A property manager is required to provide a variety of different services. One of the major services that a manager must provide is the maintenance of the physical aspects of the real estate. In order to provide the proper advice to the Board of Directors, the property manager must be knowledgeable in many of the general principles of the various construction trades. The manager must know and understand plumbing, carpentry, concrete, asphalt, roofing, painting, pools, electrical and much more.

By understanding the basics of these trades, the manager will be in a position to determine which bid and contractor complies best with the specifications of the job to be performed, and more importantly, the manager will be able to determine if the proposal or bid covers the task to be performed. Without this knowledge and experience, the property manager could mis-direct the Board of Directors into accepting a substandard proposal for repairs and maintenance.

Lets take just one trade as an example, roofing. The Board of Directors requests the property manager to provide three bids for re-roofing a "built-up" roof. The present roof is comprised of a 90 lb. base sheet and two additional layers of 15 lbs. felt and then gravel spread over the entire area. The property manager contacts several roofers, two of which recommend that the old roof be removed down to the plywood. The third roofer recommends that the original layers of roofing remain to give additional life to the new roof that will be applied over the old roof. The last bid is considerably less than the other two bids. To an inexperienced property manager and the Board of Directors, this would seem logical and appear to be a better value. it would not be difficult to convince a Board of Directors to accept this bid.

The third proposal is flawed. If the old roof was leaking prior to accepting the third bid, the application of additional "New" layers over the old roof would make it very difficult to locate the source of the leaks and increase the cost of future repairs. This is also valid if the old roof was not leaking prior to the new installation.

Lets take the next part of the bid where one roofer’s specifications do not require the 90 lb. base sheet of felt to be nailed to the exposed plywood, but only glued down with hot tar. A knowledgeable property manager would recognize that failing to nail the base sheet will allow the felt to "move," with building expansion, even though it is glued down, and ultimately begin leaking. It is a minor part of the contract, but could develop into a major problem later.

Probably one of the most frequent maintenance calls received by a property manager is related to plumbing. Since every unit has a number of plumbing fixtures, the property manager should have an understanding of the basic mechanics of how plumbing works. Generally, a homeowner calls and informs the property manager that "my kitchen sink is stopped up!" Now this could mean that either the caller’s water will not go down the drain or that water is backing up into the sink.

By understanding basic plumbing principles and asking a few simple questions, the property manager can determine whose responsibility it is to pay for the repairs prior to dispatching the plumber. In most cases, if the person’s unit is located above the first floor, and you inquire, "is the water level in the sink increasing from other units above, or is the water just standing and will not go down the drain?"

If the answer to the latter question is "yes, the water will not go down," stoppage is in the trap beneath the sink or on the lateral leading to the main line. This would, of course, be the owners responsibility according to MOST CC&R’s.

On the other hand, if the owner responds and tells you the water is building up in the sink from other units above, this means the stoppage is below the unit reporting the problem, and obviously a main line stoppage. This would be the Associations responsibility to fix and pay. You can preclude latter disputes with homeowners by advising them of their financial responsibility at the time of the call rather than wait to discuss it after the repairs are made.

If you cannot determine the responsible party, then inform the plumber who is called to determine the cause of the problem and detail it on his invoice. Using plumbers who are familiar with condominiums can be very useful to a property manager.

It behooves a property manager to obtain and study various trade books on the basics or attend various trade seminars put on by contractors and learn the physics and mechanics of repairs and maintenance. By doing so you will be a more valuable asset to the Association you manage, which is exactly what you are hired for.

Andrew N. Menas

Certified Property Manger

President, Menas Realty Company