The work looks done ...and none too soon

 

Although the photo quality isn't great, the retaining wall looks great this morning.  Why is this important? Over the years I've lived here, this wall was constructed and then failed.  My co-op needed to repair it, and I was one of the loudest advocates for this repair.  The repairs were finally completed while I was on my cruise.

Why is this important?

Given retaining wall failures which have affected the commuter rail line I live near, the last thing I want to see is a preventable landslide which could either destabilize our building, negatively affect downhill neighbors, or both problems.  

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As I've noted in the past, I live in a naturally occurring retirement community (for many of us long term residents), as apartment ownership has proven the best investment for our needs.  We know that someone else has to take care of the property, and that we can reside in the apartment as long as we are able to pay the maintenance.  (I won't get into other issues for leaving in this discussion.)  And that's where the problem lies.  Most of us, myself included, live on fixed incomes.  Older people usually have fewer resources to draw on, and are least likely to afford maintenance hikes or property assessments. 

Most co-op boards have to balance the needs of their shareholders.  Do we raise maintenance charges, knowing it might be a hardship for some?  Do we apply an assessment for needed repairs, as we did when we had to replace our windows many years ago?  Do we defer maintenance, so that we don't have too many bills being presented to the co-op at once?  There are so many things a co-op board must address, and there is no way we can make everyone happy.

I am lucky to have the resources to pay my bills (and a little bit more).  Many others are not.  The position a co-op board member has to take is similar to being a fiduciary - one must act in the best interest of the client, and not of his firm.  In my case, my responsibility is to the health of the co-op, and not any one individual member - including myself.  That's why I pushed for repairing the retaining wall as much as I did.  And now it's done... 

Retaining Walls and Building Repairs

 

How would you like to live in a building where its retaining wall has failed?  Well, this is the type of issue co-op boards should feel are their highest priorities.  And my board considers issues like this our highest priority, 

Yet, things get in the way of boards doing their right thing by their shareholders.  For example, the Surfside Condominium's collapse could have been prevented had its Homeowners Association (HOA) both maintained the building properly and repaired it as soon as signs of possible failure were detected.  However, many buildings constructed during a building boom are often shoddily built.  In the case of this building, it was doomed to collapse from the day it was built.

Could Surfside have been saved?  Maybe.  It would have taken a strong HOA and willing owners to supply the funds needed for the needed repairs. But this was not the case.  People balk when presented with a high repair bill.  If they can avoid it, smart people sell out early, leaving other "fools" to pay the bills for repairs - but they can't always sell out.  Currently, as a result of the Surfside collapse, many buildings in Florida are going through mandatory inspections and expensive defect remediation.

So I go back to the failed retaining wall in the picture.  If you were thinking of buying an apartment in the building adjacent to the wall, would you do so?  I wouldn't. Instead, I'd wait until the wall has been repaired, and be sure that all assessments for repairs have been made and collected.  Luckily, this is not my building and not my retaining wall....

Getting a ceiling repaired - The saga has ended.

 

Yesterday, I woke up to "construction noise" coming from downstairs.  The hole made for the plumbing repair was being fixed - a little under 3 weeks from the water damage from my apartment.  And I'm glad this saga has ended.  Based on the message below, I'm sure that my neighbor is happy with our response.

Good Evening

Just want to let you know that the work in our bathroom was completed today. Everything worked out well. Manny did a very nice job. He sheetrocked and painted and it all looks great. He also was very neat and left no mess when he was finished.

We are very happy with the result. Thank you for your part in getting this done.

As a co-op board member, it's a nice feeling to receive a thank you message from someone whose apartment was damaged on New Year's Eve.  It's important that any co-op board takes property maintenance and repair seriously, as this is one of the first things that people notice.

Hopefully, we will soon get to address other issues on our check list, as it's important that we show a record of accomplishments that we can justify our actions to our shareholders.