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A board member's guide to managing an HOA pool
Many people want to live in a community that has a swimming pool, and if there’s one in yours, you know what kind of value it brings. While it’s great to think of all those hot days when you and your neighbors can enjoy an afternoon in the water, with it comes many responsibilities community association board members must adhere to that go beyond staying cool or keeping in shape. -
HOA financial management: Tips for greater financial strength
So what’s the most important aspect of your community? Is it aesthetics? Sense of belonging? Neighbors knowing neighbors? Desirability to home buyers? -
How to be a successful property manager: 12 key qualities
When choosing the right property management company for your community, you will be asking a variety of questions to assess whether the company or manager will be the right fit for your board and your residents. -
Tips for managing building projects & community construction projects
So your homeowners association is going to undertake a construction or improvement project for your community. That can be exciting – and more than a little daunting, too. The construction project management process can be fraught with complications and frustrations – after all, with so many moving pieces, there are a number of things that can go wrong. To smooth your way, you can consult with an experienced property management company to obtain proven guidance and advice. But to get started, we’ve put together a dozen pointers to help your community construction project build towards success. -
Twelve tips for spring cleaning in your community
This winter, much of the country was hunkered down under thick layers of snow and temperatures so low that even the groundhog thought twice about going outside. But thankfully, spring is here, and with the blooming fruit trees and sunnier days comes the need to clean up, spruce up and get your community ready to enjoy the season. -
What to expect from your property management company: Services to look for
For many communities, responsive service from a property management company is the best they can hope for when it comes to issue resolution. But what if you required more from your property management team? What if you held them to a higher standard, demanding that they address challenges early enough so that they never become full-blown issues at all? -
Finding a property management company: 5 things to consider
Your homeowner association (HOA) board has decided to hire a property management company. That’s a big step, and one not to be taken lightly. You might think because your board made this decision your community’s future is in good hands. But has your board done its research? -
Avoiding risks of short-term rentals
The sharing economy continues to grow, and this, in turn, is fueling the proliferation of home-sharing websites like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway. In our previous article on this growing trend, we discussed how the interest in short-term rentals is impacting multi-family buildings throughout the U.S. and Canada. Now we’re back with a game plan to help your condo board or strata council protect its interests. -
Airbnb and short-term rentals: How the sharing economy can affect your multi-family building
One of the most recent societal shifts has been a move towards a sharing economy – and if you’ve ever been driven home in an Uber car, or reserved a distinctive blue CitiBike for a few hours to pedal across town, you’ve experienced this practice first-hand. In this article, we discuss how the quick growth of the sharing economy – particularly, home sharing – is impacting buildings in large cities, and we’ll follow up next week with valuable advice on how your Board or Strata council can address this mushrooming trend. -
Understanding how property management software can help
Can cutting-edge property management software increase personalized customer service? It’s not a trick question, at least when it comes to the property management industry. -
How Property Management Experts are Making a Difference in Today's Competitive Housing Market
FirstService Residential’s Tasso Eracles discusses Toronto’s building boom and the important role property management experts play in helping condominium developers and builders overcome challenges and compete in this dynamic marketplace. -
Communication in the Community: Do you have a plan?
Is your community always aware of upcoming events, scheduled construction projects and upcoming board meetings? Do they understand their responsibilities and the policies they need to comply with? Clear, effective communication from the board to the residents makes a difference in the overall well-being of any community. Poor communication, on the other hand, is a real problem that can negatively impact your community’s reputation and even your operating budget and property values. -
Tips to improve community awareness in your HOA
There’s a big difference between being a busybody and having a general awareness of your neighbors’ regular activities. Knowing their routines enables you to quickly realize when something is awry, especially for residents who live alone. And in a true emergency, that awareness could literally save a life. -
Property management tips for board members
Whether you’re a new or current board member, you can avoid major issues and make your term more fruitful, rewarding and, above all, effective by following these 9 tips for board members. -
Debunking property management company myths
Here’s one of the great ironies of the property management industry: though it’s incredibly big, it’s still a big mystery to most people. Let’s let the numbers do the talking. In the United States, 24% of homes are part of associations, with a total value of $4.65 trillion and $65 billion collected in assessments. In Canada, the industry generates about $6 billion in annual revenue with a healthy annual growth rate of 3.4%. -
Understanding common community manager responsibilities
The right support, the right personality and the right set of expectations from your community are critical for your community association management team to deliver exceptional results. Does yours have what it takes? -
HOA nominating committee guidelines: Understanding HOA elections
Elections are a big part of what make our community associations work. It’s what empowers members, galvanizes our community, and brings residents together for a common purpose. -
Eight ways a property management company can help you and your community
Being part of a Homeowners Association is rewarding – yet it can also be challenging at times. Board members are often tasked with difficult duties ranging from proper financial stewardship to navigating community conflicts, and much more. -
The future of community association management: What to expect
As a profession, community association management is relatively young; it goes back about 50 years. But in that short time, it has made great strides—and so have the communities who have benefited from professional, skilled management teams. But what does the future hold for this profession, and how will it influence how community members live? The trade organization Community Associations Institute (CAI) put their publication, Common Ground , to work to find some answers to this question. They brought together industry experts to weigh in on the matter. FirstService Residential has also been at the forefront of looking to the future in this growing industry. -
The future of association living: 4 factors to consider
What does the future hold for your community association? If you’re a board member, you might already have a pretty good idea – most likely because you’ve developed a plan for it. But what about issues outside of your control? How will they influence the strategies you develop to ensure your community is a great place to live for years to come? Let’s see where the coming decades will take us. -
FirstService Residential Chairman Gene Gomberg Honored as Ultimate CEO/Chairman
Gene Gomberg, Chairman of FirstService Residential, was honored as an Ultimate CEO/Chairman by the South Florida Business Journal. -
FirstService Residential's New York Office Featured in Mann Management Report
Our New York office is profiled in the November/December issue of the Mann Management Report. -
Five simple marketing strategies for associations
How many homes in your community are vacant? Whether it’s one or one hundred, it’s too many. Empty homes can lead to compliance issues and decrease the curb appeal of your community. They can also negatively impact the feeling of connectedness for the members of your association. That’s why it’s so important to keep every home occupied. -
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.