MN mold inspection: What your HOA, condo, or high-rise should know

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.

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.

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. 

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.

When you think of the kinds of organizations being the target of a cyberattack, you probably don’t think of your homeowners association (HOA). But as a small businesses, your HOA faces a growing risk. In its annual study, the Ponemon institute reported that more small and medium-sized businesses had been the victim of a data breach in 2017: 61% of respondents as compared to 55% in 2016.  

 

When your community considers a new manager, having the right experts on your management team can make for a smooth transition.

We can all agree there are many important elements to a housing structure, but your roof is probably the most important. Changing temperatures, snow accumulation, large amounts of rain, ice dams and high winds can all cause major damage to condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes throughout Minnesota.