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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. -
Community Conflict Resolution: HOA mediation vs arbitration
While it’s always best that all parties in an HOA, community association, condo association or other deed-restricted community agree and cooperate, it’s a fact of life that conflicts or disputes may arise. In many cases, the parties can settle their differences amicably and directly through frank and open discussion or negotiation. In other instances you may need mediation or arbitration to find a resolution. -
Consider a Vacation Away From Your Pets
Vacation season has arrived, and with it, the need to pack, plan and in many cases, make arrangements for our four-legged family members. Many hotels and other accommodations are not pet-friendly, so pet owners must decide where, and with whom, to leave Muffy or Max when heading out of town. From kennels to in-home pet sitters, there are various options to fit your lifestyle and budget. -
Co-Op Managed by Our New York Office Chosen for Mayor’s Recycling Pilot
NYC's Organic Food Waste Recycling Pilot Program includes Morningside Heights Housing Corp., a cooperative building managed by FirstService Residential’s New York office. This exciting program is designed to reduce the amount of post-consumer waste sent to landfills. -
Debunking the Eight Biggest Myths About Partnering with a Property Management Company
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%. -
Great Service: 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? -
Eight Essential Parts of 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 tips and tricks to pass a home inspection
Selling a home in a competitive market can be challenging, and your home still must pass inspection – a critical step to help prospective buyers make an informed decision about your home’s current condition, as well as any repairs and maintenance it may need. -
Eight Ways the Best Property Management Companies Can Help You
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. -
Part 1: Electric Cars and Charging Stations – Is Your HOA Ready?
Over the past five years, nearly a half-million U.S. cars in this country have been able to zip right past gas stations – and it’s not because they’ve always had a full tank of gas. That’s how many plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) have been purchased in this country since December 2010, when the first mass-market PEVs – the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt – made their much-heralded debut. Learn more about PEV's in order to ready your HOA. -
Part 2: Electric Cars and Installing Charging Stations in Your Community
Is installing EV charging stations the right choice for your community? If your association is considering it, consider this – you’ll not only satisfy the needs of current and future EV owners, but you’ll also enhance your property’s “green” image, which can increase property value and attract future residents. So how should your Board proceed? Start by talking to other community Board members and local community leaders to see if this issue is being addressed locally. Do your research, including consulting with a good property management company. If your community is professionally managed, your property management team can provide you with information and guide you through the process. -
Energy Efficiency for Community Associations
Should community associations implement energy efficiency measures? Most Board members and residents think so, but making conservation a reality can be a challenge. In a recent issue of Condo Management, FS Energy’s Chris Normandeau offers ways communities can take energy efficiency from principle to practice. -
Engaged Homeowners, Stronger Communities – Three Ways to Get Involved
When you purchase a home or unit within a deed-restricted community or building, your new residence comes complete with an added bonus – membership in your association. Whether your association is an HOA, community association or condo association, it’s comprised of fellow homeowners and stakeholders who, like you, want to protect the community’s property values, enhance its quality of life and make it a desirable place to live, both now and in the future.But an association can’t achieve these goals without homeowner involvement – after all, how can you have a say in what happens in your community if you don’t participate? -
Three Factors Influencing the Future of Community Association Management
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. -
Four Factors That Will Shape Community Association Living in the Next Two Decades
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. -
Creating a Feng Shui entryway: Enhance your home and life
In today’s busy, noisy, fast-paced world, many of us have become multitaskers by necessity, caught up in trying to juggle the demands and responsibilities of family, health, career, lifestyle, community and more. But what if you could turn down the stress and volume of everyday life and enhance your life just by coming home? -
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 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. -
FirstService Residential Sustainability Expo
Reducing energy usage and costs, while increasing "green" living is vitally important not just for multi-family properties and residents, but also for the environment. In New York, FirstService Residential recently hosted its Third Annual Sustainability Expo and Symposium to help building staff and property managers increase their commitment and actions towards increasing efficiency and sustainability. Want to know more? Check out this recent spread in the Mann Management Report. -
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 Easy Ways to Market Your Association
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. -
Five Reasons to Love Your Community Management Company
It’s always great to have a reliable partner by your side. Whether it’s a family member, someone at work, or even a fellow member of a sports team on which you play, knowing that someone has your back can instill you with confidence and comfort. -
Five Reasons to Stop Renting and Start Buying
If you’re part of the Millennial generation (typically defined as someone born between 1977 and 1992), the renting vs. buying landscape is drastically different for you than it was for your parents and their peers. That’s leading many Millennials to ask themselves the age-old question: should I rent a home or should I buy?