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HOA online voting: Can an HOA board vote by email?
For a growing number of community associations across the United States and Canada, statute changes are making electronic voting a possibility for boards. If your state or province permits online voting – or will soon – does that mean that your board should make this option available to homeowners in your community? -
How to create your HOA emergency preparedness plan
No board ever wants to find itself in the midst of an emergency, but they happen. Whether you face an outbreak of illness, an earthquake, a hurricane, a fire, the impact of any devastating event can be minimized by good emergency preparedness planning. -
Fallon Describes Emergency Storm Relief on Fox Business’ Cavuto
On October 28, the eve of Superstorm Sandy’s one-year anniversary, Fox Business News aired a powerful segment featuring Chuck Fallon, FirstService Residential CEO. -
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? -
Five Ways to Keep Snow from Burying Your Budget
Despite what the meteorologist on your nightly news might tell you, it’s actually pretty hard to predict the weather. And that means it’s difficult to anticipate how much you’ll be spending on snow removal this year. -
Four Ways to Maintain Your HOA’s Financial Fitness
Keeping your homeowner association (HOA) or community association’s finances healthy works the same way as staying physically fit: don’t overindulge and make smart choices. And the upside is that the only thing you’ll have to exercise is good judgment. Here are some tips to help you do just that. -
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. -
High rise insurance: Seven tips to cover your property
Life in a high-rise property has its rewards. With great amenities, good security, and even concierge services, there are many advantages that are specific to just this kind of lifestyle. Similarly, there are specific requirements when it comes to insuring it, too. High-rises often have multiple residences, each with their own policies, plus shared common spaces, which also require coverage. Here are a few areas to help you determine if you and your high-rise community is adequately covered. -
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. -
5 HOA fundraising ideas to boost revenue
It’s the typical budgeting dilemma for community association boards: How do you keep assessment fees manageable and still maintain the community’s operations? -
Best practices to improve HOA financial stability
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. -
How the consumers price index (CPI) can impact 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. -
How to choose the right HOA banking program
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. -
8 tips for creating and enforcing HOA rules
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. -
How to plan an effective association budget for your community
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. -
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. -
Preventing Wildfires: How to protect your home from wildfires
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. -
How to Save with Bulk Buying Strategies
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? -
What is an HOA master insurance policy?
We know that in the same way we protect ourselves, our assets also carry this significance. That is why HOA master insurance policies are essential for your community, as this type of coverage can help you protect more than just your physical assets. -
HOA hurricane preparedness: How can a community prepare for a hurricane?
As a board member of a condominium or homeowners association near the coast, hurricanes are of special concern. But did you know that the best property management company can help you prepare for the season – and even minimize its impact on your community? That makes your property manager more than just a fair weather friend. -
How Your Property Management Company Should Help Your Community after a Major Storm
As communities in Texas and Florida discovered in 2017, hurricanes can be devastating, even if your community takes all the proper precautions to reduce your association’s risk. Read how a property management company should assist your community after a storm passes. -
Hurricanes plans and policies to reduce your association's risk
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.