Top Ten Management Company Interview Tips

One of the toughest jobs a board of directors can face is interviewing for a new community association management company. By their very design, homeowner association boards are comprised of homeowners from all walks of life, which means the expertise, experience, and talents of the volunteers serving on a board can vary widely. Many board members have never interviewed anyone for work, and have no idea what questions to ask or how the interview should be structured.
by Sharon Massingham
CCAM®

Audits, Reviews, and Compilations - OH MY!

Maintaining accurate records and internal controls are necessary for an association to ensure that the financial reports precisely reflect the financial condition of the community association. The type of year end report a CPA performs is primarily driven by the interests and needs of the association, as well as year-end financial reporting requirements mandated by state statute and the association’s governing documents.
by Jeanette Catellier
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Undoing Previous Board's Decisions

If you have served on a board you most likely can relate to this dilemma: dealing with prior board decisions. Some decisions are genius and end up saving the association money, increasing property values, and creating a wealth of harmony in the community. Some don’t make much impact from the owners’ perspective, but aid in the board’s operations of the association. And then there are some decisions that fail miserably. These decisions or choices that don’t succeed are often the brain child of a board member or members who believe their idea will 1) benefit all; 2) change things in a positive way; 3) possibly create a financial savings, or in some cases, 4) set the stage for future boards to have more “power”.
by Kathy Cooley
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Townhome or Condominium – Who Maintains What?

Frequently, there is some confusion about maintenance responsibility of the association and the homeowners in multi-family, communities in which individuals own their own unit. In general, the answers can be found in the association’s Declaration. In some cases, state statutes may also dictate what entity must maintain certain physical components of the association. Because planned communities (for purposes of this discussion, townhomes, townhouses, or brownstones) and condominiums are different legal entities, we will look at their maintenance responsibilities separately.
by Stewart Wise
PCAM®

Marketing Your Community

Today’s smart association boards have learned to adopt a marketing mentality similar to that of a developer. As their communities age and newer ones spring up, they realize that a progressive marketing strategy helps resale values and combats the cooling real estate market.

Here are some ideas you can use to market your community.
by Association Times Staff Writer

Budgeting – Dust off that Crystal Ball!

In my role as supervisor of a large group of managers, I review budgets for more than seventy associations. It is always interesting for me to view the process that managers follow to complete their budgets. This article provides a framework that will hopefully benefit managers and board members alike. Budgeting doesn’t have to be a nightmare!
by Philip Adams
CMCA®, PCAM®

Increase Volunteerism — Reduce Resignations

In today’s fast paced society we find fewer citizens able or willing to make time to serve as community association board members. Then there are times when a board may have to deal with the sudden or anticipated resignations of a colleague. Vacancies occur due to expiring terms, moves, changes in circumstances, and sometimes because of conflicts, either personal or circumstantial.
by Association Times Staff Writer

Insurance — Bridging the Gap between Association and Individual Policies

Annually, boards of directors of community associations purchase insurance for their community. Depending on requirements in the CC & Rs or declaration and the type of community (condominium, planned or cooperative), the coverage will vary as to what insurance the association must provide. Generally, insurance coverage includes general liability on the common areas, fidelity (theft and dishonesty), directors & officers’ liability, buildings, and personal property of the association.
by Jim Cowell
CMCA®, PCAM®

Canada Geese: From Endangered to Nuisance

If your community has a pond or lake on the property, then you probably have had to deal with problems related to native Canadian geese populations. While the federal government considers all Canadian geese to be migratory and therefore protected, not all populations actually migrate. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., there are resident, non-migratory populations of Canadian geese that plague our communities year round.
by Cindy Simpson
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Communicating Financial News

The current economic times are affecting all of us in one way or another and the homeowner associations in our area are no exception. At the beginning of this year, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how foreclosures and the increases in the cost of living have resulted in more owners who are delinquent in their fees, and the impact this situation has on homeowner associations.
by Sean Phelan
ARM®, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Creating a Winterization Policy

Winter will soon be upon us, and now is a good time to reflect on actions condominium and townhome associations should take to prevent extensive damage caused by frozen pipes in abandoned, vacant and inhabited units which owners have vacated for a brief period of time while on vacation or for other reasons.
by Lance Govang
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, GRI®

Sub-metering Conserves Water and Protects Association Funds

If an association does not have individual water meters for each unit within a property, then the water and sewer costs are paid equally through each owner’s maintenance fees, regardless of usage. Whether one person or a family of five lives in the unit, washes four loads of laundry a week or ten loads, or takes five- or thirty-minute showers, every owner shares equally in the water and sewer expense. With water and sewer rates increasing every year, water consumption is becoming a very serious issue for board members and community managers.
by Dawn Braddy
CCAM®, CMCA®

The Effect of Renting For Associations

Many condominium and homeowner associations are currently facing a budgetary crisis as many of the owners within the association are going into foreclosure and losing their homes. It would seem that the best way to prevent homes from being foreclosed on would be to allow those owners to rent their units, so that they can pay their assessments and mortgage payments. But once units are rented, what will these rentals cost the association?
by Association Times Staff Writer

The Idyllic New Community

What if you just moved into a new community or homeowners association? And when I say new, I mean really new. Picture a dirt patch out in an otherwise undeveloped area with some roads carved into it and a little sales trailer with some attention flags. Maybe there have been a few sales and some construction has begun.
by Kim DiStefano
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Special Assessment: A Case Study

Maintenance fee hikes! Violation letters and fines! Termite Infestations! Roof leaks!

For most community association/condo residents, these words are almost guaranteed to bring out some anger and set off a barrage of phone calls to the board and community manager. However, there are two words that will truly raise the blood pressure of residents and incite irate owners to take action: “special assessment”!
by Susan Nichols-Afuso
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Reducing Budget Expenses

It’s that time of year again for most associations. Many budget committees are busy reviewing those first drafts of the budget submitted by their community association manager. The number one concern is almost always holding fees to a nominal increase, if any. As today’s economy faces the challenges of increasing fuel costs and medical rates rising, how does the board reduce expenses and ensure their budget is a sound instrument to guide them through the coming fiscal year?
by Cheryl Jepsen
RA®, CMCA®, AMS®,PCAM®

Community Association Governing Documents

In a nation founded on an individual’s rights, the wording provided in any given set of community association Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), Declaration or Master Deed (for brevity’s sake, we’ll call these similar documents “Declaration”) is clearly directive and controlling, concepts many people seem to find hard to live with. Obviously, it was the intent of the authors of every Declaration in existence today to place very specific use restrictions on the land within the community in order to provide for the protection of the appearance of that property and to enhance its value into the future.
by Ken Bade
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

An Insurance Primer for Community Associations

Risk management is the process of planning and implementing policies that will help decrease the possibility of accidental financial and physical loss to the community association. Several types of losses can occur in a community, namely, property, liability, income, and personnel. Theft, fire, wind, flood, and other catastrophes, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and hail storms, can cause property losses. Injury to another person or to another person’s property are considered liability exposures. Income exposures, by comparison, are unsound financial practices such as fraud, embezzlement, and loss of rent resulting from a covered loss of an association-owned unit. Injuries received while on the job for the community association and claims of improper employment practices are personnel losses.
by Ron Duprey
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Night Board Meetings

Take a long day at the office, plus long commutes to and from home, add dinner and a cocktail or two and you have the makings for an ineffective individual. Unfortunately this is the exact scenario that is in place for a typical community association board of directors meeting.

The setting for any board of directors meeting should certainly be at a time and place when people can function at their fullest. IBM doesn’t hold their meetings at night and neither should a community association. Even though it could be argued that a community association is non profit and simply consists of a tract of homes, boards of directors for these communities have immense decision making obligations to their membership.
by Michael Packard
PCAM®, CPM®, CCAM®

Look Ahead to 2009

As we close the month of August, remember that it is budget time for the majority of homeowner associations. As a board member, one of your more daunting tasks and responsibilities is to prepare an appropriate budget for the coming year. Take an objective look at your community’s maintenance needs and what you were not able to accomplish in 2008 due to lack of funding. Now is the time to incorporate these items into your budget for 2009.
by Association Times' Staff Writer

The Synergy Between the Association, the Developer and the Management Company

In seeking new business, many management companies work with developers to open new community associations. Whether these communities are single family homes, town homes, cooperatives or condos, there are several common factors involved in this process.

First, a great deal of effort is put forth by the management company to prepare for the opening of a new community. Working with the developer and sub-contractors on final construction issues, reviewing the governing documents, opening bank accounts, providing orientation to the homeowners, setting up each owner in the accounting system and basically ensuring that the community is opened in a manner that meets or exceeds the new owners’ expectations are all vital elements of a successful opening.
by Dustan Goodell

What Really Impacts Maintenance Fees?

Every year we hear from owners concerned about their current maintenance fees increase. Often, owners are just wondering why it is that fees go up every year or why the board doesn’t seem to care about the hike in fees. Others blame the community manager and the board of directors for the increase.

The Game:
One of the first things we remind owners of is that the board of directors is composed of owners, people who were elected by them and their neighbors to carry out the business of the association. So, like them, the board members are very cognizant of maintenance fees because an increase affects them, too!
by Linda Morabito
AMS®, PCAM®

Creating A Fire Defensible Space

Wildfires are among the nation’s growing natural hazards. Though wildfires are natural and often beneficial in less populated areas, more and more homes and lives are being threatened. Many states are implementing and enforcing regulations for reducing wildfire fuel sources. Be sure to check with your state or county for regulations related to your property.

All regulations for owners within or near canyons, brush-covered or grass-covered land, forest-covered or mountainous areas will include creating a defensible space. Regulations tend to be more stringent in areas with steeper terrain and denser vegetation. Creating a defensible space refers to reducing the fuel around a structure by separating, reshaping, trimming or removing the fuel sources.
by Lucinda Hoe

Budget Presentation

The draft budget that your manager presents to you should be detailed, but it should also be a simple and non-complicated reflection of the community’s needs and expectations. It should be historically accurate and echo the Association’s current contractual obligations. The draft budget should also highlight any line items in the previous year’s budget that failed to meet the community’s needs, as well as successes that should be continued. This will allow you to stay focused on making only those changes that are needed without having to question each line item presented to you.
by Lance Govang
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®, GRI®

Not Everyone Has A Green Thumb (nor do they need it)!

If you like having container plants around your home or patio but you just don’t have a green thumb, try some plants that thrive on neglect!

Plants like cacti, succulents, aloe and sotols are amazingly tolerant of human forgetfulness, hot, baking sites, and even outright abuse, and will thrive where other potted plants fail. Drought-adapted plants have many different forms, colors, and textures, which can add a dramatic sculptural beauty to any garden or yard.
by Vicki Ward
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®

The Controlling Director

How many of us have experienced the board member who wants to control all aspects of his or her community association’s operation from finances to personnel to housekeeping? This controlling person just doesn’t want to accept that there is a division of responsibility in the operation of an association.

How do you handle such an individual and keep the association out of trouble? The answer lies within legal and insurance purviews
by Linda Alexander
CMCA®, PCAM®

Going Green – What Can We Do and Why We Should Do It?

It seems as if every time we turn on the TV or radio, or open our newspaper or a magazine, there are stories encouraging us to “go green”. Al Gore has warned us about global warming and most of us think we should do something. But we don’t know where to start. In 2007, there were almost 300,000 community associations in the United States, representing more than 20 million homes. If each of our associations encouraged their owners to take some minor steps to conserve energy, the impact would be substantial.
by Gail VanDyke
PCAM®

Smart Irrigation Controllers – How Smart Are They?

Do you know what a Smart Irrigation Controller is? No? Well, don’t feel bad. Lots of people don’t. A Smart Irrigation Controller can save you and your clients money with very little time and effort. Smart controllers are irrigation clocks that automatically adjust irrigation run times in response to environmental changes. Smart controllers use sensors and weather information to manage watering times and frequency. As environmental conditions vary, the controller increases or decreases irrigation. Smart controllers have the ability to turn off your sprinklers automatically during rain, high wind or low temperature.

Smart controllers reduce outdoor water use by an average of 15 to 30 percent. They also reduce over watering, which can cause fungal disease and insect problems.
by Stella Placentia

Minimize Your Community Risk Against Current Housing Trends

When the housing market encounters a downward trend, and most recently accelerated by the rapid decline of the mortgage industry, cash-strapped homeowners must balance whom to pay, whom not to pay, and what to pay for. Sadly, many have decided to relinquish the maintenance on their homes.

In some cases, owners are abandoning their home, awaiting foreclosure. An abandoned home can directly impact the association and its members. Owners with no means of financial support are not able or willing to spend money on what they consider low priority – maintenance on their homes, which they do no expect to own much longer. Homes with pools are left without regular services, resulting in major health issues. Unkept lawns can result in brown grass, overgrown shrubbery, and trees untrimmed for many months. At times newspapers and junk mail accumulate on the property. A home in foreclosure can mean an empty house, which can then be a target for vandals.
by Patti Jo Lewis
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Trusting your Professional Service Providers

Homeowners associations are comprised of people from all walks of life, and for that very reason their boards of directors often consist of individuals who bring various levels of knowledge to the administration of the association. Some community associations will elect members to the board of directors based on their ability to offer specific areas of expertise, such as attorneys, accountants, or other trades considered to be of importance to their community..
by Mark Southall
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®, COS®, CPM®

Jack of all Trades

Being a community manager is easy; anybody can do it, right? Hardly, as few professions require the range of knowledge that community managers must possess. On any given day, a manager might wear many hats: legal expert, financial analyst, general contractor, and mediator. Your community manager might start the morning outside with a landscaper, spend the afternoon with an engineer poring over construction plans, help your board president keep the peace at a night meeting, and then—just when you think your manager is done role playing for the day —s/he gets a call in the middle of the night about a plumbing problem. How can a person learn about all these different operational issues of community associations?
by John Lawton
CMCA®, RCM®, PCAM®

Hiring a Great Maintenance Worker

Great community association maintenance workers are a major asset in so many ways. They bring a huge sense of pride to their supervisors and the community they work for and are often referred to as “gems”. This comparison to valuable merchandise is accurate and that is exactly great maintenance works are: a precious commodity. So how do we increase our chances of finding that “gem” when in the market for a maintenance worker? Patience is the key.
by Jeff Gourlie
AMS®, PCAM®

Poor Documents and Insufficient Reserves = A Big Headache

The era of community associations really began to flourish in the late 1970s. The legal documents for those early homeowner associations and condominiums reflected the best thinking and analysis of the time regarding the future financial and operational needs of the individual communities. Actually, it is a tribute to the attorneys who crafted some of those fledgling documents with foresight to include flexibility for future boards with regard to assessment levels. However, in most cases, that flexibility was not included and community associations were limited to a small percentage annual increase – or none at all -- without a high percentage of membership approval. Those communities face a serious economic challenge today.
by Association Times Staff Writer

Prepare for an Emergency

What is an Emergency? An emergency is in the eye of the beholder. Homeowners, board members and residents often feel that whatever affects them is the emergency. That can be anything from a past due account to a violation letter to property and safety issues. Managers focus on the day-to-day issues of accounts and violations as a part of their routine. Recently, with Katrina, the blizzards in Colorado, flooding in Illinois and Ohio and fires in California, Georgia and Florida, the task of dealing with these types of disasters is once again in the forefront.

Most communities do not have a disaster/emergency plan for their members. The purpose of this article is to urge community associations and management companies to spend the time to plan ahead, using the following steps to create a unique plan specifically for their association.
by Dee Tyler
CMCA®, PCAM®

Less is Best When Refining Your Rules and Regulations

Here’s a challenge. Take out your current set of Rules and Regulations. Now, pretend you are a brand new homeowner who really wants to work with the board and management by actually reading this package of rules. Be honest. What are your reactions and opinions? Keep them in mind as you read the rest of this article.

Far too many associations have created rules and regulations that seem old, wordy, and sometimes conflicting with each other, with little sense of organization and order. They may have been frequently updated as each new board encounters a new situation that the directors felt required another rule.
by Steve Castle
CMCA®,AMS®, PCAM®

Where the heck does all the money go? Your fees or dues seem high, the whole community sends their payment each month to the Management Company, someone MUST be making a lot of money!

I was recently speaking with a customer and he said, “…we pay you guys a lot of money!” I replied, “Sir, I believe our piece of the pie is very small compared to other vendors.” Well you can bet as soon as I was off the phone, I ran a pie chart of this particular association’s monthly budget to assure myself I had had not misspoken and also so that I could have a factual and visual instrument that I could send this customer.
by Susan Gregg
CMCA®, PCAM®

Call to Action: Legislative Alert

Are you on top of what is happening with your state legislature and how it could affect community associations? Sometimes new bills can be drafted and move quickly through the process before you are even aware of what is happening. New legislation can have a tremendous financial impact on the community association industry and your association in particular.

First, if it has been a while since you last looked, take some time to review your current federal and state regulations. Next, get in the loop on what is happening in regards to community associations.
by Mark Lewis
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Rebuilding a Dream

Home ownership is something that we all dream about. We work hard, save money, pay our bills on time and hope for loan approval on that dream house. For several families in Kapolei last year, their dream turned into a nightmare in a matter of minutes.

While many watched helplessly, four families saw their dream go up in flames. The fire ravaged two units completely and forced three families out of their homes. Damages were extensive, but with the quick response of HFD, the situation was quickly controlled.
by Toni Floerke-Politsch
CMCA®,AMS®, PCAM®

Managers are beginning to see more associations with delinquency rates approaching 20%. The perceptive managers are initiating conversations with their boards to direct focus on the effects of increasing accounts receivable.

Accounts Receivable (AR) reduces an association’s cash. When an association’s AR is 5% or less, there are usually no problems. However, an alarming number of Associations are experiencing AR in excess of 20%.

What should a Board do when they are only collecting 80% of the assessments?
by Robert Elks

How to Tame the Unruly Meeting

Board members and managers alike can all recall meetings that left them with churning stomachs and scratching their heads afterwards, wondering how in the world things could have gotten so out of control. The supportive homeowners get up and leave, and the disrespectful folks stay and just get more out of control by the minute. The Board members (and often the homeowners and the manager) feel beaten up and mistreated. While those situations are a learning experience for everyone, it might be helpful for both Board members and managers to do a little advance training to achieve a better outcome the next time around… and the next time will come.
by Dana Pepper
CMCA®, PCAM®

Out of all the amenities a community can offer, a pool is one the biggest exposures your Association can have. Operating a pool without lifeguards is not a practice you want to start or continue with. The cost of a pool management contract is nothing when you are referring to the safety and welfare of your residents and their guests.
by Lou Ann Hingley
AMS®, PCAM®

Why Do I Need to Write That?

At a recent homeowners association meeting, I sat listening to a number of attendees who asked the same questions a number of different ways. Perhaps they were hoping for a different answer each time the President replied. It seemed to me that many of the issues were simple to answer or explain. It became obvious as the event went on that the people were just not being kept as informed about issues as they could be or that when information was shared, they forgot or didn’t write down the details to help them remember all of the facts.
by Doug Mattos
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

Creating a Newsworthy Newsletter

A newsletter is a great way to keep the community informed. Many owners today have access to email, and the newsletter can be sent as an attachment or it can be mailed to each owner to ensure that news is going out on a regular basis. There are a variety of styles of newsletters used, but there are a few basic things that should be included in the newsletter, regardless of the format selected.
by Stacey Tokairin
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

How do we last; stay sane; are we really happy and how is success measured in community management? Aren’t they the $64,000 dollar questions?

Are we measured by the amount of clients you manage, your Board of Directors, your company or co-workers? In an industry full of Boards who are ever changing and moving the bull’s eyes, how do you know when you have success?
by Paula Santangelo
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

The Coveted Onsite Manager Position

While portfolio management (managers managing numerous associations) is prevalent in most areas, there are a large number of large scale associations that require an on-site manager, dedicated solely to that site. For many years those positions have been considered the premier positions.
by Christine Evans
CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®

During the last three years, I have experienced a significant increase in the number of unit remodels. A good number of these unit modifications were initiated without proper approvals, by new or maverick owners who, more often than not, did not fully understand that they own a condominium and that there are rules that must be followed.
by Patrice Asuncion
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®

Board Meeting Agendas

The number one most important part of a Board meeting is the agenda. The agenda is what guides the Board in conducting a timely and productive Board meeting all the while keeping the homeowners informed.
by Nicholas J. Mazzarella
MBA, PCAM®, CMCA®

Directors vs. Officers of the Association – Clarifying the Misconceptions

It truly amazes me how the very individuals that voluntarily take on those positions and responsibilities misunderstand the Director vs. Officer concepts. Over the years I’ve come to the realization that it is often less effort to simply prepare and present a recap similar to that, which follows. Please keep in mind that this work is prepared within the context of a specific Association and its governing documents, as well as prevailing law, in this case the state of Arizona.
by Association Times' Staff Writer

Okay, the Annual meeting has just adjourned and the new Board is meeting for the first time. First on the agenda is the election of officers for the upcoming fiscal year. Who is interested in being nominated for President? Nomination, 2nd, all vote for “Bob”. One down. Who is interested in being nominated for Vice President? Nomination, 2nd, all vote for “Karen”. Two down. (Whew!) Next is Secretary… the question is asked… no takers… dead silence…
by Bobbie Jo Barrett
PCAM®

I Bought a Condo!

Guess what? I bought a condo (or a townhome or another type of community association unit) and now I don’t have to do a thing! I’m going to give away my snow shovel and any other maintenance supplies I have because I’m moving into Maintenance Free Living! The Association will cut the grass, trim the bushes, shovel the snow, fix the roof, clean the gutters, and will take care of everything for me, when I decide I need it . . . won’t they? Well, the answer is – yes and no.
by Association Times' Staff Writer

Fiscal Management

There are three different methods used in the preparation of a year end financial statement, which should be done by an independently contracted Certified Public Accountant (CPA). The three types are:

1. Audit
2. Review
3. Compilation

All three methods are considered to be levels of service, if you will, and each has certain assurances.
by Corey Recla
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®

Minutes - The Legal Document of the Association

Twenty-five years in the association management business have provided me with plenty of opportunities to review Board Meeting minutes and observe the various methods used in keeping and writing minutes. The importance of the task requires knowledge of the purpose and content of meeting minutes. How can we find a common sense approach to Board Meeting minutes?
by Carole Murphy
PCAM®, CMCA®

Changes in Personnel – It Happens!

We all know how disruptive it can be to client services when there is a change in Manager’s. Whether a Manager resigns, is transferred or worse yet, terminated, there will be a period of transition for the affected clients. As professionals, we must do our best to make sure that the transition is as seamless as possible to our valued clients.

How do you begin to train a Manager that is new to a client? While training never really seems to end, here are ten things vital to successful training.
by Meg Kitchin
PCAM®, AMS®, CMCA®

Rental Compliance

Community Associations help retain and improve the standard of living and property values within a community. While all owners sometimes wish that a particular restriction did not apply to them, most are grateful that the restrictions apply to their neighbors. In some cases their neighbor may not own the home; but have leased the home.
by Jan Lines
AMS®

What is a Homeowners Association?

A homeowners association is an organization established to govern a private community. Typically it owns and manages some common property for owners of private houses or condominium/townhome units. By buying a lot and/or home, an owner automatically becomes a member of the homeowners association of which it is a part. Most homeowners associations are corporations established under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. A homeowners association is similar to other corporations – it is governed by a board of directors elected by the members and a set of rules called by-laws.
by Linda A. Bartel-McGinnis
PCAM®, AMS®, LSM®