Happy 2022 & Our Annual Reminders
- maintenanceets
- Feb 2, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 17, 2022
Happy New Year!
Yes, I know I’m a bit late. So first and most importantly -
All of us at ETPM appreciate your commitment and faith in us and we Thank You Greatly. Sending you all wishes for a Happy, Healthy & Abundant 2022!
Below is our annual reminder about best practices for your buildings, along with some other reminders about building management. There are updates to some of the general practices along with fee updates associated with payments and service calls. We appreciate you all taking the time to go through this update and we WELCOME ALL QUESTIONS and concerns you may have.
Chat soon!
-Chastity
Common Charges:
All owners are required to pay their common charges via ePay on Buildium. Your common charge payments are directly deposited into your associations’ bank account. Your ledgers are also updated automatically. This is very important for accurate reporting. Beginning March 1, 2022 those who have access to ePay and continue to mail in paper checks will be charged a $25 transaction fee by management. [We don’t want your $25, we are really just trying to get everyone to use ePay :) ]
Trash Chute & Trash Room Guidelines:
Every building has a porter who is responsible for putting your trash and recycles to the curb according to your buildings DSNY schedule.
Do not throw trash in the trash chutes/trash rooms/trash bins without it being in a tear-resistant bag.
Pet waste & pet litter must be placed in a tear-resistant trash bag.
Diapers must be placed in a tear-resistant trash bag.
* Tear-resistant bags provide the best chance of preventing garbage from becoming loose in the chutes/bins.
Recycling Guidelines:
Do not throw trash in the RECYCLING designated areas.
Boxes must be flattened to ensure space for everyone's recycling.
Containers that hold liquid or food should be emptied and rinsed before being put in the recycling.
Do not put paper bags or cardboard in the bins designated for plastic, glass & cans.
Follow DSNY recycling laws.
Spills in Common Areas:
Your hallways, lobby, elevators, trash rooms are an extension of your units. We completely understand that accidental spills happen! However, when they do it would be appreciated by management and fellow residents if it can be cleaned up immediately and not left until the porter or cleaning crew are scheduled. Cleaning up those spills immediately ensures they do not become a slip or trip hazard for your neighbors.
Here’s a scenario:
Your porter cleans the lobby weekly.
Your cleaner cleans all the other common areas every other week on Saturdays.
A spill happens the Sunday AFTER your cleaner cleaned on the 3rd floor stairwell.
Your cleaner will not be back at your building until the following weekend.
The spill is left uncleaned for almost 2 weeks.
One more scenario:
Your trash bag leaks liquid on your way out.
A delivery person slips and falls due to that spill, causing injury.
The building gets sued.
Storage in Common Areas:
Forbidden per FDNY rules. You can review them HERE. Should FDNY make a pop up inspection to the building, these violations pose hefty fines. Main takeaways are as follows.
Building lobbies and hallways are allowed to feature consoles, benches, artwork and umbrella stands that do not block the exit
Lobbies and hallways may not have other types of decorative furniture such as dining room tables, beds, etc.
Bikes, strollers, clothing and personal property may not be stored in building hallways
Household garbage may not be stored in building hallways
Artwork is OK to hang in the hallways
Hiring Contractors:
Whether it's a renovation, repair, or big appliance/furniture delivery/moving company, all contractors entering your building MUST provide a Certificate of Insurance that lists the unit owner as the certificate holder, and the association and management as additional insureds. This is to protect everyone. You can find the general COI Guidelines HERE.
Renovations:
Prior to any work being done in a unit, the owner/hiring party must submit an Alteration Agreement Notice via email to their respective boards and management. This process is designed to make sure that the building-wide rules, services and structures that serve all residents are not affected by construction in any one apartment. ALL vendors scheduled to perform work in any one unit or in any part of the building MUST complete an Alteration Agreement, submit the requested scope of work, permits, licenses, and certificate of insurance. You can find the Renovation/Alteration Agreement Guidelines HERE.
Condominium & Coop Sales:
If your Board requested that ETPM manage the Sales Process for your building, then there are some very specific steps to follow. It begins with a Letter of Intent to Sell.
The process for unit sales can be found HERE.
Tenants:
If you have a tenant in your unit, it's very important we have their full names, email and phone numbers for resident pertinent management communications.
If your Board requested that ETPM manages the Tenant Screening Process we need your lease and a signed House Rules acknowledgement. If you are having a new incoming tenant, that tenant is subject to our tenant application process found HERE. Fees apply.
Service Calls:
Service Call Visit Fees $150 plus the cost of repair/troubleshooting/parts.
Additional fees may apply if it is determined that 2 technicians need to visit the site.
Service call visit fee is charged regardless if ETPM technicians are performing the repair.
Service Calls - Building Specific:
Your porter and cleaning crew are at your building multiple times a week and are trained to inspect and immediately report any potential safety hazards, along with potential mechanical issues, leaks, and building related issues that are visible. Your Senior Property Manager is at your building at minimum once per month to do complete building inspections, specifically looking for any preventative maintenance that needs to be done.
With all that, there are still instances in which a service call needs to be placed for a potential safety hazard or issues to be looked at immediately. Should a service call require an inspection outside our usual scheduled visits, we ask that owners use Buildium TASKS to report the issue. These out of schedule service visits are subject to a visit fee. Once the cause of issue has been identified, we notify the board with the best possible suggestions for remedy. This sometimes requires bringing in a licensed vendor. We will offer to schedule 2-3 vendors to visit the building and bid for the repair. And we work with the board to choose the best option.
When a repair will affect the building a notice will be sent to all residents with the type of repair, how it affects the residents, date and time.
Service Calls - Unit Specific:
If your unit has an issue that warrants a service call to management, that service call is subject to a visit fee. If the issue is unit specific , the owner will be charged the fee plus any repairs that are approved to be done. If the issue is caused by a common area of the building, the association is charged the service visit fee, plus any immediate repairs/troubleshooting that need to be done.
When a unit issue repair is called for, we can recommend vendors for the unit owner to call so they can acquire estimates for the repair. It will be up to the unit owner to schedule vendor visits, and acquire the necessary SOW and COI to file with management. Should a unit repair affect the entire building, the unit owner needs to notify management so a notice can be sent out to all residents.
Property Management is based upon transparency, communication and grows into trust. Our priority is to ensure your building is safe, the associations' financials are healthy, and all residents have a clean well maintained common space. We appreciate all the feedback we get, and we especially appreciate when issues and concerns are brought to our attention.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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