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If you’ve agreed to serve as a board member for your homeowners association (HOA), you may be thinking this is just like any other simple volunteer opportunity. However, there are certain fiduciary responsibilities and protocols that board members should be aware of to help protect the association and their own personal liability. Here we’ve compiled a few fundamental principles that every board member should apply.

Everything is bigger in Texas & sometimes even hurricanes. And during hurricane season, being a board member for a residential community in the Houston area can bring some big challenges, too. To help get you and your community ready and reduce the effects if a hurricane does strike, we've put together six important tips.

Summer time – the perfect season to hit the road, relax, spend time with family and friends, or embark on a new adventure. While you hope your residents have fun on their summer vacations, you also want to make sure that their homes stay safe and they fulfill their responsibilities to the association while away. Whether you live in a condominium, master-planned or single-family community, you want to make sure that your residents prepare their homes in a way that helps protect themselves and the community.

Summertime: It’s the perfect season to hit the road, relax, spend time with family and friends or embark on a new adventure. Although you hope that residents in your community have fun on their summer vacations, you also want to make sure that their homes stay safe and that they continue to fulfill their responsibilities to the association. Whether yours is a condominium, master-planned or single-family community, follow these tips to help your residents prepare their homes in a way that protects it and the community while they are away.

It’s often said that you should never judge a book by its cover. However, the front-line curb appeal of a community can make a difference in the value of every property in a neighborhood. This is one reason current and potential homeowners consider landscaping and common-area maintenance so important.

John Friedrichsen, Senior Vice President & CFO of FirstService Residential parent company FirstService Corporation, is quoted in USA Today about how HOAs benefit from the value-added services provided by leading professional management companies.

At one time or another, every condominium corporation has to spend money on replacing equipment or making major repairs. Whether that means replacing a roof, installing a new ventilation system or any other big-ticket project, they are a necessity. But how should your condo corporation pay for them?

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

It seems innocent, but a surprising number of balcony and backyard fires are unintentionally started by disposal of smoking material in a potted plant or planter box. In a condominium environment this can have, and has had, disastrous consequences. And it's not just a summertime problem.

We can all agree there are many important elements to a housing structure, but your roof is probably the most important. Changing temperatures, snow accumulation, large amounts of rain, ice dams and high winds can all cause major damage to condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes. These harsh weather conditions can create all sorts of problems, from minor leaks to major cave-ins that can cost a condominium corporation thousands to repair.

Learn how to approach pet policies to ensure that they are respectful, safe and compliant with the law.

Learn how to amend your association bylaws, including the practical logistics required to do so.

Learn how to approach pet policies to ensure that they are respectful, safe and compliant with the law.

Learn how to amend your homeowners association governing documents, including the practical logistics required to do so.

Learn more about which Florida HOA laws passed in 2020, and how these new bills will affect your community.

HOA rental restrictions can bring several benefits to a community association if done properly. Here are five steps to follow when adopting HOA rental restrictions successfully.

Is your building prepared for Local Law 152 gas piping inspections? FirstService Residential recommends getting ahead of schedule to avoid unforeseen deficiencies and costly fines.

For New York City co-op and condo boards, virtual annual meetings are the new normal. FirstService Residential is here to help make your transition as seamless as possible.

There are valid reasons to raise assessments, but in some cases, you may be able to go a different route. Here are four strategies to save your HOA money and keep assessments stable.

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:

Are you really getting the best returns on your reserve funds? Most board members aren’t sure. Learn six ways to improve your reserve fund returns.

FirstService Residential has helped boards and building owners save millions of dollars in energy costs, in part, through our Energy Aggregation Purchasing Program.

Around the world, the property and casualty insurance industry experienced record losses from 2016 to 2019, and consumers are now feeling the effects on both a macro and micro scale.