GinaF1 (Florida)
Posts: 7
Posts: 7
Posted:
Dear All,
First, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Second, to make this short and sweet, I am working with a team to start a new rental property and HOA management company in Northern Florida. We are in the process of writing a business plan. I am doing the research and would like to get some feedback from others that are either BOD members, managers, or homeowners that live in an HOA. My team consist of a real estate broker with over 15 years experience in real estate and 7 years of HOA and rental Property Management experience. A certified accountant with 20 years experience as an accountant, she is currently a BOD member but has no formal experience with HOA or rental property management. However, she owns 2 rental properties and manages it herself. I, myself, have a real estate licence and was an agent for 10 years. 5 years ago, I left my career to stay home with my kids, but I am currently a BOD member. So, I think we have a good team to start this company and make it successful. Again, I am writing the business plan and I thought I could use this resource to help me , since all of you are CAMs, Homeowners, BOD members, or just overall interested in the HOA process. Please spare me if your comment is..."Don't do it." I have no desire to have my dreams of owning my own company trampled on and comments like that are nonconstructive. Please note, all answers are greatly appreciated, even crazy, out of reach, or overall "that could never happen." I believe great ideas that may seem unapproachable could be tweaked to achieve the goal.
For Homeowners that have never been on a BOD but are in an HOA that has a management company.
1. How to do contact your HOA manager when you have a problem?
2. Are you satisfied with that way of contact?
3. If you could improve the way you communicate with your manager, what would it be?
4. Does your manager always communicate with your BOD on your issues?
5. How do you know your manager forwarded your concerns?
6. What is the way your HOA communicates with you as a homeowner? Newsletter mailing? a website? only during meetings?
7. In a perfect world, how would the HOA communicate with you? Mailings? Website? meetings?
8. What, if anything, you wished your management company or BOD did that they are currently not doing?
9. What, if anything, do you like that your management company or BOD does?
10. How do you pay your dues? Online, through your management company's website? Through your HOA's website? On your bank's website or send it a check?
11. In a perfect world, the ideal way to pay for my dues would be...
12. Do you feel your BOD or MC (management company) is wasteful? Sending too many letters through the mail, thus costing homeowners printing a mailing fees?
13. What would you do to cut down on waste if you could?
For homeowners that are on or have ever been on the BOD that uses management services.
1. Do you like your MC? (You do not need to provide names)
2. What does your MC do that you like?
3. What does your MC do that you dislike?
4. What could your MC do to improve of those things?
5. How does your BOD get bids? Are the bids in a stack a paper with no direction? Does your manager give you a comparison chart with the information on it to make it easier to compare?
6. If you could change the way bids are presented, what would you do?
7. Do you vote via email in between meeting when a situation comes up that can't wait.
8. Does you manager record those in the next meeting minutes? (I know its the law, but I have seen some not do this)
9. Has your HOA ever interviewed for new MC? If so, why? Because you were unhappy with current MC? Your HOA was self managed?
10. If you interviewed new MC, why did you hire one? The reason you didn't hire one?
11. What made these companies stand out? New technology? Great presentation? ect?
12. What was the turn offs of the companies that you didn't hire? Or possibly, the turn offs of the company you did hire but decided to over look?
13. How are your BOD packets presented to you? Stack of papers? through email to cut down on printing? Other?
14. In a perfect world how would you get your BOD packets?
15. How often does your BOD meet? Once a month? 4 times a year? When needed?
16. In a perfect world, how many times would your BOD meet? More or less than your BOD currently meets?
17. Do you feel your Manager treats your community like they would if they lived there and paid dues?
18. How many times does your manager actually tour the community's common areas to look for things that need to be done?
19. Tours the community for homeowner violations?
20. How does your manager or MC process violations? Through the fining committee? or do violations go to the attorney?
21. In a perfect world, how would you handle violations?
22. Do you feel your MC is worth the fee they charge?
23. What other things does your MC charge for other than the monthly management fee? Do they charge for printing? Postage? Yearly coupons? Estopple certificate? get together packets to send to the attorney?
24. In a perfect world, what would you like to see included in your MC fee that is not already included?
25. Is there things that are included in your MC fee that you feel is a great value and you are glad it is included?
26. What does your HOA do with homes that your HOA has foreclosed due to unpaid dues? If you could change that process, or change the way your hoa handles the property after the foreclosure, what would you do?
27. How are ARB, or ACB request handled? Are you happy with that way? What would you do to change the process to make it better and easier?
Anything else you would like to include about your MC or your Manger. Either things they do well, or not do well.
Questions for those how are licensed Community Assassination Mangers, or have been licensed and no longer a CAM. Or, for anyone that owns or has owned a management company.
1. What would a MC do to attract and retain a good CAM? (This is a general employment question and can be used for general employment with any type of industry) Good pay? good benefits? Up to date technology to make you work easier? Better work hours? To be the manager for only a few communities rather than a lot?
2. How many communities can one manager handle at one time, saying that the communities are all 300 doors?
3. If you could do anything to make your job easier, what would you do and how would you do it?
4. Are you happy with the software your company uses?
5. What could make the software better?
6. How do you communicate with the BOD? Homeowners?
7. Do you feel that this way works? How would you change it?
8. Does your BOD have the ability to contact you while not in the office or on your cell phone?
9. Does the company provide you with either a cell phone or gives you an allowance for business cell phone use? Which one would you prefer? A company issued Cell, or an allowance to pay for a personal phone to be used for business?
10. Are you able to access your email account when you are not in your office? If you can't would you prefer you could? If you can would you prefer you can't?
11. What are things you wished the MC you work for or own would do that they currently do not.
12. What does your MC company do that you like?
13. What does your MC company do that you dislike?
14. How would you change it?
15. Anything else you would like to add...
Thank you all in advance for your help. If you can answer all of these questions, great! If you can only answer one question, any input is appreciated. If you think of something that was not included, I am all ears and I am looking forward to getting an consecutive feed back.
Gina
First, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Second, to make this short and sweet, I am working with a team to start a new rental property and HOA management company in Northern Florida. We are in the process of writing a business plan. I am doing the research and would like to get some feedback from others that are either BOD members, managers, or homeowners that live in an HOA. My team consist of a real estate broker with over 15 years experience in real estate and 7 years of HOA and rental Property Management experience. A certified accountant with 20 years experience as an accountant, she is currently a BOD member but has no formal experience with HOA or rental property management. However, she owns 2 rental properties and manages it herself. I, myself, have a real estate licence and was an agent for 10 years. 5 years ago, I left my career to stay home with my kids, but I am currently a BOD member. So, I think we have a good team to start this company and make it successful. Again, I am writing the business plan and I thought I could use this resource to help me , since all of you are CAMs, Homeowners, BOD members, or just overall interested in the HOA process. Please spare me if your comment is..."Don't do it." I have no desire to have my dreams of owning my own company trampled on and comments like that are nonconstructive. Please note, all answers are greatly appreciated, even crazy, out of reach, or overall "that could never happen." I believe great ideas that may seem unapproachable could be tweaked to achieve the goal.
For Homeowners that have never been on a BOD but are in an HOA that has a management company.
1. How to do contact your HOA manager when you have a problem?
2. Are you satisfied with that way of contact?
3. If you could improve the way you communicate with your manager, what would it be?
4. Does your manager always communicate with your BOD on your issues?
5. How do you know your manager forwarded your concerns?
6. What is the way your HOA communicates with you as a homeowner? Newsletter mailing? a website? only during meetings?
7. In a perfect world, how would the HOA communicate with you? Mailings? Website? meetings?
8. What, if anything, you wished your management company or BOD did that they are currently not doing?
9. What, if anything, do you like that your management company or BOD does?
10. How do you pay your dues? Online, through your management company's website? Through your HOA's website? On your bank's website or send it a check?
11. In a perfect world, the ideal way to pay for my dues would be...
12. Do you feel your BOD or MC (management company) is wasteful? Sending too many letters through the mail, thus costing homeowners printing a mailing fees?
13. What would you do to cut down on waste if you could?
For homeowners that are on or have ever been on the BOD that uses management services.
1. Do you like your MC? (You do not need to provide names)
2. What does your MC do that you like?
3. What does your MC do that you dislike?
4. What could your MC do to improve of those things?
5. How does your BOD get bids? Are the bids in a stack a paper with no direction? Does your manager give you a comparison chart with the information on it to make it easier to compare?
6. If you could change the way bids are presented, what would you do?
7. Do you vote via email in between meeting when a situation comes up that can't wait.
8. Does you manager record those in the next meeting minutes? (I know its the law, but I have seen some not do this)
9. Has your HOA ever interviewed for new MC? If so, why? Because you were unhappy with current MC? Your HOA was self managed?
10. If you interviewed new MC, why did you hire one? The reason you didn't hire one?
11. What made these companies stand out? New technology? Great presentation? ect?
12. What was the turn offs of the companies that you didn't hire? Or possibly, the turn offs of the company you did hire but decided to over look?
13. How are your BOD packets presented to you? Stack of papers? through email to cut down on printing? Other?
14. In a perfect world how would you get your BOD packets?
15. How often does your BOD meet? Once a month? 4 times a year? When needed?
16. In a perfect world, how many times would your BOD meet? More or less than your BOD currently meets?
17. Do you feel your Manager treats your community like they would if they lived there and paid dues?
18. How many times does your manager actually tour the community's common areas to look for things that need to be done?
19. Tours the community for homeowner violations?
20. How does your manager or MC process violations? Through the fining committee? or do violations go to the attorney?
21. In a perfect world, how would you handle violations?
22. Do you feel your MC is worth the fee they charge?
23. What other things does your MC charge for other than the monthly management fee? Do they charge for printing? Postage? Yearly coupons? Estopple certificate? get together packets to send to the attorney?
24. In a perfect world, what would you like to see included in your MC fee that is not already included?
25. Is there things that are included in your MC fee that you feel is a great value and you are glad it is included?
26. What does your HOA do with homes that your HOA has foreclosed due to unpaid dues? If you could change that process, or change the way your hoa handles the property after the foreclosure, what would you do?
27. How are ARB, or ACB request handled? Are you happy with that way? What would you do to change the process to make it better and easier?
Anything else you would like to include about your MC or your Manger. Either things they do well, or not do well.
Questions for those how are licensed Community Assassination Mangers, or have been licensed and no longer a CAM. Or, for anyone that owns or has owned a management company.
1. What would a MC do to attract and retain a good CAM? (This is a general employment question and can be used for general employment with any type of industry) Good pay? good benefits? Up to date technology to make you work easier? Better work hours? To be the manager for only a few communities rather than a lot?
2. How many communities can one manager handle at one time, saying that the communities are all 300 doors?
3. If you could do anything to make your job easier, what would you do and how would you do it?
4. Are you happy with the software your company uses?
5. What could make the software better?
6. How do you communicate with the BOD? Homeowners?
7. Do you feel that this way works? How would you change it?
8. Does your BOD have the ability to contact you while not in the office or on your cell phone?
9. Does the company provide you with either a cell phone or gives you an allowance for business cell phone use? Which one would you prefer? A company issued Cell, or an allowance to pay for a personal phone to be used for business?
10. Are you able to access your email account when you are not in your office? If you can't would you prefer you could? If you can would you prefer you can't?
11. What are things you wished the MC you work for or own would do that they currently do not.
12. What does your MC company do that you like?
13. What does your MC company do that you dislike?
14. How would you change it?
15. Anything else you would like to add...
Thank you all in advance for your help. If you can answer all of these questions, great! If you can only answer one question, any input is appreciated. If you think of something that was not included, I am all ears and I am looking forward to getting an consecutive feed back.
Gina