I’ve written many articles over the years on many subjects but the one that keeps coming back like the proverbial bad penny to haunt us all is the topic of Micromanagement – and once I got going I found the subject so voluminous, that it will take two articles to cover!! Talk about obsessive compulsive! Somebody stop me!  Kidding aside, here’s what you are in for this month:

• What is micromanagement?
• How do micromanagers micromanage?
• Why Boards micromanage
• How Management and Boards can help alleviate micromanagement

Overcoming Resistance To Your Reserve Fund’s Contributions Plans (Part III)

Sometimes it’s the Board itself (or, at least, some of the Board’s members) that water down recommendations to increase funding to the reserve plan.  And sometimes it’s the unit owners.  It doesn’t matter a whole lot who it is, what does matter is that it happens and it’s dangerous. We’ve prepared a 3-part article and the final part gets into the reasons owner’s offer for coming out against increases. Most importantly, we add suggested remedies.  We provide a number of things that right-thinking Board Members and owners can do to help ensure that proper funding schedules get voted for, passed, and implemented.          Read More (Scroll down to article titles and look for "New")

If your eyes glaze over when you hear debit or credit, you are not alone. The word “balance sheet” can even make me a bit drowsy. I will try to help you understand what the balance sheet is all about with out causing your head to explode.  The balance sheet shows you what you have in assets and what you owe in liabilities as of a certain date. If the assets are more than the liabilities, the difference is shown as owner's equity. With that difference shown in owner's equity the sheet is in balance, hence the name “Balance Sheet.” Accountants like every thing to balance out to the nearest penny; they are funny that way. In fact, that is the only way accountants are funny.  Read More

Even if you installed Astroturf you'd still have "lawn" problems, because some of them are not associated with the grass itself, but an expanse of earth devoted to a single task. Obviously, however, to keep the neighbors from rolling their eyes, most home owners don't roll out a carpet of green plastic -- except maybe for those select locations out of sight in the back yard. Read More

A frequently asked question by owners and officials of community associations is “how do our fees compare to other condominiums of our size?” Based on my experiences as a cost accountant, association manager, and consultant for associations and management companies – my answer is that fees are not comparable in any meaningful way.  Read More

Q. Our board of directors has contemplated opening up its board meetings to homeowners, but several board members are feeling threatened by this possibility. Do you think they have good reason to be concerned?

A. There’s no doubt that we are living in the “information age”. Every day we are bombarded with information from the newspapers, television, radio, the Internet. When information is deliberately withheld, we are suspicious. A closed-door meeting is almost an affront to our sensibilities. Read More

Question: I have just been elected Treasurer of our condominium association. Recently, I read that a property manager in Virginia may have embezzled thousands of dollars from the associations with which he was associated. Quite frankly, I am scared, because I am completely ill equipped for this task. What can I do to safeguard our association's money?  Read Answer