Real estate community management is more challenging than one may think. Ensuring that everything is working flawlessly in a property community takes unwavering dedication, commitment, and time—which the property owners’ association may not be able to provide.
With that being said, the executives for these property associations often hire managers to fulfill multiple tasks involved in managing a community property. These can be done through direct employment or by seeking a third-party community management services provider.
Find out how a community management services provider can help property owners in this article.
What Is Community Management?
Like individual real estate property management, community services management entails various administrative, financial, and legal-related functions, to ensure smooth operations and property value retention. Some of these activities will be discussed in the succeeding section.
Community services management ensures that all the terms in the association’s charter and the local regulations are complied with. It also aims to provide the resources and skills necessary for homeowners and non-owner residents to comply with association rules and regulations.
What Does A Community Manager Do?
A property is a big-ticket investment; as such, owners must protect their assets as much as possible. When moving to a new community, property investors may become members of homeowners associations or condominium owners’ associations. They may be introduced to the community association manager.
A community manager works for these associations and is tasked to manage the daily operations of community property. These include the facilities that association members use or have access to. Community association managers help bridge the gap between the Board of Directors and property owners and residents. In some cases, they can provide valuable advice to association executives concerning maintenance, compliance, and reporting. They also serve as the focal point for all third-party contractors, streamlining all maintenance, repair, and other works.
3 Main Benefits Of Community Management Services
Whether composed of an individual or a team, real estate managers or community association managers from third-party service provider Trestle and similar firms can perform the following tasks:
- Protecting The Property and Retain Its Value
Managing a community may look easy, but it’s not. There are things to do every day, which include any or most of these activities.
- Writing and updating community rules and regulations
- Keeping individual and association records of all property-related activities
- Screening and meeting all interested and potential tenants
- Discussing the property association’s rules and regulations to potential and new clients
- Conducting daily inspections to the entire property, including its amenities
- Arranging repairs and new construction works
- Monitoring the status of the property, including lease contracts
- Updating community payments, including taxes, insurance
- Allocating funds for maintenance jobs
- Finalizing contracts for third-party services such as landscaping, janitorial, and security services
- Resolving property owners’ complaints and issues, including misunderstanding between and among homeowners
- Correcting violations to community rules and domestic laws
Performing the administrative tasks mentioned above helps your association retain or increase property value. These activities can also ensure that the systems are working well according to the association’s mandate.
- Helping Improve Property Governance
It can be highly challenging to manage properties without proper communication. It’s the community managers’ responsibility to make sure all members are aware of any changes by posting announcements and amendments to the rules through the following:
- Facilitating assembly meetings and informing all concerned parties
- Managing and updating a portal or site for homeowners
- Making individual and association accounts accessible, whether online or in-person
- Replying to questions and concerns raised by the members
- Make sure that agreement updates are communicated to property owners and executed properly
- Ensuring Legal and Financial Compliance
Apart from their responsibilities to homeowners, property associations also have financial and legal obligations. Thus, members have to be aware of the provisions in real estate laws that impact the property. Additionally, they should be able to monitor the financial soundness of the organization. Community services management providers can do these on the association’s behalf:
- Preparing and managing annual budgets
- Creating financial reports and balance sheets
- Keeping up-to-date records of income and expenditures
- Collecting monthly community association fees
- Fixing payment issues
- Keeping and requesting copies of bank statements
- Ensuring compliance with specific laws such as anti-discrimination laws, the Federal Fair Housing Amendment Act, the local building code, and local fair housing regulations.
- Hiring real estate lawyers and referring members to these professionals
The Bottom Line
Community services management enables efficiency in multiple aspects of residential, commercial, or industrial property care. As such, community association managers’ core responsibilities include property maintenance, supervision, and enhancements.
Depending on their needs and requirements, a property association can either outsource some or all of its responsibilities to a community services management provider. Regardless, hiring an experienced one is key to the success of the association.
