A guide to HOA common area maintenance

The spring season is a time for renewal and a fresh look, so being able to properly landscape around the building is of utmost importance. 
 

Being a board member of your community association is an important role that should not be taken lightly. Here are nine ways to be an effective board member.

Your role as a board member involves a lot of communications. Whether it’s speaking with a board member or drafting up and email, you may be looking to learn or refine some communications skills.

Effective communication fosters better relationships among board members, your residents and property management company, and keeps all parties well informed. Here are the 4 components of a successful communication plan that create effective outreach to all members of your community.

Whether you have been newly elected to your Board or you have been a Board member for several years, you owe it to your residents to make sure that you are managed by the best association management company. Every condominium association differs in their needs, so you must take the proper time and ask the right questions when hiring an association management company.

Some self-managed associations believe they can't afford to hire a professional property management company to manage and maintain their community's operations, assets, finances, common areas and other day-to-day activities. However, as you'll learn in this article, a professional property management company is one thing many communities can't afford to be without.

If your community is managed by a property management company, you probably have an after-hours number you can call for urgent issues. But what if you simply want to take care of day-to-day association business? “People don’t operate in normal business hours anymore,” says Rolando Hernandez, national customer care director at FirstService Residential. “Residents and board members need to be able to take care of community business how and when it’s convenient for them.”

Have you been elected to your association board? We put together some vocab you will want to be familiar with. We also recommend asking your property management company if additional specific terms might apply to your association.

Radon can be a very dangerous risk and threat. Even more so because many people are not familiar with it or the long-term effect it can have on your family. Learn more about what radon is and how you can mitigate the problem.

Reserve studies are based on the assumption that components will reach their maximum useful life. However, if your preventative maintenance plan is not aligned with your reserve study, it is highly unlikely they will ever reach their maximum useful life.