to argue about, a threatened lawsuit is not an option to resolve defects in construction. Several buildings were at risk of developing mold due to water infiltration. The property was not professionally managed due to its size. Fortunately, several homeowners and a three member board worked with the developer to understand the nature of the problem, and arrive at a mutually agreed long-term solution. The benefit was remediation of the defects in a relatively short period of time – eight months. The association’s attorney shadowed the process but was never directly involved. One of the board members had experience in self-managed community associations and was an engineer. First and foremost, the parties arrived at a consensus or common goal to quickly resolve the dispute. Doing so would help preserve the reputation of the developer in the community while unencumbering the value of the units’ marketability. Instead of the major six- or seven-figure lawsuit taking years, effective remediation of the defects resulted. At the end of the day, the reputation of the developer and the value or marketability of the units would still be at risk even after remediation. Understanding this, both parties made sure that the remediation was successful.
Each of these success stories has several common threads. The swimming pool replacement project used three parties (manager, board, and committee) to 1) define the goal, 2) define the problem and, 3) work toward defining and implementing a solution to meet the end goal. Notice the order: goal, problem and solution. All too often we tend to think of “eliminating the problem” as the goal. Rather, the goal helps to define the problem more holistically. Imagine if the three groups defined the goal or problem in different ways. This would be a recipe for acrimony. Consensus among the three parties was key toward achieving a solution consistent with eliminating the problem piloted by a common goal. In this case, we have a full-time manager helping to assure that the committee and board kept to the goal of having long-term, uninterrupted, use of the pool with the lowest possible future lifecycle cost of ownership. In essence, without a fulltime professional management team, keeping everyone on the same page can become a problem which transcends the original problem of a deteriorated swimming pool.
The building envelope project in Colorado had an apparent problem of a tired and old exterior. In fact, the problem was one of insufficient reserve capital, and a lack of understanding/identifying alternative sources to fund the project. The goal of course was quite different than the problem of insufficient capital. The goal transcended a mere “replacement project” and became a “renovation” which saved the community from eventual redevelopment through demolition. The strong leadership skills of the management team and board helped to first build consensus about defining the goal, then defining the problem, and finally creating a financing solution customized for each of the ten owners. With the financing solution in place, the
16 | COMMON INTEREST®
goal to renovate was realized within fifteen months, start to finish, with a new condominium exterior in the historic district of the local community.
By now you might easily spot these common ingredients of success. Resolving the stucco defect issues in the 16-unit condominium in the final example illustrates again how an association identified the goal, defined the problem and arrived at a solution through consensus building. At each stage, the key stakeholders arrived at a consensus or agreement, through leadership by the management team and one or more community leader volunteers. You too can achieve the same success stories in your communities, whether the issues are routine, budgetary, or more significant challenges. Just use the common ingredients for success!
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A Publication of CAI-Illinois Chapter
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