impossible. But in real estate management, that does not seem to be the case. Both Wolf and Wollman indicate that as owner populations become younger, experience is still valued over anything else when it comes to residential management. And many long-serving managers are em- bracing changes in technology and incor- porating them into how they manage their properties. Stecko indicates that FSResidential, where he has worked for 12 years, offers training in new technologies to its manag- ers and all other employees. The company prides itself on integrating systems and ap- plications that offer efficiency and service both to clients and in back-end operations. THE EVOLUTION... continued from page 1 continued on page 14