I Bought a Condo! - Maintenance Free Living, Here I Come!

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.

Maintenance Free Living is a misnomer that many of us are too willing to believe. While the Association may be responsible for maintaining the exterior of your home - cutting the grass, plowing the snow, replacing rotten wood, painting the exterior, repairing or replacing the roof, etcetera – it doesn’t mean you are completely off the hook. The Association has a budget to work within funded by everyone’s assessment payments, and contracts with various vendors that specify the work that will be performed. The various things the Association maintains are performed within time frames approved by the Board. Those time frames may not meet your expectations.

Since it is that time of year here in the Midwest, let’s focus on winter for a moment. Associations contract for snow plowing services that occur only after a specific event has occurred, frequently a two inch snowfall. If the snowfall is under two inches – no one shows up to shovel the snow. You’ve looked at the budget and there it is – Snow Plowing contract. So you call the Management Company and tell them that there is snow on your driveway and sidewalk and that you want the snow shoveled. As much as we would like to help you, there is nothing we can do. We advise you that the Association’s contract calls for snow services only after that two inch snowfall has occurred and that the snow will not be shoveled. What? you ask….. Why? you ask….. I pay for snow plowing! you say….. This is where your shovel comes in…..you’ll need to use it to help yourself. Don’t forget to apply a little ice melt too!

In several months, spring comes along. The plants start budding, the daffodils and tulips are flowering. You didn’t realize what kind of shrubs were in front of your home, and have now decided you don’t like them. So you call the Management Company and tell them that you want the shrubs replaced with another type. Again, we would like to help you, however those decisions are made by the Board following their Spring landscape inspection. Sometimes, the list of landscape replacements needed is far greater than expected, and the costs are way over budget. The Board, the Manager, and the landscaper walk, and look, and try to figure out the best way to get the most bang for the buck. When the replacement list just can’t be completed in its entirety, something has to be postponed. The shrubs in front of your home may be replaced, but not the shrub in the back – this time.

In the fall, the Board prepares next year’s budget. Since so many homeowners called about having snowfalls under two inches shoveled, they change their contract specifications. Of course since more services would be provided, the contract costs and your assessments go up.

Association budgets are just like yours – specified amounts are planned to be expended for specific projects. Sometimes, projects have to be broken up into smaller portions so that everyone can afford them. Sometimes, you have to wait. It is also good to remember, not everyone can be first. Your building might be older than the one across the street however their roof is replaced before yours. Why? you ask… My roof is older. The answer is usually – theirs is leaking. If the situation were reversed (your building is newer than the one across the street) and you had the leak – you would expect your roof to be replaced before the older one that is not leaking, wouldn’t you?

Despite everyone’s best laid plans, things change, and we all need to be flexible where we can. Your Board does their utmost best to anticipate the needs of the Association and does a lot of research into the vendors it chooses. You can help by volunteering for Committees, serving a term on the Board, offering your expertise in a particular field, etcetera.

So don’t give away everything. Keep the snow shovel. Be glad the lawn mower, extension ladder, hedge trimmers, weed whacker, and those other similar items you had in the garage have found other homes. You don’t need them – now that you’ve bought a condo!

Cathy Blake, AMS®, PCAM®
Assistant Vice President
Vanguard Community Management
Schaumburg, IL