Owning a condo can be a wonderful thing. It offers a nice, lovely residence without the hassle of needing to clean up/maintain the building or take care of doing any kind of yard work. After all, who has time to mow the grass every other day or pull weeds during the summertime? But part of living in a condo sometimes involves becoming part of the local homeowners organization, and eventually taking on a leadership role within the organization. Managing such an organization is challenging and using automated management software is one of the best ways to stay on target and keep everything in good order. Here's how:

 

Ownership Management

 

Owning a condo offers a pretty flexible and unique wedding situation. You typically get all the benefits of owning a home with several additional amenities included. When it comes to managing a community, however, tracking ownership becomes quite important. In most associations, only an owner of record can serve on the board. That, and you generally want to know who the people in your neighborhood are to foster a better sense of community. One of the clear benefits of any kind of management software is being able to track ownership. This extends to multiple owners of different condos and changes of ownership. Using these tools, it is easier to track changes in ownership, assess any fees related to those changes, and ensure that only owners of records are elected to the board.

 

Visibility and Open Communication

 

In this sense, visibility merely refers to keeping track of what's going on within your development. Every planned unit development, condo community, and HOA has its own bylaws and rules/regulations. Every member of the community is bound by following these for the purpose of maintaining the community itself. Whether it's through maintenance requests, dues being paid on time, or other communications about the community that come your way, you need a way to stay on top of things. Software allows you to get a clear picture of what's going on within your community, allows community members to voice their concerns, and lets them interact with management on a personal level. This way, you can improve customer satisfaction without generating more problems down the road.

 

Automation

 

When it comes to running any business, automation is the name of the game. It's the single best way to keep track of a large variety of essential items – especially when your team is a little on the small side. Using powerful condo and HOA management software is a good solution to streamlining to managing your development. Not only does it automate all the vital functions of the board, such as revenue collection, it also allows you to generate reports quickly, analyze profitability, assess the budget, and more. It's a comprehensive solution to a great deal of management problems and could benefit any community regardless of size or geographic location. Through automated reports, you can get an idea of different types of unit activity and assess or analyze the data accordingly.

 

Revenue Collection

 

Dues, maintenance fees, special assessments, and budgeting are all essential parts of managing a community. Fees will cover various fun amenities like swimming pools, tennis courts, and maybe even a clubhouse. But they're also important for essential services like landscaping, maintenance, utilities, and disposal. The board will need to determine if dues are paid monthly, quarterly, annually. You also need to determine and set fee amounts. Accomplishing this is much easier when you can use budgeting software to figure out how much you're going to need to get from each homeowner in order for you to smoothly run the operation. Collecting fees is also easier with automation simply because it allows homeowners to pay online, get the receipts and view previous transactions, and give you a quick look at the community's financial health at a glance. This includes special calculations, generating financial statements, having access to an easy-to-use platform any time of the day.

 

Maintenance

 

 

One of the better aspects of living in a condo is having maintenance performed by contractors through the HOA. The maintenance fees submitted each month by members of the association are pooled to cover the costs of typical condo maintenance, typically as they're outlined by the association's by-laws. This might be landscaping or snow removal one month or building repairs following a storm. These fees also cover trash services, exterior building maintenance (like painting and basic repairs), and any unexpected emergencies that come up. Keeping track of these services, what specifically applies to your homes, and hiring vendors to complete the tasks all falls under management's umbrella of responsibility. HOA management software can help you find reputable vendors, set up bids, and get them out quickly to address repairs promptly. This doesn't just keep things looking good, it actively fosters good relationships with other community members and helps build a pool of reputable vendors for their projects.

Author

  1. avatar
    Homesgofast com

    Homesgofast.com is an international real estate portal and news source for Google news. Publishing international real estate, finance, homes and travel-related news and blogs for a targeted audience since 2002. Each news item is circulated to thousands of potential readers each day and is also available to the millions of people who sign up for Google news alerts. Find homes offered for sale and to rent direct from owners and some of the best real estate agents from over 35 countries