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Every board of directors needs a great secretary and is required, by law to maintain certain records. The secretary is responsible for maintaining those accurately, including meeting minutes, bylaws and membership records.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. What about the lobby of your building? Here are tips on optimizing your residential building entrance lobby design.

It can be tough to balance festive and tasteful, when it comes to holiday décor. Setting policies for decorating will help maintain peace and goodwill for all within your association.

How well is the board of your community association functioning? Take our board self-assessment to find out.

Learn ways your association can offset the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Board members can become overly burdened and burn out. Working with a quality property management company can help ease board burden. Learn how.

Community spirit is not something that just happens; it requires an association where residents contribute and enhance the living experience of their neighbors.

As the weather heats up and stay-at-home orders surrounding COVID-19 are lifted, it's important to remember the social distancing guidelines in place.

Nothing lasts forever and you need to have a plan to replace major items and systems before their lifespans end. How do you create that plan? Start with a quality reserve study.

Whether your board is dealing with emergency rules or general community policies, here are some things to consider when addressing change in your community.

Do you know what you should expect from your management company during staff transitions?

Are you doing all you can to make sure your self-managed community meets its goals?

As the days and weeks pass, and residents of your condominium or HOA are asked to stay home, it's more important than ever to help your community stay fit and active!

Disputes may arise in your homeowners or condo association. Often times, the parties involved can settle their differences directly with each other, through honest and open communication

The dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke have been highlighted in recent years. Smoking also affects our physical environment by increasing risks of fire and property damage, raising insurance rates and increasing legal liability.

You want your community association to be successful. Do you think about effective board communication as an ingredient in your recipe for success?

Germs are a fact of life. But with the right tools and a common-sense approach, your board and community management can work together to help reduce the spread of any illness – and the right management partner can help. Learn what to ask any community management company you consider.

The distinct roles of the board and manager can shed some light on the ways the board can develop an effective partnership.

If your community is managed by a property management company, you probably have an after-hours number you can call for urgent issues. But what if you simply want to take care of day-to-day association business? “People don’t operate in normal business hours anymore,” says Rolando Hernandez, national customer care director at FirstService Residential. “Residents and board members need to be able to take care of community business how and when it’s convenient for them.”

Being on your association board is not an easy job. No matter what your level of experience, mistakes can happen. Learn the seven common mistakes board members make and what you can do to avoid them.

It’s that time of year again – budget season is upon us. You know the things to consider when creating your budget, but what drives your process? Are you focused on achieving a particular vision for your community? Avoiding conflict in the community? Solely looking to avoid increasing dues?

Security risks increase exponentially during the holiday seasons for high-rise buildings. Many residents travel for the holidays, move to warmer weather during the winter months, or have an influx of guests and family members in and out. These factors make it easy for intruders to make it into the building, especially if there are no procedures in place to track the many people and deliveries in and out of the building.

Whether you face an outbreak of illness, earthquake, or a flood, the impact of any devastating event can be minimized if your board has prepared for it. No doubt, your board meetings are already chock full of agenda items, but it’s important to make emergency preparedness planning a priority.

Follow these best practices for planning communications before, during and after the budget is ratified, to ensure residents are informed and involved.