Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019
SITUATION
When FirstService Residential took over the association management of a condominium, staffing and poor communication regarding collections on past due accounts were two major reasons behind the push for a change. In total, the association had an outstanding assessment balance of $96,316.50.
- Over $85,000 was more than 90 days past due.
- Although the association had a collection policy in place, it was extremely vague.
- The policy was not being communicated clearly to residents.
- It had not been applied to the association’s accounting practices to enforce timely payments or to collect on delinquent accounts.
- The uncollected assessments were significantly impacting the financial security of the association.
SOLUTION:
- The team at FirstService Residential worked with board members to update the policy. The team then had the task of communicating and implementing the policy in a consistent and effective manner.
- Between November 1, 2015 and November 30, 2016, the FirstService Residential Collections Department managed to decrease the amount of outstanding assessments by 77%, a total of $74,362.21.
- This was accomplished by communicating and enforcing the association’s collection policy and working with residents to bring accounts current.
- In some cases, after several attempts to communicate with the residents, FirstService Residential began enforcing the law. In accordance with the bylaws set forth by the board members, lien foreclosure action was required on significantly delinquent accounts.
OUTCOME
The reduction in delinquencies resulted in an increase in operating funds and allowed the association the ability to move forward with long overdue upgrades.
- The community’s light fixtures in hallways and main corridors were replaced, which lead to yearly savings with the transition to LED bulbs.
- A fresh coat of paint throughout the building to make the building brighter.
- Positioning the association to replace the corridor carpeting in the spring of 2017.