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Selecting Your Reserve Study Firm: Seven Essential Steps
Your reserve study gives you the power to maintain the quality of your community by allowing for projects that are both necessary and potentially expensive. Establishing this fund can get a little complex. But you don’t have to be a fortune teller to read the future of your association. You simply need a good reserve study firm to help. Here’s how you can find one. -
HOA Budget: Seven Best Practices for HOA Budgeting
Creating your HOA budget involves many considerations. It’s not simply a month-to-month accounting for expenses. Ideally, it’s a both a short-term and long-term blueprint for sustained financial health. Offset rising costs and high interest rates with these 7 HOA budgeting tips. -
Six Simple HOA Board Meeting Rules for Success
A great board meeting should have a balance of diverse opinions and discussions that are rooted in your community’s overall vision. Start with these 6 simple HOA board meeting rules. -
3 Strategies to Keep HOA Assessments Stable and Add Value
There are often good reasons to raise assessments, but in some cases, you may be able to take a different route. Here are three strategies to help save your HOA money and keep assessments stable. -
Tips for Eco-Friendly High-Rise Living
Eco friendly high-rise initiatives are not only good for the environment, but can be green for your association budget. How does close to $50,000 in annual savings sound? Here are suggestions you can implement for little to no cost. -
How to run an HOA: 10 habits to improve your community association
While the start of the new year is typically heralded as the best time to change old habits and commit to new ones, the reality for community associations and their board members is that there’s no time like the present. These 10 changes will help you get your board and your community association on the right track for the rest of the year. -
10 things community board members must know to manage HOA pools
Many people want to live in a community that has a swimming pool, and if there’s one in yours, you know what kind of value it brings. While it’s great to think of all those hot days when you and your neighbors can enjoy an afternoon in the water, with it comes many responsibilities community association board members must adhere to that go beyond staying cool or keeping in shape. -
HOA financial management: Tips for greater financial strength
So what’s the most important aspect of your community? Is it aesthetics? Sense of belonging? Neighbors knowing neighbors? Desirability to home buyers? -
12 things to know about HOA board of directors insurance
Are you an insurance expert? Unless you sell it, the answer is probably “no.” But if you’re a member of your HOA’s Board of Directors, it’s a really smart idea to have a basic understanding of the policy that protects your association from liability. -
How to find a good insurance agent: 15 things to consider
You’re a member of your community association’s board, and it’s time to review your current insurance policies and providers. While it may be tempting to maintain your current relationship, you may find that significant savings can be found when you shop around. -
Planning your community budget: 6 tips to follow
Experienced property managers have created countless budgets, and they’re familiar with the best practices entailed in creating one that helps your community accomplish its goals. So to help you get started, here are six community budget basics you can follow. -
Tips to improve community awareness in your HOA
There’s a big difference between being a busybody and having a general awareness of your neighbors’ regular activities. Knowing their routines enables you to quickly realize when something is awry, especially for residents who live alone. And in a true emergency, that awareness could literally save a life. -
Property management tips for board members
Whether you’re a new or current board member, you can avoid major issues and make your term more fruitful, rewarding and, above all, effective by following these 9 tips for board members. -
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. -
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. -
What to know about installing community EV charging stations
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. -
FirstService Residential is Growing and Hiring; Positions Include Property Managers, #2 Happiest Job
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). -
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. -
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. -
Four Ways to Increase Value by Decreasing Energy Use
Of all the expenses you encounter as a homeowner, community or condo association, energy ranks toward the top of the list. Many of us see this as a given. We need lights. We need heating and cooling. We need to warm our water and prepare our food. And while the necessity of energy use will never change, how much we pay for it, and how much we need, can. -
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.