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  • Is Your Community Staffed Adequately?

    Is Your Community Staffed Adequately?

    Aug 04, 2017
    Staffing your community association is both an art and a science. Your community’s culture and lifestyle are supported by the staff you choose, and it’s important to make sure that you’ve got the right people in the right positions, and enough of them. Properly staffing your community goes far beyond having people to answer the phone and handle packages or keep the pool clean and tidy. 
  • Easy Steps to Help Complete Your Next Association Budget

    Easy Steps to Help Complete Your Next Association Budget

    Aug 01, 2017
    Budgeting can be tough. It involves looking at priorities and the needs and wants of your community, the money coming in and going out and making it all balance. Crafting a responsible, effective budget is one of the primary ways that community association board members fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to the community. Planning ahead and knowing what’s expected will help make the process painless and smooth! 
  • FirstService Residential L.E.A.D.S. 2017 event

    Planning for L.E.A.D.S. 2017 is underway

    Jul 14, 2017

    FirstService Residential is proud to announce L.E.A.D.S. 2017 will take place on Wednesday, September 27th at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey. We are excited to report that our biannual event is now taking place annually! Our educational, networking event is focused and shaped on the attributes of Learn, Evolve, Achieve, Deliver, and Succeed.

  • Six Essential Tips For New HOA Board Members

    Six Essential Tips For New HOA Board Members

    Jun 19, 2017
    Congratulations are in order – you’ve just been elected to the board. So now the big question: What’s next? “The great thing about associations that are helmed by owners is that they have a vested interest in doing right by their community,” said Kirk Kowieski, CMCA, AMS, vice president of FirstService Residential. “But that also comes with challenges... many board members find themselves in this kind of position for the first time, so there’s a little bit of a learning curve.” Fortunately, FirstService Residential is here to help. Follow these new board member basics and you’ll soon be governing like a pro.
  • Board members sitting at a table, listening to an unseen speaker

    How Should You Enable Board Member Succession?

    Jun 19, 2017

    Thriving business organizations plan for succession. It’s built into their corporate strategy – team members with potential are identified early on, and then groomed for the leadership positions they’ll someday hold. 

  • your management company should be a team

    Choosing a New Management Company: Look for a Team Approach

    Jun 19, 2017
    What should you look for in a prospective community association management company to help avoid a rough transition? How can your association avoid financial missteps and pitfalls when switching from one management company to another? Make sure that the management company you are considering has the resources you need in every aspect. Transitioning to a new company is simply too large a task for one manager to handle!  A team approach is the best way for a professional community association management company to handle a transition. 
  • Smiling female property manager in a suit with people behind her, blurred

    Beyond the Manager: Discover the Value in Your Property Management Company

    Jun 15, 2017
    We all want to get the most for our money, and your community association is no different. When hiring a management company, it’s easy to focus on the bottom-line price and not understand the differences in real value among the proposals you see. The right community association management company will provide you with so much more than a good manager. 
  • Female manager, sitting and smiling, with people behind her, blurry

    The Best Service from Your Management Team Starts Before You Ask

    Jun 05, 2017

    You want your community association management company to respond when you need them. Shouldn’t a good management company be able to foresee some of your association’s needs and meet them before you ask? That’s the principle at the heart of proactive service, when emergencies are prevented rather than responded to. The best service is proactive, but its very nature – preventing problems before they arise – means that it can be hard to spot. So how do you know that your community association management company is being proactive on your behalf? Read on for some ways you can tell if your management company is behaving proactively.

  • Close up of hand giving keys to another hand

    Resale Packages In Delaware: Why They Are Important to Home Buyers and Sellers

    Apr 25, 2017

    For most people, buying a home is the largest investment they make. We all know there’s a lot of paperwork that comes with buying a home, and although it can seem overwhelming, that paperwork is vital for the protection of the buyer, the seller and the community in which the home is located. If you are buying or selling a home in managed community, a resale package is a critical part of that. What is a resale package and why is it important? How do you get one and when do you need it? We sat down with our Director of Resale to get the answers to these and other important questions.

  • Four Secrets to Great Communication in Your Association

    Four Secrets to Great Communication in Your Association

    Feb 06, 2017
    There’s one challenge that plagues all board members, regardless of experience: communication. Part art and part science, communication is the key to building strong relationships and effectively meeting your obligations as a board member for your community association. Here are a few quick tips to ensure communication is flowing in your association.