"To Smoke or Not to Smoke - Clearing the Air"

A potential source of conflict between condominium homeowners is differing positions on “freedom to smoke” vs. “freedom from smoke” inside individual homes.  A Washington condominium association found out the hard way that multiple unit buildings – especially older ones – make this a complex issue to deal with.  In such buildings, it’s often difficult to contain cigarette smoke within a smoker’s unit, no matter how conscientious a smoker is about trying to do so.  Ventilation experts say that in . . . to read more of this article from Ernie Smith, Bales Restoration DKI, click here.

"Taking the Byte out of Community Association Electronic Privacy"

Community associations, like many organizations, have caught the technology wave and are increasing their reliance upon the Internet and other digital media for conducting business.  As more and more of these associations migrate information from paper to electronic bytes, the specter of electronic privacy looms large.  This article offers an overview of electronic privacy issues as they relate to . . . to read more of this article from Daniel Zimberoff, Barker Martin, P.S., click here.

"Walking on Dollars (Saving for Sidewalks)"

Sidewalks provide us the freedom to move freely about our cities and neighborhoods. They are an element of our communities that we take for granted and typically don’t think twice about.  More often than not you will find a sidewalk in front of your property running parallel or perpendicular with the street. What most associations and property owners fail to recognize is the . . . to read more of this article from Stuart Wilkinson, RS, The Reserve Study Group, click here.

"Dealing with the Impact of Foreclosures in a Neighborhood Near You"

Mirror, mirror on the wall where will the next foreclosure in our community fall? Little hints can be found almost like bread crumbs left along the trail that identify which home may be the next to fall into foreclosure or bankruptcy. Tell tale signs like untrimmed grass, weeds in previously groomed flower beds, and a fence gate falling into disrepair begin to appear. In the beginning it is almost unnoticeable but over time an eyesore until finally . . . to read more of this article from Lynn Logan, CMCA, AMS, Washington Business Services, click here.

"Memo to Lender: Please Landscape my Neighbor's Yard!"

The following scenario is becoming more familiar to community associations.  A home in a pleasant residential neighborhood has been abandoned by owners unable or unwilling to continue to make their mortgage payments.  Lenders take months, if not years, to complete the foreclosure process during which time the property becomes an eyesore.  The frustration heightens for a community where lenders take title to a property and then take months or years to get the property re-sold.  It is easy to empathize with frustrated homeowners and communities that try to keep up a neighborhood’s appearance during . . . to read more of this article from Ron Housh, P.S., click here.

"Building Community"

A community association is a business where we are responsible for budgets, rules enforcement, facilities maintenance and other business concerns.  But an association is also comprised of people: owners, renters, the Board members and staff.  These are all people, with families, hopes, dreams and needs.  The business aspect of an association is the skeleton that gives the HOA form and purpose. The people put flesh on the skeleton and bring it to life.  Life is instilled into to read more of this article from Joe Shearer, CMCA, AMS, click here.

"The Benefits of Using a Collection Agency"

When associations or their managers address the issue of delinquent assessments, the use of a collection agency (CA) could yield significant benefits over more traditional methods of collection.  The reason a CA can be more effective stems from the original cause of the delinquency. Since we started collecting two years ago we have identified three primary reasons people do not pay their assessments.  The first is that the debtor (the delinquent homeowner) does not take his or her obligation seriously.  Generally, he or she does not hold the association in high regard.  Consequently, his or her attitude tends to be that the bill will be paid when he or she gets around to paying it.  The second reason some debtors tend to not pay is that . . . to read more of this article from Darron Hay, Assessment Recovery, click here.