Dear Board Members,
Well we’re almost through another year together and 2021 has brought us all our fair share of challenges. We’re still living with Covid and all wondering what the future brings in that regard. Inflation is rising, gas and groceries seem more expensive with every passing week and the labor pool remains a challenge for most companies. Material costs and lead times remain a factor in doing anything at your association in the new year. With all that been said, we’ve still managed to get a lot of great things done.
We just completed the 2022 budget process for many of our customers. We are seeing condominium fees rising between 3% and 18% depending on each customer’s specific set of circumstances. On average, most associations are in line with inflation with 5%-6% increases. We’ve been fielding calls from some unit owners who are unhappy with their board’s decisions. Remember, if ever faced with backlash from unreasonable unit owners, we’re here to assist you and explain how a condominium association operates. Condominium Living is not for everyone! No good deed as a board member goes unpunished.
We welcomed another new customer, Old Stage Stop Condominiums, a 48 unit association in Marshfield this last quarter. They have a number of capital projects that need to be addressed in the new year, including replacing their entire septic system which is failing. On January 1, we will have two additional new customers in Summer Reach, a 112 unit 55+ community in Plymouth and Edgewood Village, a 60 unit community in Marshfield. We welcome both of these to our portfolio of select communities.
As our business continues to grow, we have hired two additional full time team members. Please join me in welcoming Shannon Flaherty as an Assistant Property Manager and Tom Shay as a Maintenance Technician. Shannon comes to us with a background in general contracting and Tom has worked in facilities management at the Plymouth public schools. They are both excellent additions to our team and have settled in very well. We have also hired two part-time employees as concierge’s for one of our customers in Hingham. They will be a wonderful addition to that luxury community.
As I’ve mentioned before, we highly recommend all associations to have the best protection for your reserve funds. We have moved the reserve accounts for a number of our customers, where the combined balances of their funds exceed $250,000, to a bank that offers both FDIC and DIF coverage. This ensures the association’s funds are protected and fully insured. Please reach out to your property manager if you would like to address this matter for your community. We have many customers who should avail of this facility.
Earlier this week we delivered fifty gifts to kids in Boston who may otherwise not have anything under the tree this Christmas. Attached is a picture of my truck full of gifts as we set off. A big thank you to Christie Moore, our accounting manager, for organizing us to give back, and to all our staff who contributed. Remember, we’re here 24/7/365 to serve you and your communities. Feel free to give me a call anytime if you need advice or just want to chat. My direct line is
617-752-1922. As always, I very much appreciate your business and wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season and Merry Christmas! Best wishes to all for 2022.
Regards,
Ronan
