A Checklist To Get Your Community Ready
Summer break is coming to an end and the community kiddos are getting ready to go back to school! We have compiled a list to help you get prepared for the coming school year.
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
Why and How to Keep your Resume Current and Professional Part 2 By Julie Adamen
Why and How to Keep your Resume Current and Professional Part 2
By Julie Adamen
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We know we do a lot as managers, but how to explain it on a resume without it being a litany of rote tasks (“take minutes” “perform walk-throughs”)? Quantify your responsibilities in real terms to a prospective employer or supervisor by focusing more on the big things and less on the weeds. A well-executed resume for community managers should include these “big” items:
Total budget responsibilities. Add up the budgets for all the accounts you manage. These are your total budget responsibilities. If you head a department, or supervise other managers, include those numbers as well. Continue reading
Parking Rules For Communities and Condos
One of the things that prospective buyers often forget to consider when they go looking for a new home is whether or not the condo or community they want to move into places restrictions on parking. Parking restrictions are some of the most common rules that HOAs adopt, and are also some of the most violated. Here’s a brief look at what some of the reasons for HOA parking restrictions are, and why they exist.
Common Parking Rules
One of the most common parking rules adopted by HOAs is placing a cap on the number of cars per home that can be parked on community grounds. The reason for this is pretty self-explanatory: many communities are suffering from a lack of parking space. Especially when it comes to condos, there may not be enough available parking spaces for each home to have more than one or two cars, and adopting a cap makes the distribution of the parking spaces that are available more equitable.
Another common parking rule that often goes along with parking space caps is limiting the use of guest spaces. Condo units that have a few extra spaces for guests often restrict the amount of time that each resident can have guests using them. Again, this is done in the name of fairness; it allows everyone who lives in the building to make use of the spots without allowing a few residents to monopolize them.
Other Parking Rules
Some other rules that are often adopted by HOAs include: not allowing residents to park overnight in driveways, restricting parking on the street, restricting the washing or repairing of cars on the property, and disallowing oversized vehicles. These types of rules are adopted both out of concerns about space, and to maintain the neighborhood’s attractiveness and cleanliness. Because the general atmosphere of its community is one of the HOA’s concerns, they will often create these sorts of rules to keep the neighborhood clean and pleasant to live in.
HOAs often adopt other types of parking rules depending on their neighborhood’s particular area and situation. What kind of parking restrictions, if any, does your neighborhood have? Do you feel that they are effective? Let us know in the comments!
Parking rules can easily be posted onto your AssociationVoice website. Click here for more information.
The Craziest HOA Violations
People like to complain about rules. It’s in our nature. Rules placed on us that are at most inconvenient, or a little unfair, turn into grave injustices in our own minds. If you live in an HOA, it’s likely that you’ve either been warned about a rules violation, or have a neighbor who has. In the unlikely event that everyone in your neighborhood obeys all the rules, it’s at least likely that you’ve grumbled to one another about one or two that feel particularly ridiculous.
As bad as we like to imagine we have it, some HOAs take rules above and beyond “inconvenient” into “absurd.” Below the break, we’ve got a list of some of the most absurd rules that HOAs have fined or punished residents for breaking.
Craziest Rules Violations Ever
- In the unlikely event that a plane crashes into your neighbor’s house and kills his wife and infant child, you’d have some sympathy, right? A man in Florida found himself in this situation, and discovered that his HOA was quick to take action after the accident … by slapping him with a rules violation because the shingles didn’t match while he repaired his roof.
- If you live in Florida, you know that hurricane shutters are an absolute necessity for protecting homes during storms. Apparently, a few HOA boards didn’t get the memo on that one; several of them classify hurricane shutters as “eyesores” and will fine residents for having them on their houses.
- They say it takes a village to raise a child. In the case of one retirement community, it turns out it takes a village to drive a child away. After an elderly couple’s drug addicted daughter was ruled unfit to care for their six-year-old grandchild, the couple took the young girl in since she had nowhere to go. Their retirement community responded to this act of kindness by trying to force the girl out, and then by suing the grandparents when they couldn’t sell their home fast enough.
Still Think Your HOA’s Rules Are Bad?
Unless you’re unfortunate enough to live in one of the communities mentioned above, you’re probably feeling a bit better about the HOA where you live. For those poor souls stuck in those neighborhoods, let’s hope those HOAs aren’t also the same ones that sue their residents for posting “For Sale” signs in their yards.
Share your craziest HOA violation Story with us on our Facebook page!
Yes or No to Background Checks on Board Members?
While laws vary state by state, there is a general rule that an HOA can set restrictions on who may or may not serve as a board member. As long as the restrictions do not discriminate by race, class, gender, etc. and are applied equally to all candidates and members, it is perfectly within an HOA’s rights to formally adopt its own set of rules preventing certain people from being able to serve on the board. Continue reading
Fannie Mae To Pay Condo Association
In May of this year, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) was ordered on appeal to pay a Florida community association nearly $100,000 plus costs and attorney’s fees. The ruling stems from a suit involving a foreclosed condo, past due association fees, and how the mortgage giant came into possession of the property. Continue reading
How to Select Which Floor to Live on in a High Rise Building
If you’re considering moving into an apartment or condo in a high rise, you’ve probably wondered which floor you would most like to live on. For some people, the floor height of their new home is one of the strictest requirements, while others are more flexible. If you’re not sure what living on each high rise level is like, this article will help educate you and help you find the right high rise living space for you. Continue reading
5 Tips for Effective Risk Management
In the world of property management, risk management entails two different types of risk: risk to property, and risk to people on that property. Protecting both is a highly important part of every property manager’s job. For that reason, we’ve compiled a list of five helpful risk management tips for property managers. Continue reading
Keep Your Lawn Green Without Breaking The Bank
Keeping the lawn green is a challenge that has vexed homeowners for generations. There have been countless hours spent sweating, fretting, and worrying about how to get a perfectly green lawn, and yet many still can’t seem to get it right. For everyone who has ever worried about how to keep their lawn healthy and thriving, we’ve put together some helpful tips to successfully (and cheaply) conquer the battle of the lawn. Continue reading