Service Details
Collections
Both our Full-Service and Accounting-Only clients appreciate the value-added collection efforts we pursue. Again, communication is key. We encourage it every step of the way and provide ample opportunities for Owners to resolve delinquent balances. It starts with billing statements, due date reminders, and emails providing multiple ways to pay assessments. When unpaid, we communicate. Letters, statements, and emails remind Owners of their obligations and invite them to contact us to discuss options available to them. If they have financial difficulty, we encourage payment plans and payment arrangements. We make every effort possible to help Homeowners avoid collection action and the added expense of liens, judgments, garnishments, and even foreclosure. Our office does NOT charge the Association extra for these efforts – only the cost of paper, envelopes, and postage. We do not benefit from Associations having a long list of Accounts Receivable. When necessary, we can file liens on the Associations behalf and work with Attorneys that have been tremendously successful in collecting for our clients.
Compliance
HOA’s have rules, regulations, and restrictions that govern the actions and maintenance standards of a community. Sometimes they are lacking specifics and don’t do a great job at setting expectations. We can always help develop policies that will improve compliance and the overall aesthetics of the community. But we can also help enforce what you have. As a neutral third party, we can conduct monthly site visits and monitor conditions of common areas (making sure that the landscapers are fulfilling their duties; identify risk hazards; make recommendations for improvements, etc.) We will also address existing violations opening and monitoring records. Issues like weeds, lawn conditions, moss on rooftops, painting needed, parking, modifications completed without approval, pet waste, trash bin storage, etc. can all be addressed with letters and communications issued to Owners, Residents, and Property Managers. Reminders turn into notices and unresolved issues result in fines for non-compliance in accordance with established enforcement policies.
We help the community find solutions to its most common problems. Sometimes resolution is best achieved by offering group discount services (like painting, pressure washing, etc.), educational workshops, or through contests and incentives.
Compliance is included with full-service management and can be added to Accounting-only packages as much as may be needed.
Meetings
Your community manager will meet with the Board and attend membership meetings, like the Annual Meetings with Elections and Budget Ratification meetings that are required by state statute. Sometimes the membership meetings are combined into one, other times held separately. Our staff will ensure that your meeting notices are adhering to timelines established by your governing documents and RCW’s.
Board Meetings have most commonly been held via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic and due to restrictions on gathering sizes. We have found them to be successful and even allowing more members to join, listen and observe in those open meetings. We typically prepare an agenda with the business items that we need to keep things moving forward and incorporate any Board requests. We build meeting packets for the Board and present the materials on a shared screen or PowerPoint presentation. We’ll include management reports, bids and proposals, and any supporting documentation you’ll need to make decisions. We have templates to help Secretary’s prepare appropriate and timely Meeting Minutes.
We will help the Board run smooth and successful Membership Meetings, even via Zoom. We do offer creative ways to achieve quorum and get Owners to participate so that you are not stuck with having to reschedule or conduct business via ballots with additional costs.
Budgeting
We develop recommended budgets for our communities and review them with the Board a few months before the end of their fiscal year. We rely on historical data, trends in the industry, Reserve Study recommendations, goals that have been established, and anticipated needs of the community to prepare a balanced budget that will be sufficient for an Association to meets its financial obligations and fund adequately for future major repairs and replacements. At Board Meetings, we offer Powerpoint Presentations to explain the budget in detail and answer homeowner questions.
Architectural Control (ACC)
Our office will process all incoming requests for exterior modifications. The CC&R’s usually establish an Architectural Control Committee which is the Board by default, unless a committee is established. Decision-making committees must have at least 2 Board Members on the committee if given authority to approve or disapprove requests. Design guidelines can help the Board or ACC Committee make decisions that are fair and consistent. We will work with the Owners to provide details needed, with the Board to evaluate specifics and notify the homeowners of the Board decision.
Disclosures for Sellers/Buyers
Our office will be responsible for providing official payoff totals, disclosures, documents, and completing questionnaires on behalf of the community association when a property is being sold or Owners are refinancing their mortgages. We provide timely responses and pass all costs to these services onto the benefiting parties, not onto the Association.
When an escrow company is requesting a statement of account or demand statement, it is the Associations opportunity to report accurate totals due on any outstanding or upcoming assessments. Failure to respond in a timely manner or omitting important information can impact the Associations ability to collect delinquent assessments.
Maintenance of Common Areas
Whether it is regular and routine, like landscaping, infrequent like paint stripping, or urgent and unexpected like fallen trees or fence panels, we’ll work directly with the vendors and contractors to ensure that the common elements are well taken care of. We will review contracts, verify insurance and collect estimates for Board consideration. We rely on Reserve Studies to help the Board plan for major projects – like replacing playground equipment or fences, seal coating and crack fill repairs on private roadways, painting, roof replacement on condos, gate equipment, etc. Funding properly for upkeep is crucial. Deferred maintenance can lead to special assessments, discontent with homeowners, and negatively impact property values.
Communication and Transparency
We understand how important it is for the Board to have a full understanding of the Association’s finances, maintenance needs, and to consider homeowner feedback so that decisions can be made in the Associations best interest. We provide the Board with detailed monthly reports and provide a website portal for homeowners to view financial summaries, meeting minutes, governing documents, etc. We encourage communities to invite homeowners to participate in meetings via Zoom. Engaging members has so many benefits; a better understanding of how Associations work, why decisions are made, factors the Board has to consider… and those members eventually become volunteers and Board Members themselves.