property maintenance management software

Now you want to do the Property Manager's job for them... My ankles are covered in bites...

Unfortunately, the days are ending for HOA's that are self-managed using less than current technology. I have heard of officers being removed because they are behind the times of more progressive leadership.

There are HOA specific software out there that will run your association about $100.00 a month and cloud based with a web portal for both homeowner and board use. The setup is cumbersome as they is a lot of prep work to make it successful. Then you need the individuals to operate it on a regular basis. That is why most communities hire out a management company to handle it.

A new association takes about a day to initially setup, owners, financials, banks, vendors. The time consuming is the compliance letters and maintenance records to automat the whole process. You have to go through the CCRs, Bylaws and Rules with a fine tooth comb. Who is responsible for what? A roof leaks, who's responsible for the damage inside. You have to do a lot of cut and paste to create compliance letters per state statues. Having to know how the election process works, how many directors, length of their terms, who's up this year, when is the annual meeting.

I do the cut and paste and all the financial stuff. When it comes to composing the language for all the letters, I have someone who know writing better than I do. Want me to write a simple letter, not a chance in hell, work on a billion dollar budget, with my eyes closed. Point is, get together a committee to work on the project, once a decision is made. There is a lot of work, but in the long run, you might like the results.

Tim,

did you create the calendars using any kind of template.

what we.,re trying to get a handle on(working with a like minded board member) ,

do you use one calendar for ongoing property maintenance and another calendar for captial improvements or major renovations?

I spent months researching cmms solutions. Found one. Went through the training, spent hours setting up the back end of the software to make sure the demo for the board would go smoothly. When the demo occurred. the board loved it and approved the expenditure $3500 for a year..
then the pm at the time didn't use it. she claimed the workers didn't want to use it. ..
after she was let go for poor job performance . JB(board member) took over temporarily. He assured the board he would use the software. ( i insisted on that before I would vote to approve hiring him on a temp basis until a replacement was found). He didn't use it.
7 months later. there is still not any written maintenance schedule. short term or long term.
work orders are not being tracked .
Finally the board realizes what i've been saying all along. JB is not performing the duties that the association requires of the PM.

so i'm working with a board member and we're creating spread sheets.

I just know there is a better way. That will allow any board member to log in occasionally and see what is getting done, how long things are taken etc.

yes we are self mananged, we employ an onsite property manager.

we want the property manager to utilize the software for all maintenance schedules and work orders of the association.

I know that.!..

pre-harvey,, we had a well oiled machine. There were schedules and procedures on how maintenance was handled.

I have repeatedly told the board that the old maintenance calendar and procedures can be easily recreated if someone would just look at the old files!.
There is one board member who has continually tried to do things his way instead of the way things have been done for 20 years. On top of that, he hasn't created any procedures or process trail so that anyone else would know what is going on. I have continued to try and warn the board that letting one person have all the control and decision making without having to keep everyone else informed or only informing them on a what he thinks they need to know basis is a recipe for disaster.

As much as he has tried to eliminate me from the picture.(since I was the only board member who recognized the dysfunction of what was going on). I'm still here. I'm not on the board anymore.
However, the majority of the board know I am right. That's why they call me and ask for my input and help on understanding the bylaws, or the property issues . etc.
If my points regarding the lack of procedures or accountability were actually just "ankle biting" as some have suggested, I would have been tuned out a long time ago.

Simply used word - no template.

See attached

Yup. Software changes, computers change and suddenly that database doesnt work. Is anyone a database expert that can fix it? No. Many board members can barely use a computer. Or no one uses it. Specialized databases are over rated. A good level of organization can solve many small association needs without a database.



Same here.

We use:
PDF for document archiving. Scanned files as PDF, saved files as PDF, etc.
Word (Google docs free)
Excel (Google docs free)
Google Calendar (share with board members)
Google Drive (share all PDF, word, excel, etc files as read only with anyone who wants to see them. No more record requests. Find it yourself. Files are easily saved to a thumb drive in case Google drive deletes everything.

All these items are free, and common files that should be able to be opened for decades. Once you stray into other files or databases, they dont age well and wont be able to be opened.