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5 Surprising Reasons to Raise Your HOA Assessments
If your main concern is to avoid increasing assessments, you may want to reconsider. As a board member, one of your primary fiduciary responsibilities is to protect property values, and assessments are an investment that helps do just that. -
Maintenance, Capital Improvements, Useful Life: Is Your HOA Prepared?
Not sure which components you should fix and which you should replace entirely? You're not alone. Get the answers to some of your top questions about maintenance, capital improvements, and useful life. -
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? -
React, Outsource, or Prevent? Find Your Association’s Maintenance Style
How does your Arizona association handle maintenance? Discover your association's unique maintenance style. -
An Ounce of Prevention
Like changing the oil in your car, regular maintenance on a building helps keeps everything working properly and safely. For stratas, some tasks are not optional, they are mandatory. -
Bidding Process Simplification Tips for HOAs in California
Some community associations simply get three proposals and price quotes, and go with the lowest bidder. That sounds easy, but buyer beware – there is much more to the bidding process than many board members realize. Sometimes simply choosing a vendor by its low price will get you exactly what you pay for. Here are some best practices on simplifying the bidding process and maximizing the value your association receives. -
React, Outsource, or Prevent? Find Your Association’s Maintenance Style
How does your California association handle maintenance? Discover your association's unique maintenance style. -
HOA Maintenance Responsibilities, Capital Improvements, and Useful Life: Is Your HOA Prepared?
Is your maintenance job turning into a capital improvement? Are you ready for a big capital improvement expenditure? Read on to get answers to your top questions about maintenance, capital improvements and useful life. -
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? -
Reserve Funds, Assessment or Loan: 3 Ways to Pay for Capital Improvements
Strategic capital improvements lead to better property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and their pros and cons. -
The Four Fundamentals of Effective Community Landscaping
Landscaping makes an immediate statement about the brand of your community. The right landscaping can set your community apart from others and enhance property values. Here our four landscaping considerations. -
Four steps to creating building maintenance schedules
Creating and executing a comprehensive building maintenance plan for your high-rise community should be a top priority for your board and property management company. -
5 steps to create your preventative maintenance schedule
While community preventative maintenance keeps systems running in a way that keeps future problems from happening, predictive maintenance entails using existing data to determine when systems might fail. Creating your community preventative maintenance schedule will help you budget for these occurrences – and eliminate most of those nasty surprises. Here’s how you can do it. -
A guide to community swimming pool resurfacing options
Your pool is a source of fun for all of your community’s residents. Yet when it comes time to resurface it, it can quickly become a source of headaches. Knowing the facts about your pool resurfacing options can help minimize the hassle – and ensure your community enjoys a quality pool experience for years to come. The best decision is an informed decision. An excellent community association management company will be experienced in this area and can weigh in with some really good insight – and make a recommendation for a reliable pool specialist, too. But before you get to that point, you can start with these pros and cons. -
6 essential HOA pool rules to enforce in your community
Summertime is swim time, and for the most part, it’s a plunge into carefree fun. But without the right swimming pool safety practices, your residents and association could be at risk. -
FirstService Residential is Growing and Hiring; Positions Include Property Managers, #2 Happiest Job
According to Forbes.com, Property Managers are tied for the #2 spot on the list of Happiest Jobs in America. Coincidentally, thanks to our continued growth and success, FSR is currently recruiting for several Property Manager positions. If you’re a quality professional seeking an outstanding career with the industry leader, check out all of our open positions (happiness included). -
Five community landscape maintenance tips
For most people, looking neat, attractive and well groomed ranks high on their list of priorities. They have the same expectations for where they live – in fact, according to a recent industry survey, over 70% of homebuyers consider curb appeal an important factor when choosing a community. -
Keeping HOA and Condo Common Areas Clean During the Coronavirus Pandemic
During these unprecedented times, residents are spending the majority of their time at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. One of their primary contact points with the outside world is in your HOA or condo common areas, where they can be at risk of contact with lingering coronavirus or even spread existing virus to other areas of the property. Read on for a comprehensive list of places to clean and how to clean them. -
Fall tips for homeowners: Your comprehensive checklist
Whether your HOA is self-managed or professionally managed, getting started on your fall and winter prep will help keep your operations running smoothly as the seasons and temperatures change – and that will keep your residents happy as well. -
Three things to know about community maintenance
Whether your community is self-managed or professionally managed, maintenance is a big part of the day-to-day responsibilities. It’s a responsibility that can quickly become overwhelming, especially when you walk in on a Monday morning to a list of what went wrong over the weekend. -
How to handle mold in your association
No one wants to find mold in their home or any association building. Unfortunately, mold is ubiquitous – it’s in the air and in the water, and when given the chance, it spreads like crazy. Learn steps to prevent mold or to have it assessed and properly treated, preserving your buildings and the health of your residents. -
Property management jobs: The best-kept hospitality career secret
If you’re a recent (or about-to-be) college grad looking for your perfect career fit, here’s a helpful checklist to help you narrow down your choices: -
Pros and Cons of Do It Yourself Repairs and Maintenance
FirstService Residential's Bill Worrall discusses the hidden costs of DIY maintenance and repairs and provides great insight into how boards can determine what can be done in house and what should be subbed out to appropriate contractors. -
Hiring a reserve study company: Five things to know
In our guide to capital improvements , reserve studies and their relationship to capital improvements and preventive maintenance were discussed at length.