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5 steps to create your preventative maintenance schedule
While community preventative maintenance keeps systems running in a way that keeps future problems from happening, predictive maintenance entails using existing data to determine when systems might fail. Creating your community preventative maintenance schedule will help you budget for these occurrences – and eliminate most of those nasty surprises. Here’s how you can do it. -
A guide to community swimming pool resurfacing options
Your pool is a source of fun for all of your community’s residents. Yet when it comes time to resurface it, it can quickly become a source of headaches. Knowing the facts about your pool resurfacing options can help minimize the hassle – and ensure your community enjoys a quality pool experience for years to come. The best decision is an informed decision. An excellent community association management company will be experienced in this area and can weigh in with some really good insight – and make a recommendation for a reliable pool specialist, too. But before you get to that point, you can start with these pros and cons. -
6 essential HOA pool rules to enforce in your community
Summertime is swim time, and for the most part, it’s a plunge into carefree fun. But without the right swimming pool safety practices, your residents and association could be at risk. -
Coronavirus HOA Communications Strategies to Residents
Developing a comprehensive HOA communications strategy during this pandemic will help your board members and management team inform the community in a timely manner. -
COVID-19: Making Virtual Connections in Crisis
Learn how associates, residents and board members are making a difference in their communities with interactive online activities, during COVID-19. -
Understanding common 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? -
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. -
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. -
Understanding virtual board meetings in your HOA and COA
Given the unprecedented practice of "social distancing," now may be the best time to find the right video conferencing platform for your association. -
How to use social media in your association: Building your community
Social media can be a phenomenal marketing and communications tool for your community association! It’s a great way to inform residents, keep them connected and strengthen their loyalty. But you need to put a strategy behind your community’s social media presence. -
How to increase HOA and community volunteerism
Regardless of the size of your community, or where it’s located, there is always one thing that every community association board and committee needs: resident volunteers. Unfortunately, however, volunteers are often a scarce resource. -
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. -
Fall tips for homeowners: Your comprehensive checklist
Whether your HOA is self-managed or professionally managed, getting started on your fall and winter prep will help keep your operations running smoothly as the seasons and temperatures change – and that will keep your residents happy as well. -
Making a Difference One Face Mask at a Time
Learn how associates, residents and board members are making a difference in their communities, one face mask at a time, during the COVID-19 pandemic. -
Three things to know about community maintenance
Whether your community is self-managed or professionally managed, maintenance is a big part of the day-to-day responsibilities. It’s a responsibility that can quickly become overwhelming, especially when you walk in on a Monday morning to a list of what went wrong over the weekend. -
How to handle mold in your association
No one wants to find mold in their home or any association building. Unfortunately, mold is ubiquitous – it’s in the air and in the water, and when given the chance, it spreads like crazy. Learn steps to prevent mold or to have it assessed and properly treated, preserving your buildings and the health of your residents. -
Understanding the duties during property management staffing changes
Sooner or later, most community associations face some kind of management change. If your community has a great manager, you probably want them to stay forever. But how realistic is that? -
Pros and Cons of Do It Yourself Repairs and Maintenance
FirstService Residential's Bill Worrall discusses the hidden costs of DIY maintenance and repairs and provides great insight into how boards can determine what can be done in house and what should be subbed out to appropriate contractors. -
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. -
Fighting mold in your condo or HOA: A step-by-step guide
It’s the scourge of households everywhere: the unsightly, unsanitary, unbecoming sight of mold. But waging war on mold means more than launching a full-scale assault when you see it (though that can be part of the battle plan). Instead, consider a comprehensive strategy – here are some tips to help you get started and steer clear of mold. -
5 energy conservation strategies for community associations
In this article, we delve into the significance of energy conservation within community associations, exploring its benefits and strategies for effective implementation. -
What is a fire hydrant? What to know about community fire hydrants
Aside from knowing to not park next to one, how deep is your knowledge of fire hydrants? Unless you’re a firefighter, it’s probably not that extensive. This may not be a problem... until the unthinkable happens and you need to be confident that your fire hydrants are in good working order. But like any equipment in your community, fire hydrants need to be maintained.