Board Education

Board members are community volunteers, not industry experts. Most come in eager to do good, but lack the knowledge to get a running start. Even seasoned board members make mistakes that could put their community in legal jeopardy. Your property manager may give you a brief rundown on what your duties are, but they do not have the time to train you. Our goal is to make sure you have the proper tools to serve the community with the limited amount of time you have available.

Financial Analysis

The biggest struggle for most communities is not having enough money. This is very frustrating to homeowners because they assume that because they pay their dues each month, the association will be able to fulfill any maintenance requests they make. Unfortunately, due to poor planning over many years, this is not the case. We will work with you to ensure that the association moves forward with a powerful financial plan rather than scrambling to find money when it matters most.

Project Management

Studies show that deferred maintenance costs on average 6x more than maintenance that is done on time. We will work with the board to schedule and budget for routine maintenance and large maintenance projects. We will manage the project for you from start to finish. This begins with defining what the scope of work is with the board, the last thing we want is for money to be spent on a project and end up with a different outcome than was desired by the community. Next we will put the project out for bid. We only work with reputable vendors who do quality work at a fair price. This takes the guesswork out of who to hire. Once bids are received, we will go over each bid with the board and explain similarities and differences in the bids. After a bid is chosen, the Board president will sign a contract with the chosen company and we will schedule the project. Before a bill is submitted, we will do a final inspection of the work. We can do most projects without additional cost to the HOA.

Governing Documents

Your community is only as good as its governing documents. Just like the city and state you live in, your community will not function very well if it is being governed by archaic statutes or poorly written statutes. We will work alongside the Board and the state's top HOA attorneys to ensure the community has the most up to date and well written documents. It can be a daunting task to tackle something so complex and to get enough of the community to agree on adopting it. Don't worry though, we have your back and we'll do the heavy lifting! Worried about cost? Don't worry, we've negotiated flat rate pricing for most of your document needs. We also write rules and regulations in house to save on attorney's fees.

Management Acquisition

Do you feel your management company is underperforming? Maybe they are not providing financials in a timely manner or maybe communication is not up to standards. Whatever the case may be, it could be the management company not performing or maybe they are not a good fit for your community. Instead of opening up your web browser and pouring through online reviews of management companies (which can be very skewed), let us use our vast resources to find a management company that fits your community. We will also review their contract before signing and ask key questions to ensure there aren't any surprises.

Code of Ethics

Every board needs to have a code of ethics to govern board behavior and hold board members accountable. Most boards do not have one, more do they know where to begin. We will draft a code of ethics specific to your association. Each board member who joins the board will be required to sign the code to be on the board. Having a signed code of ethics on file makes it easier to discipline or remove troublesome board members.

Newsletters

One of the biggest complaints from homeowners is that they are out of the loop on what is going on in the community. This becomes a big issue when the board decides to increase dues, levy a special assessment or complete a big project. A monthly newsletter will encourage community and empower the Board. We offer monthly, quarterly and special occasion digital newsletters.

Mediation

Disputes may arise between the board and homeowners, the board and vendors, the board and management company, or even amongst the board members themselves. These disputes can become emotional and invoke irrational reactions based on emotion. We will work with both parties to come to a fair resolution and do everything possible to avoid a costly legal battle.

Maintenance Chart

Homeowners and board members are often make mistakes on identifying if the HOA is responsible for maintenance items or if the homeowner is. This can lead to either party incurring thousands of dollars in expenses that are avoidable. In the HOA's case, this can be tens of thousands each year. Where are the answers found for this? Sometimes they are found in the governing documents, which can be clear as mud at times to people who are not attorneys or property managers. There are many facets of the community that are not listed in the governing documents that only an attorney or seasoned professional will know the answer to, and there are also some grey areas. We will take the guesswork out of this and create a comprehensive maintenance responsibility chart for the community.

Risk Management

Insurance claims are costly to the community. Claims drive up premiums and if a community has too many claims it can become difficult to insure the community and very costly. We will review the community's insurance policies to ensure it is adequately covered. We will also get insurance quotes to make sure the community is getting the best price. We will then do a risk analysis of the community and identify potential risks and solutions.

Voting Assistance

One of the most difficult things to do in a community is to collect enough votes to pass amendments, special assessments, and dues increases. Sometimes the issue is lack of desire to participate, other times it is a lack of education on why the change is necessary. It can also be that change is hard and people just want to keep things the same. Whatever it may be, we can get your community over the hump.

Loan Acquisition

Yes, LOAN is a four letter word for most boards, but it is not as scary as it sounds. Yes, interest is part of a loan, but that doesn't mean it is bad. As mentioned previously, deferred maintenance often costs 6x more than fixing things when they need to be fixed. Acquiring a loan can actually put the community in a better financial position for the future and cost less than putting off the maintenance and putting out fires as they arise. We will have partnerships with lenders who specialize in HOA lending. We will get the very best rate possible and we will make sure that the community is not only able to pay the loan back, but their financial health is improved so they don't need to get another loan as soon as the current one is paid off.