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HOA bidding procedures: Simplification tips
Picture this: your homeowners association has a big job that needs to be done, so you’ve got to find a qualified contractor to do it. How do you manage your vendor selection process to make sure you find the best one to fill your needs? -
5 Tips: Fire safety for buildings and high rises
Living in a high-rise, condominium or co-op certainly has its perks. You get the convenient location, the dramatic views, attentive concierge services and a range of amenities. However, vertical living also means added challenges when it comes to fire safety. Fortunately, there are measures that both your association board and residents can take to improve safety. -
Five Reasons to Use Quality Vendors
When you have a large-scale project slated for your community, it’s tempting to select a vendor based on price. After all, what’s more important than saving your association money? -
What is vendor management? The importance of communication
Vendor management is a large part of serving on the board of a managed community. Every community has outside partners for services like landscaping, sanitation, cable and Internet provision, pool maintenance, valet services and more. Open and effective communication among the board, the management company and the vendors employed by the association is an important part of making the most of any community’s operating budget and improving the lifestyles of its residents. -
What to consider when hiring property management vendors
Your Board of Directors oversees the many day-to-day tasks required to operate and maintain your community…but they can’t do it alone. Your property management team will be expected to hire a wide array of vendors, including painters, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, repairmen for equipment maintenance or emergencies, exterminators, and more. -
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. -
How to prepare for flooding in your high rise building
Floods are one of the most common types of natural disasters. They can also be the most detrimental for high-rise buildings. The nature of these buildings makes them particularly vulnerable to flooding caused by severe storms. -
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. -
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: 5 things to know
In our guide to capital improvements , reserve studies and their relationship to capital improvements and preventive maintenance were discussed at length. -
Seven Tips to Avoid Issues with a Contract for Property Management
You’ve been there before. You meet with a vendor, they seem like a great choice, and then after a month or so, you find yourself in a dispute. -
HOA Vendors: Vendor management tips for great results
Here are some tips to manage your HOA vendors more effectively & and get the results you're looking for. -
Why association boards chose FirstService Residential
Finding a property management company to partner with your board isn’t easy. Find out how we can help you. -
15 Things You’ll Want to Do Before Selecting an Insurance Agent
Insurance is one of the most important line items on your association's budget, but it is oftentimes the most expensive. Do you know how to select the right agent? -
3 Cost Containment Strategies to Minimize Assessment Hikes
Your fiduciary responsibility is the most important commitment to fellow homeowners. Learn cost containment strategies that can save your association money. -
Comprehensive Flooring Policy: How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors
Does it sometimes sound like your upstairs neighbors are bowling in their living room? Noises from above can be disruptive, but they might not be entirely your neighbor's fault. -
Estoppel Certificates: 7 Myths and the Real Facts
Estoppel certificates are a critical part of any real estate transaction and can be confusing. What's included, how are they created, what does it all mean? Learn more here. -
Association Parking Rules: 6 Questions to Assess Your Policy
How can you ensure that your association’s parking rules are fair and easy to understand and follow? Here are 6 essential questions to ask before you create or enforce parking policies. -
Four Ways to Assign Holiday Decoration Compliance Policies - Without Being a Scrooge
The holidays are a time of joy, cheer, softly twinkling lights and tasteful wreaths, but holiday decorations mean different things to different people. Learn four ways to manage this! -
Vendor Communication Best Practices: The Do’s and Don’ts
Open and effective communication among the board, management company and vendors is an important part of any community's operating budget and for improving residents' lifestyles. -
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 -
How to Protect Our Community Vision with HOA Rules Enforcement
Now that you've crafted a vision for what you want your community to be and created policies to support that vision, how do you enforce those policies? -
How Having a Clear Vision Benefits Your Community and Impacts Policies and Compliance
Discover how your community’s vision ties into both creating and enforcing policies among your residents and homeowners. -
Hurricane Season is Here: Have You Talked to Your Vendors?
Your vendors are a critical part of your community’s emergency planning for any kind of hurricane or storm. Are you on the same page before, during and after a storm?