Repairs & Maintenance

COVID-19 Impacts: Handling the Jump in Home-Based Businesses

The many domino effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession include not only an increase in the number of people performing their current jobs from home, rather than at an office or other workplace, but also a surge in the number of home-based businesses. With so many people looking to replace lost income,…

3 Headaches Plaguing Associations Today

Managing community associations means dealing with a nonstop carousel of complaints — those that are novel, those that are evergreen and never seem to go away, and those that pop up in new or unexpected ways. Here are some of the issues currently beleaguering association managers across the country. 1. Smoking This classic has gained…

Budgeting in a Time of COVID

We're willing to bet that very few of your clients' budgets are on track for 2020, and figuring out how to adjust and plan for 2021 is complicated. “We’re looking at all those odd pieces, the additional costs associations have borne since March,” says Paul Grucza, director of education and client development at the Seattle-based…

Budgeting for 2021: The COVID-19 Factor(s)

We're willing to bet that very few of your clients' budgets are on track for 2020, and figuring out how to adjust and plan for 2021 is complicated. “We’re looking at all those odd pieces, the additional costs associations have borne since March,” says Paul Grucza, director of education and client development at the Seattle-based…

Contract Re-Bidding Reaps Savings for Your Clients — Just When They Need Them

Nothing can you make you a star in your clients’ eyes like helping them save money. With the economy on the rocks and assessment delinquencies likely in the near future — if they haven’t already hit — the time could be right to reduce expenses by re-bidding some contracts. Community association boards of directors shouldn’t…

Time to Re-Bid? Vendor Contracts Under the Microscope

The economic crisis has shaken the finances of a wide variety of businesses, and the pandemic has changed the service needs of many community associations. Combined, these factors might make this an opportune time for your clients to re-bid some of their vendor contracts. If they do it right, they could save money and help…

Reserve Fund Management Best Practices for Times of Crisis

A public health crisis, a recession, civil unrest — any one of these could lead to financial difficulties for a community association, including a jump in dues deficiencies that threatens reserve funding. But maintaining adequate reserve funds is mandatory in some states and advisable everywhere. Here are some tips for helping your clients manage their…

How to Deal with Hoarders, Part Two: 5 Steps to Take to Tackle Hoarding

In the June 2020 issue of Community Management Association Insider, we explained why owners’ hoarding should matter to their associations and highlighted several red flags for such behavior. Now we dig into just what an association can do in such circumstances. “You need to be very careful with how you approach the situation because of…

How to Combat the Risks of Reopening

When the severity of the coronavirus became apparent this past spring, many community associations responded by shutting down their common area recreational facilities, whether required by governmental order or not. As time has passed and governmental restrictions have been rolled back, they’ve had to figure out how to proceed with their facilities. Making facilities available…

Proceed with Caution: What to Consider When Reopening Facilities

As stay-at-home orders have lifted or at least eased, community associations have faced difficult questions about how to reopen the recreational facilities they shuttered after the coronavirus (COVID-19) hit. And they could find themselves in the same position later this year or next if the expected second wave of the virus materializes. Making facilities available…