Doggone Dogs

Some may be old enough to remember the rock band from the 1970s called Three Dog Night. There is an interesting story behind their name. Australian aborigines domesticated and kept wild dogs (dingos). On cold nights they would customarily sleep with their dogs to keep warm. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs, and if a night was especially cold, it was a "three dog night”. Barking dogs can be a very contentious issue in an HOA. Many dog owners think that while other dogs may bark, theirs certainly doesn't. Let's come clean on this one. When left alone, all dogs bark. Some howl. It's their nature. They are social animals and when deprived of company, barking is a way of attracting it. But in the confines of a common wall community, barking generally attracts only the unwelcome attention of the neighbors.   Read more

Community Controversies and the Media

The problem of controversies in communities governed by owner associations is an evolving one. Relief is available through parliamentary procedures, termination of committees and dismissing covenant enforcement actions. Yet, controversies can become severe. This is true in two respects. First, the tactics adopted by concerned owners can be aggressive and hurtful with a negative impact on association operations.  Second, owners may resort to agencies outside the association to force an agenda. Owners who believe that they cannot accomplish their objectives within the governance structure of their association may resort to the judicial system, to state and local legislative and administrative bodies, and to the media. For these reasons, associations need a range of responses. The association must have an ability to counter the claims asserted to agencies outside the community.  (PDF)  Read more

Major Projects Need Major Communication

The 14-story, 138-unit Queens co-op had had bad experiences on several big projects, including a roof replacement job and a heating-plant upgrade. Work ran far over budget and took much longer to complete than expected. And each time came finger-pointing among the managing agent, the engineer, the contractor and the board itself. Finger-pointing, one supposes, may be communication of a sort. But there are better ways of communicating in order to get things done expeditiously and well. And when parties are communicating candidly and regularly, they may disagree on any number of issues but the discussion is out in the open, everyone's in the loop, and there's a clear understanding of who is responsible for what and what is specifically expected of them.  Read more

Deploy the Welcome Wagon

Fifty years ago, residents new to a neighborhood might be greeted by a Welcome Wagon hostess in an A-line skirt and perfect matte lipstick bearing a basket full of goodies from local merchants. She'd give the homeowners the lowdown on who's who, what's what and leave the new neighbors with the warm and fuzzy feeling that their new community, especially the local merchants, really cared. Now, with the proliferation of the two-income family, no one's home to receive the Welcome Wagon hostess (she has her MBA and a six-figure job at a consulting firm anyway). So who's responsible for the orientation of the new residents in today's busy co-op and condo buildings? The answer varies as much as the buildings and homeowners do.   Read more

 Got a Sec?

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… Why is that? I venture to say that the position of being the Board Secretary is thought of to be stressful, time consuming, and difficult. Well, it doesn’t need to be any of these. Yes, the Secretary needs to listen to what’s going on in the meeting and does have to take notes and write the actual minutes and distribute them, but the ‘responsibility’ of the minutes belongs to each and every board member. It is the rest of the board members who vote on approving the minutes at the next meeting- thus agreeing to what is written. If something is thought to be different that what is recorded, it is their responsibility to speak up and have the minutes amended. Then a majority must agree.   Read more

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. Once a Board meeting concludes, you should keep a folder of items for the next Board meeting. This way, throughout the month or months depending on when your Board meetings are held, whenever an issue comes up, whether it’s a homeowner correspondence or vendor proposals, everything you need at that next meeting is already collected by the time the agenda needs to be written. Approximately two weeks before your Board meeting is a good time to start looking at the agenda. The top of your agenda should always be the association’s name, the title of the meeting, the date of the meeting, the location of the meeting and the time of the meeting. The rest of the agenda is made up of ten items that should be basic for every agenda you write. It is recommended to put a time limit to each item, which will keep the Board on track throughout the meeting and stop them from having the urge to digress from the Board’s business. If you follow this basic template, you’ll walk away from your Board meetings on time, with all action items voted on and an impressed and informed Board:   Read more

Want to be a better Board member?

In this country we treat being a board member much like many other fields of endeavor such as parenting and leadership. We assume that if you have the desire to be one and we know how to become one, then we will know how to be a good one! Unfortunately, all around us we see examples of how this theory fails. Seldom have I ever met or worked with a board member who didn't really care about the organization and want to be a good board member. Often I have met board members who wanted to be a good board member but didn't know how or went about it in the wrong way. In this article we will review an understanding of board governance, some board basics and some board training subjects to pursue.   Read more

Wise Water Use in Landscaping

One area where water use can be decreased without sacrificing beauty or function is in landscaping. The term xeriscaping means landscaping for efficient water use. By using plants that are drought tolerant and by knowing what amount of water is right for your landscape and when to water, you can use much less water. Beyond conserving water, protecting water supplies from pollutants that may come from landscaping is also important. Best management practices (BMPs) for landscaping have been developed that enable you to have a healthy, attractive landscape while using resources efficiently and protecting our environment. Xeriscaping and BMPs lead to savings in time, money, and effort. [although written for NC, this article has some good ideas for everyone]  Read more

Why Community Management Really is a Great Business!

Back when I started in community management, lo these many years ago, if you had told me I’d still be in the industry – helping people find jobs, writing profusely about the business and speaking to industry professionals all over the country - I would never have believed it. And this got me thinking: I loved being a manager, and I now love my continuing affiliation with managers, Board members, homeowners and the industry as whole, because it is such a challenging – and terrific - business. I emailed colleagues and industry professionals, from one end of the spectrum to the other, and asked them what they thought really was terrific about the industry. The answers I received boiled down to simple, but significant reasons as to why community management is a great business. So, just when you are ready to throw in the towel, take a moment and read this article. It may remind you of why you are here.  Read more

Architectural Assessments

An Architectural Assessment provides a firsthand description, evaluation and record of the condition of a property.  It is a snapshot in time designed to chronicle the condition of various constructed components within a development, as they appear during an intensive, on-site tour of the subject property. A thorough Architectural Assessment provides the owner with a detailed analysis of major component systems including those that are responsible for protecting the development from the ravages of time and the elements. When prepared in conjunction with a reserve study and/or facilities maintenance program it forms the basis for establishing a prioritized schedule for the replacement of building systems have a definitive useful life. It also provides commentary on the condition of each system that has not yet reached the projected end of its service life and identifies those systems requiring immediate repair or replacement.  Read more

Rethinking Cooling Strategies

Engineering and maintenance managers have a range of options when it comes to replacing cooling equipment in existing buildings. These options have given them an unprecedented ability to improve system performance while cutting energy and operating costs. But these options also have made the process of selecting and specifying equipment more difficult. This is especially true when the most efficient and reliable equipment for a particular application might not be the least expensive. For managers to procure the most suitable equipment, they first must do their homework.   Read more