This column is the second in a two-part series on selecting HOA management. The previous column discussed the different types of association management services. After selecting the management service type and candidate firm, carefully consider the proposed management contract. Read the entire article……………………………….
Community Association Management: Frequently Asked Questions
Community association management — a lot of people come across this term but don’t quite understand what it means and what it entails. If you want to find out, keep on reading.Read the entire article……………………………….
Prevent Automatic Contract Renewals in Service Contracts (OH)
Community association boards execute contracts on the association’s behalf with various types of contractors to maintain, repair, and replace their associations’ common elements. Project specific contracts involve a contractor completing a particular project, for example, replacing the roof of a building. Project specific contracts should always include a start date and completion date requirement. Read […]
Considerations in Choosing a Property Manager: the Management Contract (MI)
A healthy working relationship between a residential association and its professional manager goes a long way toward making a successful residential community. Property managers typically have years and years of experience in community management and are able to provide advice and guidance on all sorts of matters that affect a community. Read the entire article……………………………….
How To Do An HOA Manager Performance Review
Homeowners associations and their boards should routinely conduct an HOA manager performance review. In doing so, they can objectively evaluate how their manager or management company is doing and decide whether or not it is time for a change. Read the entire article……………………………….
Illinois Condominium Law Alert: New Implied Cause of Action a Warning to Condominium Owners, Directors, and Property Managers
Every condominium owner, director and property manager will be impacted by a recent Appellate Court decision in the case of Channon v. Westward Management, Inc. It gave every condominium seller the right to sue the property manager, as agent of a condominium association or board of directors, based on allegations that the property manager charged […]
Most HOAs have community management companies (NV)
Many homeowners are first-time buyers, and too often most homeowners do not review their governing documents. No one has ever said reading governing documents was like reading a great book, but homeowners should at least look at certain sections that absolutely impacts their daily routine, Read the entire article……………………………….
Management Contracts 101 – Negotiating Your Community’s Most Important Contract
There are elements of board service that can vex even the most committed, most intrepid volunteer—and negotiating a building’s management contract is probably at the top of that list. Vexing or not, however, the extent and quality of services available to your building community hinges on what’s in that contract; managers and management companies are […]
Proper Documentation – A Fair Housing Must
This article was contributed by the Fair Housing Institute . Why is documentation so important? How can it help you in the event of a fair housing complaint? What are some best practices that your company should be following now? This article provides a brief overview of the value of documentation as well as some […]
HOA Management Agreement
Hiring an HOA management company can add much value to a community and save board members a lot of time. In making a commitment to work with a specific company, it is important to know what to look for in the contracts they are offering. Read the entire article……………………………….
It’s the Manager’s Fault…Or Is It? (FL)
Few professions have more demands placed upon them than that of the Florida licensed community association manager (CAM). Depending on whom you ask, the CAM is the organizer, rules enforcer, keeper of secrets (meaning confidential and statutorily protected information not limited to the medical record of owners and attorney-client privileged information), best friend, the “bad […]
Are Non-Competes Illegal? Three Takeaways From the New Executive Order
Bringing on new staff (and starting a new job) is typically a hectic process. There is a ton of information to gather – in addition to acclimating to the requirements of the new job and beginning work. Many organizations require employees to sign various employment agreements at the start of their tenure. One such form […]
Utilizing Your Manager’s Value: The Future of Condos
When external forces impose change, it can prove to be beneficial to any organization. A global pandemic has certainly been an external force. In an instant, and with no strategic plan, condo boards, managers and service providers had to adapt and provide services in new ways. The benefit of the forced change is you can […]
8 Questions To Ask When Choosing A Professional Community Management Company
One of the most important responsibilities a community association’s board of directors can be faced with is selecting a professional management company. Choosing a management company is somewhat like an interview process – your board needs to know what kind of experience the company has, what kinds of services they offer, who they have on […]
Auburn Woods Homeowners Association V. State Farm General Insurance Company (CA)
No Duty to Defend HOA and Property Manager Under Policy Liability and D&O Coverage Parts For Lawsuits Which Failed to Allege Damages and Did Not Include Property Manager as an Additional Insured Read the article………………………………….
Court Holds Early termination of Manager causes Condo Association to Breach Property Management Contract (MI)
In Vista Property Group, LLC v Schulte, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued September 17, 2020 (Docket No. 347471), the Michigan Court of Appeals vacated a no-cause judgment in favor of a condominium association and remanded the case back to the Kent County Circuit Court for entry of judgment in favor […]
How HOA-Specific Technology Can Position Your Business for Success
The events of the past year have prompted many to reevaluate how their business operates. What modifications were required? Did you have the resources needed to make changes happen smoothly? Read the article……………………………………
Homeowner Association Management Agreements: The Top Ten Issues
As legal counsel to a large number of homeowner associations, we are often asked to review management agreements proposed by association management companies. This article examines the top legal issues that we regularly see in management agreements with homeowner associations. Your board of directors should always consult with experienced legal counsel prior to entering into […]
How to Choose Professional HOA Management (UT)
Before you even start your search for a professional management company, be sure the board has agreed on what the community needs. It may be that you have an active board and a robust architectural committee, and so you only need help managing the books. Or you may find that you just want someone to […]
Tips for Selling Your Community Association Management Company
People sell their business for multiple reasons, retirement, burn-out, business or partner problems, or health reasons. Owners should prepare an exit plan when the business begins. An exit plan is a contingent plan for opportunities and challenges that present themselves. Selling a business can be an emotional roller coaster so it’s important to be prepared. […]
5 Things to Check Before Hiring a Managing Agent
Hiring a new managing agent is one of the most consequential and far-reaching decisions most co-op and condo boards ever make. It’s no time for guesswork. “The right managing agent can bring a sense of stability to the building, reduce the workload of the board, and reduce the financial risks,” Read the article………………………………..
What’s a Coop, Condo or HOA Board to do when it can’t get its Records from Outgoing Management? (NY)
When coop, condo or HOA boards rely on management to keep their books and records, getting outgoing management to turn them over to new management can be difficult. Some states like Florida have enacted laws covering transitions, but many states like New York do not have such specific laws yet. Reputable property managers handle transitions […]
How to create a property management agreement contract
Is your HOA or condo association talking about bringing a property management company on board? That’s exciting news. Property management companies can be extremely valuable. They help property owners and board members who are overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to run a residential community. Read the article…………………………….
What to Look For When Hiring an HOA Management Company?
Board members of a homeowners association take on a lot of responsibility. Not only could the sheer number of tasks be intimidating, but the types of skills required aren’t always found within the board. When this is the case, the homeowners association may consider hiring an HOA management company to run the day to day […]
What Defines Modern HOA Management?
Homeowners associations are a relatively new way to organize residential living, with origins that can be traced back only to about the middle of the 20th century. However, in the construction boom that took place in southern California in the 1960s, HOAs quickly began to gain significant traction. Read the article……………………..
Does Your State Require Community Association Managers to be Licensed? What HOA Boards Need to Know
There are currently eight states and the District of Columbia that require Community Association Manager (CAM) to be licensed. These states include: Alaska California Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Nevada Virginia Read the article………………………….
How to Choose a Homeowner’s Associate Management Company for Your Community
Is your HOA Board considering hiring an HOA management company? If so, you might have some questions, like “How do we know which company to pick?” or “What should we look for in a management company?” Luckily, the process doesn’t have to be as complicated as you may think. It’s best to start by knowing […]
The correct way to change property management companies
When you begin a relationship with a property management company, you always hope that it’s going to be for the long term. However, this isn’t always the case. You might find over time that your management company is no longer a good fit because your needs aren’t being met. Read the article……………………….
10 tips on marketing your property management company
Are you looking to add more clients to your property management portfolio? It has never been easier than it is today to market and scale your business, thanks to the wide array of marketing tools available. However, this also means that consumers have an unlimited variety of options to choose from. That’s why it’s important […]
How to Hire the RIGHT Community Management Company. A Primer for Condo, Townhome and HOA Board Members (IL)
Welcome to the Board Member’s Guide to Hiring the Right community property management company. Whether you live in a condo association, townhome association or Homeowners Association, it is critical that you have the right management company with the right qualifications and credentials to properly manage your association. Read the article…………………………….
The Challenges of Managing a Distressed Property (NY)
Despite the best intentions of board members, residents, and even managers, co-op and condominium properties don’t always run like well-tuned machines. Sometimes they hit a bump in the road…and sometimes they break down completely. The reasons behind such a breakdown can come from many directions, including financial missteps, physical plant problems, and interpersonal disputes. Read […]
Condo manager defeats lawsuit over stone that fell on boy (MD)
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling of summary judgment for Summit Management Inc. in negligence case over a child’s injuries. Read the article………………………..
The True (HIGH) Cost of Hiring a Low-Cost Condo Management Company Revealed
If you live in a community association, the board meeting that tends to attract the greatest number of homeowners (second only to a board meeting to approve a special assessment) is the budget approval meeting. Why is that? It is because at these meetings, the board usually plans on approving a budget that includes higher […]
5 Signs It’s Time to Change HOA Management Companies
Switching your management company may seem like a lot of work, but the success of your HOA is worth it. When the association/management company relationship is working well, it makes life easier for everyone involved. On the other hand, when the relationship is faltering, it can create problems when trying to achieve even the smallest […]
Make It Personal
There’s been an interesting trend in recent years in the Washington Metropolitan area. DC has a significant and growing number of community associations with on-site managers. Often, boards of directors have control over their compensation. The manager may be an employee of the association or of the management company as a pass-through expense. Read the […]
Management Insider #3 – Getting Off the Hamster Wheel
Management Insider #2 provided a historical analysis of the current state of affairs. Armed with that knowledge and a deeper understanding of underlying issues, we are in a position to move towards solutions. Trust and perception of value are at the core of the downward press on management fees. Creating spaces where these two factors […]
Changing Management: How to Know When it’s Time
When a community association enters into a contract with a professional management company, board members may feel a sense of relief. After all, much of the burden of running the community’s daily operations has now been transferred to (hopefully) capable hands, leaving the board more time to focus on members’ own affairs. And in many […]
Surpassing Expectations: How HOA Management is Evolving
In today’s world you can rent a movie, order a meal and make a stock trade with a few clicks—so why does HOA management seem to be stuck in the past? Other management companies have tried to address this question by piling more technology into their processes. However, we took a more holistic approach. Here […]
Hiring Management Company is Board Decision (FL)
Q: The board of my homeowners’ association wants to hire a management company. They say it is too much work. We are a small development with very little common property, and we have always been self-managed. A number of us feel that if the board is going to saddle us with this extra expense, it […]
HOA Homefront: Selecting a management company — the contract
The previous HOA Homefront column discussed choices in association management. If the association decides to hire a management firm to provide service, the management contract should be an important point of focus for the board. Price is not everything: Hiring a management firm solely on price is a mistake. Associations may discover “you get what […]
HOA Homefront – Management companies explain how to evaluate them
Q: I am a HOA board member, and our management company contract is coming up for renewal. We realized we have no formal way of evaluating how they are doing. I was wondering if in your dealings with homeowners associations you have come across a checklist or evaluation instrument. Read the Q&A……………………
Time to Call It Quits? When Management Breaks Up With a Client Community
In a New York TImes “Ask Real Estate” letter from last December, a co-op shareholder lamented the sorry state of her 10-unit building: the board president was abdicating his position with no willing successor, and the managing agent was opting not to renew their contract, leaving the co-op adrift as far as leadership was concerned. […]
What is Remote HOA Management?
Not all communities are created equal. They come all sizes and income levels, from groups of only a dozen or so condos to developments of a hundred or more multi-million dollar homes. The needs of each community will vary just as wildly. The time and money members are able to devote to their association varies […]
Who Does What? Common HOA Management Duties Defined
Some of the most common questions we receive are from homeowners who are unclear about how the property management company fits into their HOA-governed community. It’s understandable: HOA management is full of industry jargon, mysterious acronyms, and documents with complicated names. In this article, we’ll provide a succinct, easy-to-understand outline of common HOA management duties, […]
‘Indemnity’ and ‘subrogation’ among legal terms to question
Every now and again, I have to remind myself — or be reminded by a client — that not everyone speaks “law.” What are familiar terms to lawyers aren’t necessarily so to those in other walks of life. I suppose this is common to most professions. Who, other than an orthopedist, throws around terms such […]
Hiring a Manager Is Like Getting Married. Choose Wisely. (NY)
Hiring a new management company has been likened to getting married. So co-op and condo boards need to take a long hard look before they leap. A good first step, Brick Underground reports, is asking around the neighborhood and finding buildings that are well run. From this intel, a board can begin to create a […]
The Main Provisions of a Financial Management Agreement for a Condo Community or Home Owner Association (HOA)
So you decided to have a company help your board perform the monthly accounting tasks to operate your community. The commencement of this service is documented with a Financial Management Agreement. The agreement will help explain what tasks will be performed, when they will occur and what they will cost. The more information included in […]
Basic Tips for Hiring a Community Association Manager
Community association property management is a field that has experienced significant growth in recent years. Florida Law requires licensure by individuals who, for compensation, provide management services for community associations with more than ten (10) units, or those with annual budgets that exceed $100,000 (CAM licensing). Currently, Florida has over 10,000 licensed property managers. As […]
Looking for an Effective Condo Management Services Company?
Do you live in a Chicago based condo association? Or perhaps a townhome association or an HOA? What are the most important questions to ask your new potential management partner? How do you insure that whatever company you hire actually delivers on all the promises. Are you feeling frustrated with the vetting process? Have you […]
They Work for Your Association but Are They the Association’s Employees?
Depending on their size, condominium associations may receive a variety of professional services – from managers, security guards, lifeguards, maintenance workers and administrative assistants, among other personnel. Boards and owners often question the cost and quality of these services, but few, if any, ever wonder, “Whose employees are they?” Read the article……………….