Following Up with Markwood

MESSAGES
There have been several complaints recently that Markwood has not been getting back to people in a timely fashion when they leave a message. One mitigating factor may be the message itself. If you are calling from a cell phone, especially if you are in a car, the basement, or other area where reception is poor or there is a lot of metal and cement, consider that your message may not be intelligible. We recently had a call from someone in the laundry room that was so garbled, it could not be understood at all. Markwood had no idea who had called or why. All that had was a partial phone number and a very hard to understand name. It is also important that when you leave a message, besides giving your name and phone number to also give your unit number. Sometimes the unit number is the most important piece of information, especially since some tenants have non-local area codes, and it is not always clear if the caller is an owner,a tenant or somebody else.
It is also a good idea to follow up any phone call with an e-mail to Markwood. They can be sent to either Kim Lord at kim.lord@markwoodmanagement.com, or to Carol Kenney at carol.kenney@markwoodmanagement.com.

ATTENTION UNIT OWNERS
Markwood has noticed that there seem to be many new tenants in the building who have never received a copy of the condo documents, which include the bylaws sound, and other regulations, from the owner (their landlord). It is the unit owners responsibility to provide a copy of the condo documents to their tenant, or to make sure that the tenant has access to them. Although these documents are available for download here on this blog, it is not the responsibility of Markwood Management to make sure that your tenant has received them.
Another owner responsibility is keeping Markwood informed and up to date of any changes in tenancy. If you have neglected to inform Markwood of a new tenant please follow up immediately.

Take This Sound Test

 

 


Are you watching a movie or TV show on your television, playing a game on your computer, or listening to music on your stereo? Go out into the hallway and close the door. Can you still hear your device plating? Then it is probably too loud.
If you can hear it outside your unit, then your neighbors can hear it too, either down the hallway, through the wall, or the floor. (Headphones might be a great idea).

If you live at 24 Norman Street and don't know it already, you will quickly find out that it is a small building, and there is minimal soundproofing. The building was converted to condos in the 1980's, before newer building codes stipulated more robust soundproofing. For example, in newer construction, there is a minimum of one foot of space between your ceiling and the floor of the unit above you. We don't have that here. Basically your floor is also someone's ceiling.

That means that sound is easily transmitted. Walking heavily, flushing toilets, running your dishwasher, dropping things on the floor all sound like a heard of elephants stampeding, a tropical rainstorm, and a gunshot respectively. Add that to the outside ambient noise of downtown Salem, and you have a recipe for stressful living. Now we all chose to live here, so there is some expectation of noise, but it is a razor-thin line between acceptable and actively annoying.

Be aware of the time of day as well. There are restrictions in the condo bylaws that prohibit any noise between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM. But I'm sure that if you're playing loud music or hammering something into a wall at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning, you're not going to be engendering much good will from your neighbors.

Here is a link to a blog article titled: "How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That Guy" , which has some good tips for dealing with sound the almost universal issue of noise. 

This is all a way of saying, please be aware of the level of noise you are making, and try to be considerate of your neighbors. It goes a long way to improving the quality of life here.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PETS

There are still some tenants who are unclear on the rules about pets in the building. I recently encountered a woman from the building walking her dog by the dumpsters. When I told her that dogs are not allowed in the building, she replied "Yes they are, lot's of people in the building have dogs."
Besides being disingenuous, she was also completely wrong. As a trustee I would know who has approval for a dog, and she most definitely did not. In fact only one person in the entire building has permission to have a dog, and that is a small (service) dog in the building by special permission of the management company and the board.  This is the only exception and was the result of a long process of medical documentation, review and approval by the board.

Let me clearly restate the official policy here so there is no longer any confusion.

From the original Condo by-laws:
 (b) No animals shall be permitted in any unit without approval of the Managing Board.

 From the 2013 amended rules and regs:
No animals shall be permitted in any unit or on the common areas without written approval of the managing board

If you are contemplating getting a pet of any kind, you need to contact Markwood Management and submit an application for permission to have that pet. If you somehow overlooked or ignored the condo bylaws and already have a dog, contact Markwood Management immediately, because if you do not, and there is any complaint about that animal, (barking, poop, etc.) the unit owner will be fined until either the animal or you, are removed from the building.

In a building this small, where smells and sounds are a real quality-of-life issue, we cannot afford to have people assuming that rules about pets do not apply to them.

NO SMOKING REMINDER

 
( image courtesy of http://www.mydoorsign.com/)

In 2013, the Norman Street Condo Association, with the majority support of the building unit owners,  amended the master deed to create a smoke free building. This means that there is NO SMOKING allowed anywhere in the building, including inside the units. 
Violations of this amendment will result in fines, the same as would be incurred for the breaking of any other condo regulations. If you have questions, please contact Markwood Management at 781-639-4080 or e-mail them at markwoodmgt@hotmail.com.

2014 Annual Meeting

The 2014 meeting of the 24 Norman Street Condominium Trust will be held Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 6:00 P.M. in the Heritage Room of the Heritage Plaza Condominium, 10 Norman Street (Next door, lower level), Salem, Massachusetts. You should have received a meeting package and proxy form for your information and review. At this meeting you will be electing three trustees for one-year terms. George Courage, Anna Zabierek and Jessie Zuberek have volunteered to serve as trustees. If you are interested in adding your name to the ballot, please contact Markwood Management no later than December 31, 2013 and be prepared to present yourself at the meeting. Please direct any questions to Markwood Management.

Remain Calm and Don't Be A Dick

This building sometimes feels like a group of individuals who just happen to occupy the same space, but like it or not, by living here, you are part of a community.
When you live in a community there is give and take. You are not living in a shack in Montana where you can do whatever you want, at any hour, without consequence. With 39 units crammed into a fairly small building and a wide variety of owners, tenants, schedules and lifestyles, it is no great surprise that there are conflicts. Conflicts between neighbors, conflicts between owners and tenants, conflicts between tenants and Markwood Management.

Now most of these are minor, and involve either sound disturbances, minor violations of the condo association bylaws, or both. Many times these conflicts are resolved through dialogue and communication between the parties involved, simply talking to the person and explaining the situation. Concessions and adjustments are made. Most people are rational, reasonable, and wish to avoid problems rather than exacerbate them. A little courtesy goes a long way.

However, every now and then you get a tenant who for one reason or another, digs in their heels and escalates issues to the point of legal action. This is often characterized by open antagonism, mild vandalism, and/or threatening behavior. Maybe they have an ongoing grudge against Markwood, or are angry at some perceived slight, maybe they think highly of themselves and have an unnaturally enlarged sense of entitlement, maybe their mommies didn't love them enough as children, maybe they even have a legitimate gripe...who knows..the point is, that kind of anti-social behavior is totally unacceptable.

The law provides tools for dealing with these kind of people, however the effectiveness of those tools are limited if these people"dig in". The law works best when people are reasonable; when they are unreasonable, the effectiveness of law diminishes in direct proportion to how unreasonable the offending person wishes to be.

Markwood uses fines and/or civil action to enforce the condo bylaws. The bylaws are not arbitrary. They have evolved over the last 30 years in dealing with the issues of many people living in a small space in an urban area. They are there for good reason and need to be enforced so that we can all live here in comfort and safety. Enforcement takes time, effort and money, and most importantly, participation. People get away with bad behavior for years when people don't get involved, call them on it, or stick to their guns when it gets difficult to do so.

It is only through communication, persistence and community that we keep this building a decent place to live. If you have an ongoing conflict with a neighbor that you can't resolve and it is getting uncomfortable, please contact Markwood immediately and inform them of the situation.
Don't ignore it, or hope it will go away. Don't try taking the law into your own hands either.
Chances are if you are having a repeated problem with a particular tenant, others have had it too. You are not alone, you have an ally, and if we work together, we can make this building a not just a good place, but a great place to live.

Increase in Rules Violation Fees

The Board of Trustees recently voted to adopt an amendment to the condo bylaws that increases the fines for violations of those bylaws.
This measure has been formally adopted into the Master Deed and By-Laws recorded with the Essex County South District Registry of Deeds.
This was done to bring us up to par with other Markwood Management building bylaws as well as give the board a more effective tool for the management of violations.

"In addition to any and all other remedies available to the Board for violations, the Board may assess fines, attorneys' fees, and expenses incurred by the ssociation against the Unit Owners for violations of the provisions of M.G.L. c. 183A (the Condominium Act"), the Master Deed, By-Laws, or Rules and Regulations, as follows:
1st Offense: Notice of a fine up to $100
2nd Offense: Fine of up to   $200
3rd Offense: Fine of up to   $300
Each day that a violation continues after notice shall be considered a separate violation. Fines may be enforced against the Unit Owner(s) involved as common expenses. If any expense is incurred by the Board as a result of the failure and/or misconduct of either a Unit Owner  or such Unit Owner's family members, tenants, guests, or invitees, then the Board may assess all such expenses against the subject Unit Owner and such assessment shall be both the subject Unit Owner's personal obligation and a lien against Unit Owner's Unit, enforceable and collectable as a common expense charge."

FYI: Vacation Rentals are Illegal

Recently Markwood Management came across this website.
It is a listing on Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) from Home Away, a site that lists private apartments and condos around the world for short-term vacation rentals and appears to be one of the units at 24 Norman Street.

Salem is a major tourist destination, especially through the summer and Halloween. It would be great if you could rent your unit out to visiting tourists and make some extra money, especially if you are an owner who doesn't actually live in the building...wouldn't it?...except for the fact that it is illegal.

Norman Street is Designated a Central Development Zone (B5).  The Zoning By-Laws pertaining to Principal Use shows that Rooming, Boarding or Lodging Houses are not permitted in zone B5.  Rooming houses are defined in the By-Laws as:

"Rooming, boarding or lodging house: A dwelling or part thereof in which lodging is provided by the owner or operator to at least three, but not more than six, roomers or boarders. "

This is a clear violation of Salem’s zoning By-Laws, (a rooming-house permit would be required) as well as a violation of the Condo Association's by-laws. Besides the fact that it is illegal, it raises all kinds of security, liability and insurance issues. What if a short-term renter in the building is injured while staying here? or injures somebody? Who is liable? Hopefully you can see where this opens a whole variety of issues. We do not have the kind of building set-up, security, or staff to be able to manage these kind of rentals, even if they were allowed by law, which they aren't.
So, if you were thinking about doing this, well...don't.
You will be subject to legal action by the Salem Zoning Enforcement Board as well as legal action (including fines) by Markwood Management.