Monday February 17, 2025
Serving on the board of your condo or co-op can be challenging, and no matter what your level of experience may be, mistakes can happen. Some common board member mistakes can be corrected with ease, but why not avoid them altogether?Our property management experts break down seven common mistakes and offer solutions to avoid them:
1. Getting personal
Owners and shareholders typically volunteer to serve on the board to improve the property’s financial health and the resident experience. When emotions or personal disagreements get in the way, they can create rifts within the board and effect other residents.Solution: Keep it professional and stay focused on the big picture.
Prioritizing the needs of your property is crucial as a board member. This means recognizing that you’re not acting as an individual. The most effective board members balance their emotions and remain objective when making decisions that affect the entire property. This includes accepting the board’s decision – even if they disagree. Once a decision is made, owners and shareholders must see that the board is moving forward together.
2. Micromanaging
It’s normal for board members to feel the need to manage everything, but there’s a thin line between micromanagement and control. Micromanagement can interfere with the duties assigned to their professional property management company or lead to board member burnout from delving too deep into building operations.Solution: Partner with a trusted property management company.
The board’s role is to set the strategic goals and policies of the property. The management company is there to enforce those policies and oversee day-to-day operations, so you don’t have to. Going one step further, the best management companies offer solutions that reduce operating costs without sacrificing quality of service, in-house compliance experts, insurance and risk mitigation consultants, and education to keep their boards up-to-date on emergent legislation and best practices.
Boards should make sure that the management company they hire is trustworthy. Then, they need to empower management to fulfill its role. In a good partnership, the board understands its role, as well as the responsibilities of the property manager. Each party should allow the other to do their job and trust them to do so.
3. Inexperienced Board Members
New board members can be quite enthusiastic and jump in with both feet. While that enthusiasm should be welcomed, board members who haven’t spent time reading the governing documents, learning about their new role, and understanding the history of past decisions can quickly create difficulties.Solution: Review the governing documents.
Upon joining the board, new members should make a point of reading through their governing documents. This ensures they fully understand current policies and their function as a board member.
When the property management company offers board training, new boards members should be required to enroll. The most impactful training will cover topics like running board meetings, preparing annual budgets, insurance coverage, and financial management.
4. Not working together
To be effective, you must be aligned with your fellow members. In fact, if you choose to make a big decision alone and things don’t go according to plan, you could be held liable. When board members take drastic measures to get things done, they risk damaging the condo's or co-op’s reputation. This could impact property values and create major friction going forward.Solution: Work alongside your board members.
As a board member it’s your duty to respect the consensus of the board. Regardless if you agree, once a decision has been made by the group, you should stand by it.
Standing united as a board improves your reputation with residents and makes enforcement of building policies much simpler, leading to greater benefits for your residents.
5. Sharing confidential information
Outside of an official meeting, board members shouldn’t discuss board business with other residents. This includes potential policies, violations, and vendor relationships. Even if a comment seems harmless, you may be putting yourself, your condo, or the co-op at risk. This is especially true if you’re not on the same page as your fellow board members.Solution: Only discuss board business at official meetings.
Think twice before you discuss business matters outside of board meetings. For in-person and email conversations, avoid sharing anything that is specifically related to your condo or co-op or sensitive to residents and board members. Additionally, keep legal issues, attorney opinions, appeals, and personal financial and health information of employees or members off the table.
6. Being close minded
Unlike the board member who's eager to change everything, is the one who's unwilling to make any changes. This can range from keeping reserve funds in a bank account that doesn’t yield interest to holding onto a property management company that isn’t providing the right level of service. Being averse to change or being too comfortable with the status quo may not be in the best interest of your residents or the property.Solution: Reevaluate your needs and opportunities each year.
From daily operations to crisis management, the support you receive from your property management company is invaluable. Use this checklist to evaluate the services, solutions and resources provided by your management company, and assess how those offerings align with the unique goals and expectations you have for your property.
Much of your success depends on the management company you work with. A large company will have the depth of resources to keep up with new developments in the industry. They will also provide you with innovative approaches to generating income, saving money, and running your day-to-day operations.
7. Lack of communication
Sometimes the board must make a necessary but unpopular decision. This can range from raising assessment fees to not addressing a resident concern right away due to more pressing issues.In either case, a common board member mistake is neglecting to inform the owners or shareholders. It’s equally frustrating when the board is difficult to reach or doesn’t respond to questions and concerns.
Solution: Transparent communication with residents.
Transparency is one of the main resident concerns in condo or co-op. Your board must ensure clear communications are sent out via various channels. Emails, direct mail, bulletin board notices, and uploads to your property’s website are all examples of efficient resident communications.
The FirstService Residential Connect portal lets residents and board members see their account balances, reserve amenities and place service requests. The portal also provides our management teams with tools for mass communication via email, text message, and pre-recorded voice messages.