Community Association Banking

What led you to decide to bank with South Shore Bank?

The personal access and close attention we receive from Nick Mari, Condominium Banking Relationship Manager, and the rest of the team is exceptional. We chose South Shore because it offered the most competitive terms among the several banks we approached. During our bid process with banks, South Shore was highly responsive to our requests for information.

How did South Shore Bank provide solutions that made your project possible?

South Shore Bank was open to working with us on measures to help make our project work. This included the Bank’s ability to structure a capital line for windows separate from a project construction line (which will convert to a loan), which was convenient for us for accounting purposes. In our HOA, the purchase of new windows is an owner expense, but we wanted the association to purchase them in bulk, with delivery in phases during the project. While in the end, we did not need to use the separate line for window purchase, it was very nice to have it if we needed it.

The Bank also offered to work with individual owners to provide tailored financing options to cover their individual window and project-related expenses.

Finally, South Shore Bank allowed us to manage what is an association’s loan but sculpted to individual owner needs. The Bank enabled this by providing support to our property manager’s accounting office so that we (the Board) could offer multiple financing options to owners at the time of loan conversion. For us, this was the best of both worlds. And it was key to gaining widespread community acceptance for what was an expensive envelope project. 

Is there something about working with South Shore Bank that resonates with you?

South Shore Bank understood the project and offered advice throughout. Nick and the team worked closely with our property manager to ensure smooth bill payments and account management. 

How did the solutions South Shore Bank provided have a business impact, and, in turn, impact the community?

Only a handful of banks were willing to loan us the full amount of the project cost. Most banks wanted to offer smaller loans and shorter loan periods. This would have required us to do our full envelope project in phases—adding price and complexity to the project that we did not want. By providing full financing, at a loan period that worked for us, and at a highly competitive loan rate, we were able to manage the project comprehensively, over a shorter time frame, and at the lowest possible cost. 

About the property

Old Nugent Farm is an enclave of 65 town homes set among over 50 acres of marshland, open fields and granite boulders. The property offers stunning ocean views throughout and spaces to walk and enjoy nature. The development abuts Gloucester’s Good Harbor Beach. Units range in size from about 1500 to over 3000 sq feet of living space. The Home Owners Association has recently upgraded its exterior siding, roofs, windows, lighting and more to provide an exterior that is maintenance-free for years to come.

The Hills at Mainstone Condominium, located in Wayland, MA, needed major renovations including completing final phases of a multiyear roofing and building envelope project. When the Board of Trustees was tasked with unpacking the plan and financial strategy behind making these updates, they reached out to their trusted business partners including their construction contractor, Property Manager and ultimately South Shore Bank.  

The construction company assessing this project gave their recommendation and pointed the Board towards two financial institutions, South Shore Bank based on their years of successful condominium borrowing from with the Bank; and another lender.  

Dan Schimmel, Treasurer of The Hills at Mainstone, explained how working with the Condominium Lending team at South Shore Bank helped them go beyond accomplishing their renovation goals but also gain a trusted Business Partner and advisor to look at how the Association operated and make financial suggestions to help them secure more capital reserves and plan for future projects. 

Tell us about your property - I became the Treasurer of The Hills at Mainstone in 2022. The Hills, as we call it, is the largest condominium complex in Wayland, Massachusetts. There are 146 units total in the community. The complex itself is about 35 years old or so. 

What led you to decide to bank with South Shore Bank and what makes the Bank different? - We began working to assess what work needed to be completed to bring each of the 146 units up to the 30-year standard. When our legacy banker was uninterested in larger size loans and longer debt, our construction company turned us on to the two banks they work with regularly, one being South Shore Bank. They suggested South Shore Bank’s long term condo lending, which is when we were introduced to Chief Banking Officer, Dan Picha. What mattered to us on the Board of Trustees was who could provide the best service and best terms for the loan. In the end, Dan Picha and South Shore Bank won us over in terms of rate, better responsiveness, and overall flexibility. 

How did South Shore Bank provide solutions that made your project affordable? - While discussing the loan options with South Shore Bank, we decided to include other long term deferred maintenance projects such as a clubhouse renovation and upgrading our lighting infrastructure. Dan Picha’s knowledge and ability to communicate helped us secure a rate. He kept us in the loop throughout the entire approval process and kept us aware of deadlines. 

Is there something about working with South Shore Bank that resonates with you? - I would say it was an equal combination of a few things. First, the loan terms were superior, which is after all a big part of what matters. But the flexibility and responsiveness that the condo lending team showed at South Shore Bank played a very big part in that. 

How did the solutions South Shore Bank provided have a business impact, and, in turn, impact the community? - To me, it is a nice solution that is perfectly blended as a lending partner with the community and with our construction. These are improvements that theoretically have a 30-year life, so you’re matching the life of the improvement with the life of the loan. The way we were making renovations before was not only costing more money to keep the maintenance and infrastructure up to date, but also relying more on special assessments over long term financing. Working with South Shore Bank provides a fair and equitable solution for our residents. 

In the Condominium Management Industry we are always looking for the best services and pricing for our clients. With so many communities facing the challenges of replacing large scale capital property components, the financial stress of how to cover the costs of those projects begins to set it. In some cases assessments and the use of existing reserves is a preferred option. But what if those options are not available? What if the project arises earlier than predicted due to premature failure? This is where South Shore Bank is able to help provide communities the funding needed today and the option to reduce the financial impact to owners by spreading the repayment over time. Mercantile Property Management has been working with South Shore Bank, in particular Daniel Picha, producing these alternative options for many of our clients for the last several years. Dan's attention to client needs, understanding of project necessity and development, and financial planning have been a major asset to both our clients and to my staff as we work to develop the most cost effective and financially feasible plans for each community. The loan process from start to finish is fluid, well documented, prompt, and clearly explained to clients. No questions go unanswered. - Ryan J. McGowan, CMCA^®, President, Mercantile Property Management