Meet a Manager: Ralph Shumway

Waipuna Legend

For 20 years, Ralph Shumway has been helping to make Waipuna one of Hawaii’s top condos while working to elevate building management

BY DON CHAPMAN

Ralph Shumway TITLE: General Manager-ARM, Waipuna

Ralph Shumway got his first experience looking after a diverse group of creatures at a young age. And while that experience doesn’t relate exactly to managing a condominium, there seems some sort of parallel with the menagerie he cared for at an exotic animal farm.

“There were wallabies, pygmy goats, exotic birds, a breed of cattle called Dexter—a lot of miniature breeds—and 12 dogs,” Shumway says of the farm in rural Northern California.

And if he ever needs to “ride herd” at a board meeting to keep things moving along, well, he has experience in that, too:

“My grandfather had a cattle ranch where I worked during summers. Real cowboy stuff. I had my own horse.”

Zoological analogies, of course, go only so far. As Shumway has learned in

When did Waipuna open? Christmas of 1971.

Number of units: 407 units, almost all two- and three-bedroom apartment homes, with around 900 residents. We’re 70% owner-occupants. About 15% are snowbirds.

Amenities: Very large library, community bathrooms/showers/dry saunas, fitness room, putting green and driving net, squash court, heated swimming pool, paddle tennis court, gas barbecues, pavilion with tables/chairs/ complete kitchen facilities, huge private pond with a Japanese-style tea house.

Management company affilia

tion: Hawaiiana Management Co.

Advantages of living on prop

erty: I am a residing manager. The best thing is the commute to work—a five-second elevator ride. 29 years as a building manager—the last 20 at Waipuna—it’s all about “the human factor, and there’s lots of human factors.”

Speaking of human factors, Shumway also got an early look into politics:

“My father James was a lawyer who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives and served as Gov. Ronald Reagan’s assistant director of the California Department of Health and Human Services.

“I got to see how things work behind the scenes.”

Kind of like managing a condominium.

On a personal level, Shumway is something of a Renaissance man who writes songs and even recorded some of them, in a closet in his unit:

“I play for fun, a very amateur musician, but I am pretty decent on blues harp (harmonica). I write songs that I like but

nobody else does.”

How many board members and

how often do you meet? We have a nine-member board that meets once a month.

Staff: Eleven full-time employees plus six contracted security guards every day.

When did you start at Waipu

na? I began in April of 2000—just had my 20-year anniversary.

That’s a long tenure in this town. Surely you must have had

offers to move. I believe in loyalty. When I first came to Waipuna, it was pretty settled. Quite a few older residents and retired military. Over the years the makeup changed and became more diverse. I’m 20 years older, and so is the building. That presents greater challenges, which I enjoy. And you form relationships.

Ralph Shumway playing his blues harp (harmonica)

Previous building management experience? I started this career with a mid-rise in Makiki. I also opened new properties in Seattle and Kailua-Kona.

How did you begin in the indus

try? My wife and I answered an ad in The Advertiser, met with the property manager (who remains a close friend of the family), and the rest is history.

Schooling? I hold a bachelor of arts degree in humanities from the University of the Pacific.

What do you like about prop

erty management? There is never a dull moment. When you think you’ve seen it all, something comes along and you say, “I never saw that coming!”

Most important qualities for a

building manager: This profession requires brain power and the ability to solve unsolvable problems. Patience is a must. One must have an ego-less response to unjustified verbal attacks by unreasonable residents. And, most importantly, one must have the drive to continually expand what you do for your community. Sometimes you have to deal with deaths, even suicides, and you have to be the captain of the ship for everyone else and then deal with your own grief later.

How has the coronavirus

changed your operations? This epidemic has choked normal operations. Since the beginning, our staff has continually disinfected main door knobs, elevator buttons, etc. Keeping social distancing between employees has been particularly challenging. Dealing with residents, some paranoid of contracting the disease and some who ignore all mandates, have made scheduling difficult. Plus, some of our planned major projects have been delayed or put on hold.

You’ve been a leader in changing the perception and performance of condo managers. Why?

There are very few more frustrating jobs than being a resident manager. You get hit from all sides. I’ve tried to elevate the building manager profession. We’re not just janitors. ❖

Raising the Management Bar

Ralph Shumway has been quite involved over the years in elevating the building management community. Here is a sampling of those activities: • Frequent guest speaker at HCCA seminars, public forums and property management company education seminars. Subjects included establishing emergency operating procedures, documentation fundamentals, cutting operation costs, establishing standard operating procedures, safety and risk management protocols. • Produced many of the IREM RES 201 classes (ARM accreditation qualification class). These multi-day classes were primarily instructed by Brian Thomas. • Produced monthly educational seminars for the Hawaii ARM Committee of IREM for two years as chairperson. • Frequent contributor to Building Management Hawaii (many articles were written anonymously), including the “Dear RM” column.

• Developed, produced and taught “RM Boot Camp” educational seminars. The first “camp” was presented in conjunction with Hawaiiana Management. Later, half-day seminars were produced and conducted completely by Shumway without management or company support. • Wrote “The Fundamentals of Residential Management: a Primer.” It’s a simple introduction to site management and reference source that covers such topics as preservation of property values, physical maintenance, rule enforcement and establishing standard operating procedures. • Heavily involved in the fire sprinkler retrofitting law evolution following the Marco Polo fire (including public speaking, testimony and advising public officials).

Late Fees

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in delinquencies, so far. There are a small number of communities that have experienced a larger impact, but overall maintenance fee receipts have remained strong.

As the economic shutdown/ slowdown drags on, is the problem increasing? Or have recovery funds from the government

helped? The funds have very likely helped. However, we are concerned that as the individual relief provided by the Economic Impact Payments and the $600 federal unemployment compensation boost expires, we will begin to see an increased impact to our association clients.

We continue to work with our association clients closely to monitor delinquency rates and look for other financial pressures on their budget. It is critical at all times, and especially now, to know the financial health of your association. As we move into the budget season for most of our association clients, we are encouraging a thoughtful approach to financial planning and what that means for the coming year. We need to think carefully about how budget changes will affect owners, especially when it comes to discretionary expenditures that may not be core to the operation of the association.

Michael J. Gordon Vice President/ Senior Property Manager, Hawaiian Properties

How much of Michael J. Gordon a problem have late/delinquent fee payments been for your

properties? Some board members, sympathetic to the circumstances of owners directly impacted by the economic crisis, advocated for waiving maintenance fees. We have advised against this. Despite the crisis, common expenses have not reduced and the association’s obligation to pay them remains unchanged.

Some owners argue that because boards have closed the use of pools and other amenities, in order to comply with city and state orders, they should not be required to pay their maintenance fees, due to the loss of their use of said amenities. The fact is, utilities remain on. Trash is still being removed. The staff is still on the job. For the most part, the contractual maintenance of property components, to include those amenities despite being closed for use, are still being serviced. Waiving, forgiving the owner’s obligation to pay their contribution to these common expenses will only create a detriment to the financial health of an association.

To provide some relief, without sacrificing diligence, we have assisted boards with creating provisions for payment plans (that conform to statutory requirements) and criteria for other relief measures, such as forgiving late charges and lightening collection measures, ensuring that any recommended measure does not compromise the welfare and obligations of the association. ❖

Pandemic Impacting Tenants Honolulu Realtors survey reveals hardships in paying rent

Almost 40% of Oahu realtors report having tenants unable to pay their rent in June, according to a survey from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Similarly, 44% of respondents said they have tenants who asked for a payment plan, and 46% had tenants who asked for a discount or rent reduction. “While the state’s protections for renters and assistance for homeowners has worked well, we know many people will continue to face financial hardship as a result of the pandemic,” said Suzanne Young, CEO of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. “The situation is especially difficult for renters, and we must start finding solutions to ensure people don’t need to worry about having a place to call home.” The Honolulu Board of Realtors’ latest rentals and property management flash survey—conducted June 17-22—asked members about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the rental market on Oahu. Among the results: • 14% of respondents cited having rental property owners who asked lenders for forbearance or deferral. • 16% said tenants expressed difficulty in seeking out rental assistance programs. • 45% anticipated July will be about the same in terms of tenants’ ability to pay rent. “Communication between tenants and landlords is critical,” said Tricia Nekota, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. “Having candid conversations, being compassionate and exploring all options will help us all get through this challenging time together.” Resources for rental assistance for tenants, landlords and homeowners are available online at HiCentral.com.