If you don’t find the answer to your question, please contact us.
Q: How long has Families United been in business?
A: We are a brand new start up company as of October 2010. Some think we are crazy to make this attempt in what is broadly known as one of the worst recession since the Great Depression. We think positively and know we have a positive message about community management. We have 25 combined years of industry experience.
Q. Are your managers credentialed?
A. Yes! The owner has her CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations), AMS (Association Management Specialist) and PCAM (Professional Community Association Manager). The PCAM designation is currently the highest designation available. Nationwide there are less than 2000 managers with this designation.
Q. Will Families United take a community which only would like their “community management” services?
A. Yes! Families United has numerous services which can either be bundled or invested in by a community “a la carte”. Please visit “Our Services” .
Q. We are in the process of obtaining management bids, but we don’t really know how to wade through them. Will Families United assist us in a review and breakdown of the proposals?
A. Yes! If you’ve already sent out RFPs for the next year and we weren’t one of the bidding companies, we would be more than happy to help the board (or sub committee) navigate through this process. Please see “Our Services”.
Q. There was a management company who took a lot of money from several of their clients a couple of years ago. Our community is fearful of this happening. Can Families United “guarantee” our funds will be safe?
A. While there are few real guarantees in life, Families United takes every step we can to ensure your funds are safe. The new generally accepted accounting principals have tightened up a great deal since that incident. Additionally, Virginia has established a fund in the event of such another incident. There are also additional licensing requirements the Commonwealth has placed on management firms to further ensure proper handling of funds. Families United can also set up a check signing process where each check will require two signatures. The board would select the two entities. Generally, you want to select two individuals who would be the lease likely to collude. Usually, a good combination is the President or Treasurer and the Community Manager.
Q. What type of insurance do you have?
A. We require that our employees are bonded. This means our insurance companies conducts a background check on each of our staff. If a staff member fails bonding, we cannot retain them in our hire. We also have fidelity bond insurance. We expect our boards to be engaged in the monthly financial review which is the best way to know every 30 days what is happening.
Q. If we sign up with Families United, what if we are unhappy with the service?
A. This would be an unfortunate turn of events and we want to ensure all of our communities are satisfied. We ask our board members (and also through communication with homeowners) to speak freely to tell us if there is an area which is considered to be not “up to par”. We would ask for a 30 day period to turn that around. If a client was still unhappy, we do understand sometimes personalities simply don’t match and if the relationship is not working out, we would let the client out of the contract with a 30 day notice and chance to correct whatever deficiency.
Q. Will Families United help a community put together a proper operating budget?
A. This is one of the areas where we really shine. We dig deep into what’s going on in the community; what the community wants; what the reserve study says and base our operating budget numbers on what is necessary to operate the community. We put that as task number one. This is important to understand for those boards out there who put the dues amount first. The healthiest method for the Association is to budget for what is needed and whatever the dues end up being, they end up being. It should be recognizable to everyone that costs for every goods and services go up each year. Increases should be therefore expected; but we strive to keep them manageable. We can proudly say, no community ever managed by the Owner has ever had to endure a special assessment. This is due to proper planning.
Q. Do you have 24 hour emergency service?
A. Yes! Just call our main number and you will be given directions to follow to reach a knowledgeable manager to handle your emergency. We do consider emergencies as: fire, downed tree, flood or blood. Towing, pool passes, irritated neighbor problems are not emergencies. Sometimes we will not be able to address the emergency right away – as an example in a thunderstorm, if there is leaking into a condominium, we will not be able to send a roofer out to check the problem until the storm passes. If you do live in a condo, we strongly urge you to get to know your neighbors!
Q. How do you handle an irate homeowner?
A. The first thing to do is understand they are irate for either a real reason or a problem they are experiencing due to something they did and are lashing out. Once you let them vent (we do not tolerate cursing or inappropriate name calling or disrespectful behavior), we then begin to unwind the issue and explain what the problem is – or in the alternative what they need to do. Many times, the answer will not be what they want but by taking the time to explain the “why’s” they are able to leave the issue with a modicum of understanding, even if they don’t like the answer.
Q. What is the most challenging issue homeowner’s associations face today and how do you handle that?
A. At this time, likely the most challenging issues for Homeowner Associations is collections and foreclosures. The best way we’ve found to handle collections is, to the extent possible, get involved with the owner to see if there is a way to work out a payment program. This is only effective of course if the owner is working toward keeping their home. If the owner knows the home is going back to the bank, they are not likely going to be interested in HOA dues as there are likely many other creditors on the totem pole. We then must ensure we have a personal judgment on the owner. Eventually, when they wish to make another large purchase where a loan is involved, the judgment will come up and the Association can collect at that time. The longest running collection matter I had was twelve years. But, we were successful!
Q. What does a management company do and why do we need them?
A. Some governing documents require a community to be professionally managed. The board of directors generally makes a selection of a professional management company by going through a bidding process with several companies in an effort to get the best value for your assessment dollars. A management company assists the board of directors in implementing rules and regulations (and/or their changes), and enforcement of existing deed restrictions (also known as Covenants or Declaration of Covenants Conditions and Restrictions). This is to keep your community looking beautiful and retain property values. Management companies also seek and negotiate proposals for contractual work required in the community such as audits, landscaping, pool management, and other repair issues. They also assist with your annual meetings, elections and organizing of your volunteer communities.
Q. Can I pay my assessments on line?
A. Yes.
Q. What if my trash got missed?
A. You must ensure your trash is put out the night before pick up (sometimes the trucks roll through early) – if you see your neighbor’s trash is already picked up then they’ve already been through the neighborhood. Also, make sure your trash is TRASH! They will not take your trash if it contains items which they will not take (such as paint, grass, landscape trimmings, rocks). You may have a separate day for landscaping pick up. Check your community’s web page for specifics.
Q. How can I set up Direct Debit?
A. Please go to our “Payments & Account History” tab and print off the “ACH Form” as well as the instructions. Please allow at least 3 weeks for the direct debit to kick in. So if, for example, you are doing this during the last half of the month…go ahead and pay the next months’ dues. The bank will begin pulling the dues automatically on the FOLLOWING month.
Q. I’m moving but keeping my home. What should I do?
A. Please advise us in writing by using the “contact us” tab. Let us know your current address and the address you are moving to so that we may update our records and we may be able to still send you any Association-related documents. If you are renting out your home, please send us a copy of the executed lease.
