Articles

Aside from paint colors, maintenance, or hotly contested board elections, planned communities in various parts of Florida have an additional concern compared to those that are land-locked: rising sea levels.

A Florida homeowners association cut down two palm trees to remove a pro-Donald Trump campaign sign after a homeowner refused to take it down. After the sign was removed and the trees were cut down, the homeowner responded by hanging additional signs and Trump flags on his home.

A law allowing political signs in planned communities has come as a surprise to some Columbia, Mo., homeowners living in neighborhoods run by associations. The law prohibits bans on political yard signs, which is in sharp contrast to widely accepted sign bans.

Now, members of associations are calling community managers to inform them of the legislation so they can post signs.

A Florida homeowners association has sued a mayoral candidate, accusing him of authorizing a company to perform maintenance projects in the community, setting the prices, and then receiving kickbacks from the company while he served on a landscaping committee as part of his tenure on the association board.

Associations, whether large or small, depend heavily on money to operate. Every aspect of keeping a community safe and running smoothly has a cost associated with it. Too often, associations make the news for negative financial reasons—fraud, bankruptcy, or other shortfalls that disrupt the community. However, an association that’s being run effectively combined with a strong local economy could have more money than expected. That’s great news for the association, but it creates the question of how that budgetary surplus should be used.

If the board of directors of the community association you manage has the authority to approve or deny proposed leasing and sales transactions, you might be wondering whether, if there is a denial, you should disclose the reasons behind it. And, if so, what is the best way.

One of the major draws of association living is the aesthetics of the community—specifically, the ability to compel owners to keep their properties well maintained. But, unfortunately, in your management of a planned community, you’ll have to deal with owners who don’t follow architectural review board guidelines or don’t keep up their properties with proper maintenance. There may be pressure from the board or homeowners to crack down on violations.

Associations, whether large or small, depend heavily on money to operate. Every aspect of keeping a community safe and running smoothly has a cost associated with it. Too often, associations make the news for negative financial reasons—fraud, bankruptcy, or other shortfalls that disrupt the community. However, an association that’s being run effectively combined with a strong local economy could have more money than expected. That’s great news for the association, but it creates the question of how that budgetary surplus should be used.

Keeping track of finances is an integral part of running a community association. There’s typically a regular flow of money being collected and paid out on a day-to-day basis in order to ensure continuous operations. But, although dealing with cash can be overwhelming, it’s crucial not to take shortcuts with the association’s cash management procedures. One common mistake that associations make is having the same person who prepares the checks also doing the books. That arrangement makes it difficult to tell if someone is embezzling from the association.

With so many things in an association-run community depending on cash flow, one of a manager’s most important duties is to carefully watch costs. But there are so many other aspects of managing a community—such as hiring and training staff, keeping on top of maintenance, and fielding member requests and complaints—that you might be tempted to spend less time on keeping track of contractor costs.