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What makes a community a great place to live? A lot goes into it, but it’s no secret that often depends on community engagement.

How do you like to say “hello?” No matter what expression you use, chances are you like to take the opportunity to put your best foot forward and make a good first impression.

Fraud can happen with any management company and even in a community that is self-managed. Although there’s no way to ensure 100-percent protection against such an occurrence, FirstService Residential takes considerable precautions to minimize its likelihood.

As a board member and resident, here's how you can address property management security in the wake of "invisible tourists".

Start off our quick, 4-part webinar miniseries, Ask the Expert, with Joe Bushey, president of VIVE (Vendor Insurance Verification Experts), as he talks about the significance of vendor loss risk.

Tune in to hear a panel of board members discuss their best advice around the topic of Committee Formation.

Get answers to frequently asked questions submitted by board members like you!

In Texas, where temperatures can reach triple digits and humidity isn’t far behind, a refreshing dip in a pool can be a welcome relief. That’s why so many HOAs offer swimming pools as an amenity. Here are 10 guidelines to help you manage your association pool.

Shopping is the hallmark of the holiday season, but the influx of packages can make any condominium association struggle to stay organized. Discover ways to handle holiday packages with ease by asking four simple questions.

Today, high-rise living is attracting a broad range of residents, from millennials to empty nesters, all seeking convenience and luxury in an urban setting. Although they have a common drive to discover this newer metropolitan lifestyle, these very different households have a variety of needs and wants. This means that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for defining what desirable amenities look like. In fact, properties must continuously adapt and update their offerings to stay competitive in their community.

You want to celebrate the season with family and friends, but with the holiday merely weeks away, landing a role opposite of George Clooney sounds easier than planning a holiday bash. Does it not? Well fear not! These primo party planning tips will have you singing carols over eggnog in next to no time (and for little money), all compliments of our professional party planner.

Everything is bigger in Texas & sometimes even hurricanes. And during hurricane season, being a board member for a residential community in the Houston area can bring some big challenges, too. To help get you and your community ready and reduce the effects if a hurricane does strike, we've put together six important tips.

Whether you live in a high-rise condominium in Austin, a gated community in San Antonio or an active adult community near Dallas, emergencies happen. As seen in the media over the past few years, such emergencies all may involve active shooters. Do you or your management team know what to do to protect residents in an active shooter situation?

A leak in a high-rise condominium can quickly result in expensive water damage. How can you reduce your risk and be better prepared if your building springs a leak?

Summer time – the perfect season to hit the road, relax, spend time with family and friends, or embark on a new adventure. While you hope your residents have fun on their summer vacations, you also want to make sure that their homes stay safe and they fulfill their responsibilities to the association while away. Whether you live in a condominium, master-planned or single-family community, you want to make sure that your residents prepare their homes in a way that helps protect themselves and the community.

Summertime: It’s the perfect season to hit the road, relax, spend time with family and friends or embark on a new adventure. Although you hope that residents in your community have fun on their summer vacations, you also want to make sure that their homes stay safe and that they continue to fulfill their responsibilities to the association. Whether yours is a condominium, master-planned or single-family community, follow these tips to help your residents prepare their homes in a way that protects it and the community while they are away.

National Night Out is an annual event that promotes partnerships between communities, residents and local law enforcement. Celebrations can range from individual block parties to a large community festival. Either way, it’s a great opportunity to create connections between neighbors and focus on working together to make your community a safer, better place to live. This national celebration has become an annual tradition in many communities far and wide and we want to help you put together the best National Night Out event your association has seen yet.

Holiday lights can brighten the community, but they also have a down side. Learn tips to minimize issues in your HOA with sensible policies.

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?

Before you book that vacation or buy the perfect gift, here are a few holiday home security tips to keep you and your community safe.

It's easy to get enthusiastic about holiday decorating. How do you keep your residents from going overboard without being a scrooge? Read on for simple tips to keep holidays in your community merry!

Security risks increase exponentially during the holiday seasons for high-rise buildings. Many residents travel for the holidays, move to warmer weather during the winter months, or have an influx of guests and family members in and out. These factors make it easy for intruders to make it into the building, especially if there are no procedures in place to track the many people and deliveries in and out of the building.

Like it or not, we have become very dependent on our technology. Whether it’s a cell phone, tablet or computer, our devices enable us to stay connected, conduct business and access information anywhere, anytime. Yet as convenient as these devices may be, cyber security is simply not a priority for the majority of tech users—despite the increased prevalence of cyber attacks. One recent attack even occurred in our own backyard at the University of Alberta. In part one of our two-part series, we look at why cyber security is so important to condo associations. We also provide important steps that residents in your condo community can take to protect their technology so that sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

In part one of this two-part series, we discussed the importance of cyber security to your condo association and the steps that residents can take to protect themselves and their association. In this article, we look at your board’s responsibility in preventing cyber attacks.