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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. -
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: -
Reserve Funds, Assessment, or Loan: 3 Ways to Pay for a Capital Improvement Fee
Great capital improvements lead to better property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and the pros and cons for each. -
3 Strategies to Keep HOA Assessments Stable and Add Value
There are often valid reasons to raise assessments, but in some cases, you may want to take a different route. Here are three cost-saving strategies. -
Smart Financial Planning
Safeguarding a strata corporation’s operating and reserve funds is one of the main fiduciary duties of all board members, not just the treasurer. This means strata councils must protect the financial interests of the strata corporation and its members. -
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. -
3 Strategies to Keep HOA Assessments Stable and Add Value
There are often good reasons to raise assessments, but in some cases, you may be able to take a different route. Here are three strategies to help save your HOA money and keep assessments stable. -
Four home safety tips for the holidays
It's the most wonderful time of the year but not if your holidays are cut short by a fire, an accident or a theft. Taking these 4 safety precautions can prevent such misfortunes. -
Winterizing a house: Tips for snowbirds going south for winter
Do you escape to warmer weather down south once there’s a chill in the air and the leaves start to turn? If you’re a snowbird (or Winter Texan!), you need to know how to protect your home up north while basking in the southern sunshine -
FirstService Residential Keeps Energy Costs on a Tight Leash During Dog Days of Summer
High summer temperatures bring high electric bills – especially this summer, as heat waves and soaring temperatures continue to blaze across the U.S. and Canada. But FirstService Residential’s innovative FS Energy program is keeping residents cool, curbing electric bills and lowering energy emissions and usage – and it saved $1.5 million in energy costs for NYC residents last summer. Now, the program is rolling out to multifamily buildings in Chicago and Miami. -
Four ways to fund an HOA capital improvement project
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. -
Eight tips for HOA rules enforcement
Good rules make good community members. The most important factors in association policy making, whether for a condo, co-op, townhome or master-planned community, are clarity and sensibility. The board must be clear – and united – on the policy being created and then must communicate that policy to all residents. Whether the policy is about overnight guest parking, designated smoking areas, amenity usage or approved flooring, the basic steps to creating good policy and enforcing it successfully are the same. It’s important that everyone involved, including board members, residents and the management team, understand who is responsible for the various roles that are part of policy creation, enforcement and compliance. -
Six summer energy conservation tips
Summer’s longer days mean more time to enjoy warm weather and sunshine, but they also mean higher energy bills. There is a bright side, however: by implementing an energy management program within your community, you can help keep costs down without sacrificing comfort. -
A guide to HOA annual meeting requirements
Your board should give residents the opportunity to have their voices heard, but you also have a responsibility to keep the meeting moving forward. Use these 5 HOA annual meeting requirements to stay on track. -
Capital improvements vs repairs and maintenance: What’s the difference?
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. -
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. -
How to create a sense of larger community in your HOA
Your association doesn’t function in a vacuum. It’s part of a larger community. Having members actively engaged in your town or city is good for the association and adds to residents’ sense of community. Find out what your board can do to encourage residents to get more involved in their larger community. -
12 to-do’s for ultimate HOA landscaping maintenance
A good spring-cleaning can do wonders for your community association. Here are some tips to get your started. -
How to Get Rid of Millipedes and How to Prevent Their Invasion
Ah, Florida nights. Perfect temperatures. And...a disgusting mass of undulating insects climbing up the side of your building? Learn how to get rid of millipedes. -
Five Ways to Get Ready for a Pool Inspection
A pool inspection can be a major source of anxiety for board members and residents. Don't throw in the towel; there are steps you can take to make sure your inspection goes...well, swimmingly. -
Four Ways to Get Mosquitoes to Buzz Off
Ah, summertime in Florida. Backyard barbecues. Long days at the beach. And endless mosquito bites. -
3 Ways to Pay for an Association Capital Improvement Project
When your association has to invest in its property, whether for repairs or a new construction project, the financing for that work must be considered as carefully as the work itself -
Protect Your Investment: Tips for Hiring a Contractor
Often, expectations are not met when dealing with vendors. These tips will help you get the most from your contractor.