Search

It’s important to make sure that your high-rise building’s amenities are desirable and reflect the latest needs and wants of current residents, as well as potential buyers. Investing in amenities will have a twofold effect: it will enrich the lifestyles of your homeowners and residents, and it will make your high-rise more marketable and enhance property values. Updating your amenities doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Read on for some of the hottest trends in high-rise amenities and suggestions for staying current with any budget.

Living in a residential community means around-the-clock routine maintenance to preserve the community and its assets. But there comes a time when one of your assets will reach the end of its useful life and require a replacement or significant repairs.

It’s the typical budgeting dilemma for community association boards: How do you keep assessment fees manageable and still maintain the community’s operations?

There’s a lot to love about living in a community with a homeowners association (HOA). The amenities. The sense of belonging. The high aesthetic standards. But none of that happens without stable finances. With that in mind, here’s the bottom line on financial best practices for your HOA.

If your community is professionally managed, consult your property management company for more information – a quality firm can leverage its budgeting and financial experience to provide guidance. But to get you started, we’ve compiled some information about the Consumer Price Index – what it is and what you need to consider before you get started.

When a lot of people think about high-rise living, they don’t necessarily jump to the idea of families in high-rises. In many cities, high-rises are still considered the domain of the young and single, or couples without kids or active retirees. The New York Times even ran a piece, in 1987, decreeing that “A High-Rise Is Not a Home for Children.” But today, thanks to a Millennial generation that doesn’t want to commute from the ‘burbs, more and more high-rises are actively courting families as residents.

Millennials are the fastest growing group of home buyers in the US. Learn why you need to get this important demographic involved in your association today.

Board members have a fiduciary duty to protect the financial interests of both their homeowners association and fellow residents – and that includes ensuring that their HOA’s operating and reserve funds are properly managed, invested and protected.

Now more than ever, communities are searching for ways to increase resident engagement and create a social atmosphere. One way managers capitalize on their available community amenities is through lifestyle programming.

Annual meetings don't have to be boring! Learn how your community association board can entice your homeowners into attending with easy tips.

Want your events to bring residents closer? Everyone loves a well-planned event, and the residents in your community association are no exception. Follow these tips for creating memorable events in your community association.

Preparing your association’s annual budget...it can be a source of stress, but more importantly, it’s a valuable opportunity to ensure the financial well-being of both your association and homeowners. Proper association management hinges on this financial tool for both short-term and long-term planning, so it’s important to follow some guidelines.

Wildfires continue to be a constant and deadly threat across North America, and the risk intensifies with soaring annual temperatures, strong winds and severe drought conditions.

As consumers, we’re familiar with saving money by purchasing products like food and household goods in bulk. But, can this same savings model be applied to the purchases and operational costs of a homeowner association (HOA), condominium or community association?

As a community association board member, the countless hours you volunteer go toward assisting with a very important objective – creating a safe and vibrant community. In many cases, this means assessing your association’s insurance policies to guarantee that your community is fully covered, appropriately insured and receiving the best value for the cost.

Hurricanes can bring tremendous physical destruction and financial ruin to a community association unless policies are put into place to prepare for the storms before they arrive, and to deal with the consequences afterwards. Every board whose association could possibly be impacted by a hurricane must have a hurricane preparedness policy to help maximize safety, minimize risk and ultimately, protect its operating budget too. And just as important as having a policy is communicating the policy to your residents.

Regardless of the size of your community, or where it’s located, there is always one thing that every community association board and committee needs: resident volunteers. Unfortunately, however, volunteers are often a scarce resource.

Swimming pools are one of the most common, and most desirable, amenities in communities. Making sure to have proper community pool insurance coverage.

Whether you are a board member who wants to ensure your board is doing everything it can to succeed or a resident who wants to get involved in the governing of your community, we have identified the best practices that can help you get the answers you need.

Location, location…amenities? As we told you in a previous article, the desirability of a community’s lifestyle amenities is becoming highly influential in driving the purchasing decision for many homebuyers. To rise to the challenge – and set themselves apart from the competition – many developers, builders and community associations are adding the next generation of amenities to their lifestyle communities, high-rises, condo buildings and other residential properties. And it’s working. By adding and/or updating their amenities to reflect evolving tastes, communities are effectively meeting the aspirations and demands – and enhancing the lifestyles – of potential and existing homeowners.

Maintaining your buildings’ assets is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The common areas require a broad range of routine maintenance and repairs to keep them looking good and operating smoothly.

Learn how associates, residents and board members are making a difference in their communities, one face mask at a time, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While association meetings usually run smoothly, Board members with differing opinions and agendas can create tension and stress. The good news is that by following standard procedure protocols, Board meetings can be run without a hitch. In this article from chicagocooperator.com, FirstService Residential VP Patricia Bialek of Illinois summarizes "Roberts Rules of Order" and explains how Board presidents can use them to keep meetings under control.