Announcing Our New Property Management Company

The board of trustees wish to introduce Harvest Properties, LLC, as our new property management company.
The board’s decision was based upon numerous factors including recent and consistent feedback by owners.
The transition was put into motion after our last annual meeting in January.
After completing a period of research, interviewing and reviewing contracts, the board selected Harvest Properties, LLC, a management company with a local office in Melrose, MA.

The trustees signed a new contract in April and Markwood has been transitioning information and files to Harvest so that the new contracy will be in effect as of June 1st.

Your new contact person will be Rachel Campbell, director of Property Management.
Her direct line and fax number is 781-325-4827
Their office number is 781-979-9199
E-mail is: rcampbell@harvestprops.com
Website is: www.harvestprops.com

Personally, I will remain as a trustee, but I will not be continuing the blog, nor serve as an on-site spokes/answer person for Markwood Management after the 31st of May.

If you have questions after that date, please direct them to Rachel at Harvest or one of the other trustees.

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.

A Word About Dealing with "Issues"

As we all know, living in a small space with neighbors above, below, and on either side of you, can lead to occasional friction. This is bound to happen at some point, so it is important to know, and follow some simple protocols for dealing with those frictions.
Recently Markwood Management was surprised to learn that there was an incident on the third floor where the police were called to intervene.  "Surprised" is the operative word here. Markwood had no idea that this incident had been the capper of an ongoing situation. This is unfortunate, because it is an issue that should have been resolved internally, without involving the police, but is all too common. This shows a breakdown in communication between Markwood and the residents, so...
Here are some information and guidelines for problem resolution to keep in mind.


Emergencies:
LEVEL 1:  If there is a situation which is immediately threatening: Fire, Accident, Medical Emergency, Criminal Activity (burglary, theft, physical violence) Call the Police or the Fire Department first. After the emergency has been addressed, (and only then) call Markwood and let them know what happened.
LEVEL 2:
If there is an incident in the maintenance realm (broken pipe, leaking toilet or water tank, electrical issues, roof leaks, blocked driveway or dumpster, broken washing machine or dryer, non-working lights, locks etc.) Call Markwood Management immediately. There is an emergency number to call if there is an actual emergency.
Markwood will try to get back to you as soon as possible (usually within 20 minutes).

Issues with neighbors:
If you are having a recurring, persistent issue with a neighbor over noise, pets, smoking (or other noxious smells), you need to let Markwood know what is going on. Don't wait until you are in crisis mode before you call them. Calling the Markwood the emergency line in the middle of the night when you are upset about a loud neighbor is probably not the most productive way of addressing the issue.  Even a "heads-up" call can go a long way to helping sort out a situation.
There are several channels for addressing this this. You can call or e-mail the Markwood office. You can e-mail or call one of the (3) trustees. You can speak in person to the two Trustees who live in the building. You can even comment on the blog.

The Process for problem resolution:
 Whenever there is a reported "incident, it takes time for Markwood to investigate and sort out the situation. There are two sides to every story, and just because one party is convinced  that something is a problem doesn't mean that it actually is one, or that the incident they related is what actually happened. 
Also there are limited tools for dealing with repeated violations of the condo rules and bylaws. Markwood is not a police force. The main mechanism of enforcement (besides written warnings), is the fine. Fines are levied on owners for violations of the condo rules (not tenants). The fines at 24 Norman Street are substantial starting at $100 for the first incident, and escalating if the infractions continue.  They can amount to hundreds and even thousands of dollars. If they are not paid, a lien is attached to the property. That means the property cannot be sold without paying the fines. That gives owners a pretty compelling reason to make sure that they and their tenants behave.
Markwood also relies on the owners who sublet to renters, to educate their tenants about the rules and bylaws. Too often new tenants are not even informed of the rules or given a copy of the bylaws by the owner. Ultimately it is owners who are responsible for maintaining and enforcing the rules.

Responsiveness:
Markwood  Management manages many different properties. They are a small office with many duties and responsibilities, so they may not get back to you immediately about every issue. That does not mean that they are not addressing it. Addressing tenant/owner issues is a slow process and it sometimes takes months to resolve an issue; either the tenant complies with the rules, or the owner is forced to evict the tenant. The more cooperative the owner is, the quicker it usually goes.

If Markwood does not get back to you in a timely way, please speak to one of the Trustees.
It is their job to make sure that Markwood is doing it's job. If you never tell us there is an issue, then we assume there isn't one. So let's avoid any future "surprises".

Pets Policy Clarification

There are no dogs allowed in the building. This includes all dogs no matter how small they are. There is currently only one exception;  (1) small service dog is 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. The official policy for the building is that there are no pets allowed in the building. The management maintains this rule and right to control the presence of all pets especially if they can potentially become a noise or health issue. Thank you.

Equipment Vault Update

If you live on the basement level of 24 Norman Street, or on the 7-11 side of the building, you may have noticed some activity in and around the electrical junction room (next to the laundry room), and the adjacent below-ground equipment "vault". 
Here is an official update dated April 23rd, from the Markwood office on the work being done at 24 Norman Street. 

 "As we have previously reported, Commtank is working in the building continuing the clean up.  All proper notifications and permits have been filed.  To date we have spent just under $6,000.

Today was the anticipated day to remove the transformers which have been evaluated and believe to be the source of the oil. Commtank has reported back today the transformers, which were thought to have been abandoned, do in fact have power to them.

With this information and information found by Carol Kenney (Markwood Management), of a possible easement with AT&T for access to this room, we felt it was necessary to immediately contact local Attorney Scott Grover.  We have asked Attorney Grover to interpret this recorded easement and advise the Board of further direction.

We will continue to update the Board as information is available."

-Kimberly Lord

It turns out that the easement has since passed from AT&T to National Grid. The condo trust attorney is on the case trying to sort out who is responsible for the clean-up.

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.

2013 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2013 annual meeting of the 24 Norman Street Condominium Trust will be held onTuesday, January 22, 2013 at 6:00 P.M. in the Heritage Room of the Heritgae Plaza Condominium at 10 Norman Street (next door lower level) Salem, Massachusetts.
You should have received a packet in the mail recently containing the agenda , proxy form, budget and the 2012 annual meeting minutes. If you have not received this please contact Markwood Management. The agenda will include a review of the 2012 Annual Meeting Minutes, presentation of the finances, old business, new business and the election of trustees.
If you are an owner or tenant please make every effort to attend this meeting.

New Tenant Welcome Sheet

Markwood has developed a New Tenant Welcome Sheet that contains useful information for people just moving into the building including contact information for Markwood Management and it's trustees, as well as some basic condo rules and policies. A version PDF can be downloaded by clicking  here.