Search

You may take on several responsibilities as an HOA board member, but Human Resources (HR) should not be one of them. In order to avoid employer liability, your board should leave HR responsibilities to a professional community management company.

Let’s face it: Just because you are a member of your homeowners association (HOA) board of directors, doesn’t mean you know everything about running an HOA. The truth is, most board members are not experts; they are simply volunteers who want to do all that they can to ensure that their community continues to be a great place to live.

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't know who to call when an issue in your HOA came up because you live in a sub-association of a master-planned community that has two different community management companies? This is a consistent challenge for many homeowners living in multiple managed communities.

It is always a good idea to evaluate your current HOA management company's performance based on a few key services they provide. After all, the whole point of hiring a professional management company for your homeowners association is to take the daily burden off the board and let the professionals take care of it, right?

This webinar features a lively discussion on how to prevent 3 common budget blunders as well as best practices on reserve funds, budget planning and more.

This webinar features a lively discussion on how to prevent 3 common budget blunders as well as best practices on reserve funds, budget planning and more.

What does it take to make effective board decisions that enhance your community and improve the resident experience?

What does it take to make effective board decisions that enhance your community and improve the resident experience?

Your strata council may not want to think about future expenses given what you need to spend money on today. But eventually, you’ll need to fund the repair or replacement of your building’s big-ticket components. Whether that means replacing the roof, overhauling the elevators or installing a new heating and cooling system, you can’t overlook these projects. So how does your strata plan to pay for them?

Creating your strata corporation’s annual budget is one of your council’s most important jobs. It takes a lot of time and hard work, and it frequently means making tough spending decisions. Strata members often scrutinize it carefully because of how much it impacts the strata as a whole and themselves as individual homeowners. “The budget affects everyone because it’s something that all the owners in the strata are contributing to,” explains Dylan Murray, controller for FirstService Residential in British Columbia. “You can never over communicate about it.”

Are you considering joining your strata council?Here are five traits of the ideal strata council member and if they describe you, then you're ready to join!

Learn about annual maintenance planning for your strata corporation by watching the following video from a recent seminar hosted by FirstService Residential. The seminar was led by guest speakers Sean Ingraham (Managing Broker for FirstService Residential BC) and Gerry McRobert (Senior Regional Director at FirstService Residential BC).

Like changing the oil in your car, regular maintenance on a building helps keeps everything working properly and safely. For stratas, some tasks are not optional, they are mandatory.

As a Strata Council Member, one of your principal responsibilities is stewardship of the Strata Corporation’s finances. And a lot of that boils down to one thing: the annual budget.

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.

A strata management company never wants to find itself in the midst of an emergency, but it can happen anytime and anywhere. Whether you face an outbreak of illness, earthquake, or a flood, the impact of any devastating event can be minimized if your council has prepared for it. No doubt, your council meetings are already chock full of agenda items, but it’s important to make emergency preparedness planning a priority.

On February 18, 2017, the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI) hosted a strata educational seminar on the topic of Human Rights Complaints in Strata Corporations.

Up to 60 percent of strata home owners in the Greater Vancouver Regional District lack insurance. A good policy will protect your biggest asset and help you keep your head above water.

If your community is managed by a strata 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 strata business? “People don’t operate in normal business hours anymore,” says Rolando Hernandez, national customer care director at FirstService Residential. “Residents and council members need to be able to take care of strata business how and when it’s convenient for them.”

In the interest of transforming mystery into a portrait of the industry’s reality, you’re invited to consider (that is, re-consider) these eight myths about property management firms.

How well do homeowners in your strata corporation understand strata maintenance and repair responsibilities? Creating a Responsibility Matrix can ensure everyone knows their role.