by Mike Aries
Every condo board I sit down with is asking some version of the same question, even if they don’t say it out loud: whose side are you actually on? After years of working on building enclosure projects, I’ve learned that’s the only question that matters and it’s the one that decided everything at Cedar Pond Village Condominiums in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.
The Board was staring down a serious problem. Water had been getting in behind the siding for years, causing wood rot and structural deterioration tied back to deficiencies in the original construction. They needed a comprehensive enclosure replacement, and the Board knew it would place a real financial burden on the residents who’d be paying for it.
That’s exactly why independent oversight matters so much in projects like this. Boards are almost never construction experts, and they’re relying on contractors to tell them what’s wrong and what it’ll cost to fix it. Someone has to be in the room who isn’t selling the repair. On day one we made our role clear and put it in writing. BES works for the Board, not the contractor and not the property management company.
Before we talked about cost at all, our team reviewed every investigative report and contractor finding on the table. We wanted the Board to know the recommended repairs were technically necessary before we ever got into negotiating price. That order of operations matters. Validating the problem first is what gives everything that follows credibility.
The independent peer review and pricing audit identified opportunities to improve project efficiency without compromising the repair design or the quality of the materials selected by the Board. By introducing more competitive pricing and refining the project approach, the overall project cost was reduced by approximately $922,000 while fully maintaining the intended scope and quality standards.
Once construction started, our project lead Kevin Winter walked the site every week and wrote up findings ahead of each Board meeting. He reviewed hundreds of progress and allowance item photographs to verify payments and confirm the work matched what residents were being billed for. That kind of meticulous oversight is what actually protects a community over the course of a long project.
None of this happens without a Board willing to ask questions, and residents who stay engaged through the entire process. Our job was to provide them with the education that fostered the confidence to do it.
Projects like Cedar Pond Village are why I do this work. First and foremost, because buildings are repaired correctly and residents can have confidence that their homes are safe. Just as importantly, the community had an independent partner whose sole responsibility was to protect their interests, delivering meaningful cost savings while safeguarding their long-term investment.
Want to learn more about our process? Read more about our full range of condominium services and this project at: https://buildinges.com/services/residential/
Mike Aries
Mike Aries is a consultant IV and condo group lead at BES
