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Slow and Steady: 5 Surprising Benefits of Raising Your Dues
It’s that time of year again – budget season is upon us. You know the things to consider when creating your budget, but what drives your process? Are you focused on achieving a particular vision for your community? Avoiding conflict in the community? Solely looking to avoid increasing dues? -
Is Your Management Company a Good Communicator?
Is good communication important to your property management company? Use this questionaire to find out. -
Repairs and Maintenance vs Capital Expenditure: What's the Difference?
It’s no secret that association management is a big job. Across Minnesota, common areas require a lot of routine maintenance to uphold community standards – things like exterior light bulb replacements, landscaping and paint touch-ups. Depending on your townhome community, the scale of your amenities' needs will vary. -
Before Creating a New HOA Policy, Ask These 5 Questions
Great policies can help your association run smoothly, enhance the resident experience and improve your reputation. Here are five questions to ask before creating a new HOA policy. -
Don’t Be the HOA Bad Guy: 4 Proven Policy Enforcement Tips
Enforcing HOA policies is nobody’s cup of tea, but having good policy enforcement in place helps improve the resident experience and elevates your reputation. Follow these 4 principles for healthy policy enforcement: -
HOA Reserve Funds: 6 Tips to Improve Your Returns
Are you really getting the best returns on your reserve funds? Most Nevada board members aren’t sure. Learn six ways to improve your reserve fund returns. -
How to fund HOA capital improvements
Great capital improvements improve property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and the pros and cons. -
Is Your Association Manager Equipped for Success? 3 Questions to Ask
Does your association manager have the right tools, resources and support to take your association to the next level? -
Habitat Magazine-Here Are Ways to Pay for Retrofits to Reduce Carbon Emissions
The Climate Mobilization Act, requires buildings 25,000 square feet and larger to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by certain target percentages in 2024, 2030, and beyond. -
Steps for Condo or Co-Op Hoarding Clean Up, NYC
Hoarding can be dangerous to every resident in your NYC condo or co-op building. Learn how to work with hoarders in your building today. -
The Ins & Outs of NYC Building Energy Rating and Energy Grades
FirstService Residential and FirstService Energy are prepared to help boards and owners identify capital improvements or retrofits that improve a building's energy efficiency score and letter grade. -
Why Career Changers Should Consider Property Management Careers
Are you looking for a new career path? Why not try property management? Working as a Property Manager will allow you to connect with people to form a sense of community and help enhance their lives as residents. Learn more about how joining the property management industry could fulfill your career dreams. -
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Ask the Expert: Homeowners and Condo Owners Association Reserve Study
View our third episode of Ask the Expert, featuring Andrew Stoutenburg, Regional Executive Director of Reserve Advisors, as he talks about the importance of reserve studies in financial planning. -
Can HOA board members be held liable?
If you’ve agreed to serve as a board member for your homeowners association (HOA), you may be thinking this is just like any other simple volunteer opportunity. However, there are certain fiduciary responsibilities and protocols that board members should be aware of to help protect the association and their own personal liability. Here we’ve compiled a few fundamental principles that every board member should apply. -
Municipal Duties Move to ‘Burbs as HOAs Must Step In
John Friedrichsen, Senior Vice President & CFO of FirstService Residential parent company FirstService Corporation, is quoted in USA Today about how HOAs benefit from the value-added services provided by leading professional management companies. -
Texas HOA capital improvements vs capital reserve fund
Capital reserve fund vs. improvements: Budget for both and know when and how to allocate them in your Texas HOA for a continuously improved community. -
What are underfunded HOA reserves, and what can you do about it?
In this article, we'll cover what underfunded HOA reserves are, how they happen, as well as the risks and what can be done about it. -
Special Assessments: Fund Your Capital Improvement Assessment: Part III
Learn about special assessments as a way to fund unexpected capital improvements -
Prioritizing and Managing Your Community's Property Maintenance and Improvement Needs
Handling day-to-day maintenance and making necessary improvements are critical responsibilities for any homeowners association (HOA). And when your serve on your association’s board of directors, they can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t have a good system in place to manage them. So how do you make sure that your maintenance staff is able to handle that long list of tasks that need to get done so that your community runs smoothly and retains its appeal? -
5 steps to choose the best Texas reserve study company
Your reserve study is important to your financial health, but how do you get one? How do you choose the right reserve study firm to conduct it? Learn more. -
Slow and Steady: 5 Surprising Benefits of Raising Your Dues
It’s that time of year again – budget season is upon us. You know the things to consider when creating your budget, but what drives your process? Are you focused on achieving a particular vision for your community? Avoiding conflict in the community? Solely looking to avoid increasing dues/contributions? -
Four Steps to Healthy Finances
Keeping your condominium corporation’s finances healthy is much like keeping yourself physically fit. The key is to make smart choices and avoid over-indulgence. -
Preventative & Predictive Maintenance are Critical to Your Replacement Reserves
Reserve Fund Studies are based on the assumption that components will reach their maximum useful life. However, if a preventative maintenance plan doesn’t accompany your reserve study, it’s highly unlikely some components will ever reach their maximum useful life.