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Difficult Residents: Good Communication Makes All the Difference
May 17, 2018Every community has at least one. You know who they are: the squeaky wheels, the complainers, the busybodies. Difficult residents are a fact of community life. -
Washington DC HOA fire safety
A guide to Washington DC community association fire safety
Apr 03, 2018Part of your job as a board member is ensuring the safety of residents in your community association. To that end, it’s important to educate homeowners about possible fire risks and the steps they can take to prevent fire hazards in their homes. Chances are that fire safety isn’t top of mind for residents. However, home fires are more common than most people realize. -
Your associations guide to DC emotional support animals and service dogs
Feb 20, 2018Service dogs and comfort animals help individuals with disabilities enjoy a greater quality of life. And it’s up to all of us – including condo associations – to ensure they have equal access to the amenities and services all of us should enjoy. -
What Does Your Association Board Want in a Community Management Company?
What Does Your Association Board Want in a Community Management Company?
Oct 27, 2017As part of your responsibility to preserve, protect and enhance your community association, you may choose to bring in a professional property management company. Professional management can provide a depth of resources that you may not have access to otherwise, can help you optimize your budget while improving your residents’ lifestyles and more.
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What Are the Qualities of an Effective Board Treasurer?
What Are the Qualities of an Effective Board Treasurer?
Aug 18, 2017The board members of your community association serve many important leadership functions. Although they may have diverse backgrounds and skill sets, they are all committed to the common goal of bettering your community association, taking actions that ensure its financial health, enhancing property values and improving the lifestyles of the residents. What can happen if you don’t have an effective board treasurer?
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Choosing the Right Banking Program for your Community Association
Choosing the Right Banking Program for your Community Association
Aug 14, 2017As a community association board member, one of your chief responsibilities is to protect the financial interests of your association and your fellow residents. That includes making sure that the association’s reserve and operating funds are carefully managed, protected and invested. Smart decision-making and sound financial stewardship are critical to the association’s long-term financial stability and health. Unfortunately, even the best-intentioned board members may not have the experience or financial knowledge to choose the right banking programs and products to meet their community association’s needs. What should you look for when choosing the best banking program for your association? Read on… -
Five Steps You Can Take to Maintain Your HOA’s Financial Fitness
Aug 11, 2017The principles to fiscal fitness and physical fitness aren’t that different: Don’t overindulge. Make smart choices. Keeping your community association’s finances healthy requires care and exercising good judgment. Follow our tips to help you do that.
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Seven Essential Financial Best Practices for Your Community Association
Seven Essential Financial Best Practices for Your Community Association
Aug 11, 2017Community associations can be wonderful. They have amenities that otherwise might not be so close to home, like a community pool, fitness center, golf course or riding trails. Being part of a managed community often means having shared interests with your neighbors, imparting a sense of community that isn’t easy to achieve in an ever-transient world. It means that everyone abides by the same high aesthetic standards. But none of that happens without stable finances, including a balanced budget and a well-funded reserve.
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Is Your Community Staffed Adequately?
Aug 10, 2017Staffing your community association is both an art and a science. Your community’s culture and lifestyle are supported by the staff you choose, and it’s important to make sure that you’ve got the right people in the right positions, and enough of them. Properly staffing your community goes far beyond having people to answer the phone and handle packages or keep the pool clean and tidy. -
How to More Easily Complete Your Next Association Budget
Jul 31, 2017Budgeting can be tough. It involves looking at priorities and the needs and wants of your community, the money coming in and going out and making it all balance. Crafting a responsible, effective budget is one of the primary ways that community association board members fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to the community. Planning ahead and knowing what’s expected will help make the process painless and smooth! Read on for more advice on how to best complete you next annual association budget.