WHEN CONDOMINIUM BOARD MEMBERS & COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS move on, they often take vital institutional knowledge with them. That’s why it’s essential to keep a running record of maintenance incidents, including pipe leaks.
MANY HOA AND CONDO BOARDS ask themselves every year if they need a snow contract? After all this is Seattle, it will melt off by noon. Let’s look at a few issues before deciding. There are 1 million slip and fall claims every year, in the US. The average slip and fall claim is $48,000. What is your association liable for? Are you insured for this?
THERE ARE MANY laws and regulations in Washington State that community associations should be aware of and prepared to address. Common area safety and electric vehicle charging are two examples that we elaborate on below.
THERE ARE FOUR RULES OF RESERVES that associations should know. Our company has pioneered foundational concepts & principles and provided extensive educational materials to the industry for over 35 years, but all can be distilled down to the rules below as the heart of planning for reserve projects at your association. Fundamental education is key to all of our success, as board members and professionals come and go over time.
ASSOCIATIONS WITH DECEMBER 31ST YEAR ENDS make up a large share of annual audits. There is often intense pressure on managers, accounting departments and audit firms to complete accurate and complete audits in a timely fashion. Completing an efficient audit requires strong communication and sharing of information.
Running an effective homeowner’s association (HOA) board meeting is like mastering the zipper merge. When it’s performed properly, everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing and it looks effortless. It just takes preparation and some practice to get it right.
A reserve study is a budget and disclosure document, supplementing operating & maintenance budgets for the large expenses that don’t occur each year. In this busy world, focusing on a handful of key items in your reserve study may keep you out of costly trouble.
As a child I was fascinated by maps. My mom would buy the Thomas Guide every year and I would actually spend hours thumbing through it just for fun (for you young pups out there, the Thomas Guide is what your parents would use to find a Saturday garage sale before GPS was invented). If I had a class in school that involved marking up a map with landmarks, capitols, rivers and mountain ranges, I was confident I’d be acing that project. Dora the Explorer and her map have nothing on me. So how lucky am I, as an adult, to have a job where I can spend time pouring over maps; plat maps that is!
This article explains the key requirements for communities to maintain their status—and special legal privileges—as “housing for older persons,” which is of greater importance as the population ages.
Budgeting for bad debt is something that associations should consider doing even in the best of times. Saying that associations need only budget for uncollected assessments in a down economy would be as shortsighted as… well, not budgeting for uncollected assessments.
