Page 11 - CooperatorNews New York August 2021

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING SERVICES: - Structural - MEP - Interior Design BUILDING ENVELOPE / RESTORATION / FACADE INSPECTION SAFETY PROGRAMS CONSTRUCTION DEFECT TESTING / INVESTIGATION ENERGY CONSULTING FORENSIC TESTING / LITIGATION SUPPORT NYC SPECIAL INSPECTIONS 5 YEAR CAPITAL PLANNING 350 7th Avenue, Suite 2000 New York, NY 10001 (646) 292 - 3515 info@falconengineering.com www.falconengineering.com ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS AND ENERGY CONSULTANTS DECREASE EXPENSES. INCREASE PROPERTY VALUE. Switch to an Organized, Modern, Property Management Firm. Serving the outer boroughs and Long Island. Call us for a free property assessment: Office: (844) 204-7268 Text: (516) 407-8358 Email: mgrant@nygms.com Grantmanagementservices.com COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — AUGUST 2021 11 ents asking each to apply common sense while keeping in mind what may be nec- essary with respect to tax records (and audits) and in the unfortunate event of litigation. We would always recommend keeping original signed documents such as proprietary leases, recognition agree- ments, tax records, and other agreements in written form, while simultaneously maintaining electronic copies of each, to- gether with electronic copies of the bal- ance of the corporation’s records.” Richard Brooks is a principal with the law firm of Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks located in Braintree, Massachu- setts, and says that “in whatever format they are contained, certain records must be accessible to the owners per the \\\[Mas- sachusetts condominium\\\] statute. Not all records have to be reviewable—the statute contains a list. It may actually be easier to let owners have access if they are in electronic format. Most professionally managed associations are putting the re- cords online so that owners have access without much trouble. Therefore, there continued on page 12 DIGITAL DOCUMENTS continued from page 1 she’s done everything for the community for so long, they just prefer she continue to handle things. Which begs the ques- tion: what happens for this community if Mary leaves, or decides she’s had enough? Term Limits, Service Mandates, & the Benefi t of Serving Aside from committee work and out- right begging, are there other methods of prodding owners and shareholders to get more involved? One suggestion might be mandatory board service as a condition of purchasing into a community. Mary thinks it’s an idea worth considering; Jack, Mike, and Marks do not, and ques- tion whether such a requirement would even be legal. Additionally, mandatory board service might turn off prospective purchasers, making it harder to sell units. Another approach could be for com- munities to adopt term limits, pushing people off the board after a set amount of time and bringing in new blood. While Marks, Jack, Mike, and Mary all think it would be a good idea, for her part Mary says she isn’t sure who in her community would pick up the mantle if she resigned tomorrow. Marks says there are clear benefits to board service. “If you want change, get involved. Information—having a view of all of the documents, problems, and is- sues—is both useful and interesting. For me, it brought about a change of profes- sion. I also like the interaction with the community and fostering a feeling of community, especially for our newest members.” n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. is more transparency, and it is easier for everyone involved.” The Practical Approach “Pre-pandemic,” says Dan Wollman, CEO of Gumley Haft, a management firm based in New York City, “\\\[our com- pany was\\\] moving to a new space that was smaller than our previous office. We scanned a million documents—we also got rid of a lot of documents. We culled through the files and scanned every sin- gle closing file, approved board package, stock certificate, financing info, etc. We had all this in a huge file room before. Now that it’s all been digitized, that room barely exists. When someone sells their apartment, their file gets deleted because we don’t need it anymore. Digitization is secure, protected, and available when needed. Everything is backed up in the Cloud. Everything is in a secure place with limited access, and we have lots of bells and whistles for security.” “We shifted to digital records some eight or nine years ago,” says Scott Wolf, managing partner at Briggs, a large real estate management firm located in Mas- sachusetts. “We started converting docu- ments when scanning became available. Digitization got rid of the file cabinets and boxes. I myself like paper, but I’ve come to understand that it’s redundant. Everything is available online now. We email everything with attachments, so no more shifting papers and boxes. This is particularly important now in light of COVID-19. I believe a majority of our competitors have converted to digital as well.” Are All Documents Equal? “Ninety percent of what we receive now is digitized,” says Wollman. “This process applies to everything: bank state- ments, invoices, bids all arrive digitized. Nothing comes by paper anymore. You can attach things to email digitally, so we don’t even write checks anymore. Ev- erything is done electronically. If we do have to process anything, we scan it and send it to a bank or whoever the recipient might be.” Wollman stresses that most companies are moving in this direction, and if they aren’t, they’re way behind the curve. The digital revolution has been underway for long enough for most businesses to have “Ninety percent of what we receive now is digitized. ... Nothing comes by paper anymore.” —Dan Wollman