Case Studies

As specialists working with nonprofit organizations, Southern Cross Property Consultants understand how important it is for you to get the best value for every dollar you spend on facilities.  Below are examples of services our firm has provided for clients:

 

Interior Renovation – Luxury High Rise

A 27 story, luxury high rise was seeking project management firms to oversee an interior renovation project.  This project involved complete renovations to the main lobby, the elevators, the elevator lobbies, and public corridors on the 24 residential floors.  The project was challenging because the work of multiple contractors had to be coordinated while also ensuring that the impact to the residents was minimal.

Southern Cross Property Consultants was selected to manage the project. By working closely with the contractors and the residents, the project was delivered sooner than originally thought possible. The homeowners were only impacted for a few weeks on each floor. By using prequalified contractors and working with the specified materials suppliers, Southern Cross Property Consultants was able to maintain the quality of the work and still deliver the renovation under budget.

 

Re-Roofing Project

A large HOA was in the midst of a self-managed, multi-year re-roof project when the contractor was charged with workers compensation fraud and the project was shut down by the state.  Several buildings were left exposed to the elements.  But worse still, the HOA had paid the contractor for materials that were never delivered to the project site.  The vendor demanded payment from the HOA, resulting in the HOA paying twice for materials never received.

Southern Cross Property Consultants was retained to take over managing the project, to re-bid the project to new contractors, and to manage the completion of this phase of work. Southern Cross Property Consultants brought in the project at a cost under what the HOA had been paying to their previous contractor with all the required lien releases and other documentation needed to protect the HOA from future claims.

 

Deck Replacement

An HOA located on an urban canyon was planning a deck replacement project and hired Southern Cross Property Consultants to develop specifications and bid documents that met all required state and local building and fire codes.  During the bid process, the HOA was approached by a contractor about a coating system that would save the HOA significantly over the specified system.

Southern Cross Property Consultants was able to explain to the Board and the homeowners that the alternate system did not comply with the fire codes that the HOA was subject to due to their canyon location. The HOA went forward with the original specification. During the course of the project, a city fire marshal inspected the brush management zones around the complex and questioned the HOA about the deck system being installed. The fire marshal informed the HOA that if the system had not met the fire code requirements he would have cited them for non-compliance and forced them to install a compliant system. 

The Board was able to save their HOA untold cost and time by working with a professional who developed specifications that met the codes.

 

Maintenance Program Development

A relatively new HOA (4 years old) was significantly underfunding their reserves and their operating budget failed to take into account many regular maintenance items.  As complaints mounted that elevators and other equipment were constantly breaking down and that maintenance and cosmetic issues were apparent, the Board retained Southern Cross Property Consultants to help them determine why “everything keeps breaking down, even though we are a new building.”

Southern Cross Property Consultants was able to educate the Board and the HOA about the need to constantly and proactively maintain their facility and was able to develop a maintenance program, in conjunction with their reserve study, to ensure that they were able to plan to proactively maintain their common areas to help reduce the likelihood of unplanned maintenance expenditures.