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Your reserve study is important to your financial health, but how do you get one? How do you choose the right reserve study firm to conduct it? Learn more.

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.

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:

Does your association manager have the right tools, resources and support to take your association to the next level?

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.

As strata managers begin their inspection, they note the necessary repairs for winter damage as they make their rounds through the community.

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.

As a homeowner, you want to live in a place that accentuates your style – from a beautiful sense of arrival or exquisitely decorated building lobby, complete with freshly pruned trees and lush landscaping – but unless your strata council has strategically planned out your strata’s budget, you can forget all of that.

It’s that wonderful time of year! Many of us are shopping online to get that perfect gift for our loved ones. And, for those doing last-minute shopping, we don’t want to have to worry that something will go wrong with our deliveries.

Does your association manager have the right tools, resources and support to take your association to the next level?

Strategic capital improvements lead to better property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and their pros and cons.

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

According to Forbes.com, Property Managers are tied for the #2 spot on the list of Happiest Jobs in America. Coincidentally, thanks to our continued growth and success, FSR is currently recruiting for several Property Manager positions. If you’re a quality professional seeking an outstanding career with the industry leader, check out all of our open positions (happiness included).

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.

Given the unprecedented practice of "social distancing," now may be the best time to find the right video conferencing platform for your association.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you’re a recent (or about-to-be) college grad looking for your perfect career fit, here’s a helpful checklist to help you narrow down your choices:

In our guide to capital improvements , reserve studies and their relationship to capital improvements and preventive maintenance were discussed at length.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Like many children, you may have dreamed of becoming a doctor, teacher, firefighter, pilot, basketball player, ballerina or policeman. Maybe you wanted to be a movie actor, astronaut, rock star or even the president. But we’re guessing there are a few professions that probably didn’t make your short list… property manager or community association manager (CAM).

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.