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Over the past few years, numerous associations have seen an increase in the number of members defaulting on their mortgages and not paying their association fees. As a result, some of these associations have had to cut back on services and amenities that attracted their members to a community lifestyle in the first place. That’s because if even a few members don’t pay their assessments on time an association can face serious financial problems.

Working with your association’s board, fielding member concerns, and overseeing your own staff can take up a lot of your time. Occasionally, you may get hung up on handling major issues that become important to the community, too. But prioritizing day-to-day maintenance is crucial, no matter how busy you are. Preventative maintenance can save you time and the association money later by eliminating the risk of having to replace major items if they’ve deteriorated because of a lack of maintenance.

In the October 2012 issue, we described ways to boost employee productivity (see “Implement ‘Workplace-Improvement Program’ to Increase Employee Productivity”). A recent study shows that this type of initiative is more important than ever. A new Global Workforce Study by global human resources consultant Towers Watson found that almost 63 percent of U.S. workers aren’t “fully engaged” in their work. Moreover, these employees say that they’re struggling to cope with work situations that don’t provide sufficient support.

Community Associations Institute (CAI) recently commended the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for issuing new guidelines that will provide more opportunities for homebuyers and sellers and greater stability for condominium communities. CAI has pressed FHA to revise rules that determine if a condominium community meets certain guidelines that enable buyers to obtain FHA-insured mortgage loans. FHA is the only source of low down payment mortgages that many borrowers use to become first-time homeowners. For many Americans, condos are often the first step in homeownership.

If the community you manage is considering setting an “acceleration” policy to cut down on the number of delinquent monthly assessments, make sure you know how it works.

Managing your community can be challenging even when things go smoothly and you have the help of competent staff members who are focused on doing their job responsibilities well. Failing to engage employees in activities outside of their day-to-day tasks may, at the very least, leave them unmotivated to do their best work and ambivalent about improving the community; at the worst, it can lead to resentfulness that they’re stuck in the same role without feeling like they’re part of the association.

Q: The association I manage has a general liability insurance policy. Is this enough to protect the association board members from lawsuits, or should I consider additional insurance?

Sometimes, to comply with the law, association boards must be restructured. If you find yourself in the position of having to deliver the news and help with the restructure, you could be faced with accusations by board members that you’re improperly trying to oust them for your own motives. For example, if you’ve had difficulty working with the current board members, they could assume that you’d like to replace them with members who will be more accommodating. The laws that apply to condo association and HOA board term limits vary from state to state.