We can provide you with a full community management package; or if you are one of those communities which are struggling right now due to 2010’s giant unexpected snow storms and related expenses, we can tailor an affordable program to get you through the tough times until you are ready for a full management package.
- Financial
- Management
- Mediation
- Community inspections
- Property inspections
- Staff oversight
- Board meeting attendance
- Minutes
Financials
Tired of getting your financials late? Tired of getting your financials wrong? We can handle your A/P and A/R. This would include issuance of your coupons (we would require your APPROVED budget no later than December 10 so that we could make sure to have them ordered and mailed on time!), payment of your invoices, deposits to your reserves, receivables of dues, getting your year end financial information to your auditor in a timely fashion.
See samples of some of our financial reports. Specific or custom finance reporting requirements can be provided:
Net Income Statement
Proforma
Annual Budget Pie Chart
Balance Sheet
Comparative Revenue and Expense Statement
Expense Distribution
Management
This is the full-on service package. We will handle your A/P and A/R. If you have on-site offices, we will provide the staff. If you do not have on site offices, we will assign a professional and trained community manager who will handle your day to day community management activities acting at the direction of the board of directors including draft budget preparation. He or she will handle contract negotiations and ensure contractors perform their duties in accordance with their obligations. He or she will handle owner concerns, as well as ensure Federal and State licensure mandates are followed.
Mediation
Mediation is a great tool for situations where a homeowner with the violation locks horns with an Association during the enforcement process. Bringing in Families United, who is not personally involved with either party, can be a non-partisan entity with representatives from both sides at the table. This can eliminate costly legal bills in collecting those violation charges and can also eliminate the chance of a homeowner looking for ways to “get back” at the Association.
Homeowners – have you been fined or assessed violation charges to your account? Do you feel they are baseless or were done improperly? Do you believe you have received the proper and required documentation prior to being assessed these fines? I’ve heard hundreds of horror stories from people regarding violation charges they have been assessed; but in hearing their story, it didn’t seem to me that proper procedures were followed prior to the assessments. There are certain requirements both by your documents, any relevant (and appropriately passed by your board of directors) rules & regulations, as well as state statute prior to assessing violation charges.
We can help you maneuver through what can be a complicated process for the lay person.
Community Inspections
These inspections are for purposes of ensuring homes/lots are being maintained. Our inspections include a date/time stamped photo embedded into the letter.
You will find “Annual Inspections” included in most, if not all, management proposals. You may also notice some proposals you receive from management companies in answer to the question, say “sure, we can do that for you” but fail to advise you it is an added fee.
At Families United, we feel everything should be said up front. If we get a chance to speak with you, we will explain why including inspections in a base management contract is ineffective and how this creates a gap between board expectations and what is humanly possible. Everything can be done, in balance.
Most conversations with a board which start out with “why are you looking to change management companies” invariably, the answer is “inspections aren’t done and the financials are always wrong or late or both”.
This Community Inspection feature is an added investment in your community and you get to choose what level of inspections (cost for value added) you want for your community. Every community looks at this aspect of management differently. Costs will vary depending on number of homes you have, how often you want them inspected, etc.
Property Inspections
This is an inspection of your real property and would only 
be necessary if you are managed by another firm or when, if you engage Families United, we would want to do a once-over. The inspection would include playgrounds, pool facility, sidewalks, private roadways, grounds, etc. We will use your reserve study to ensure your repairs and replacements are being conducted in accordance with your engineer’s recommendation.
Staff Oversight
If you have another management firm engaged and are unsure of the effectiveness of your assigned manager and would like us to make an assessment we can do this too! We invite you to check out employment advertisements for management companies and see what their requirements are, for a community manager. Most will cite several items such as “well organized”, “can attend some night meetings”, “good communicator”, “training available for the right person”. The problem is, once this “well organized, good communicator is hired, there is no training. There is not an ‘office of training of the newbies’. It simply does not exist. The reality is: the training is on the job training. This means your community is the training ground. If you have an operating budget of $200,000 to $2 million and above, do you want someone who possibly cannot reconcile their own bank account handling your money?
Board Meeting Attendance
If you would like someone to come in from the outside to 
monitor a board meeting or two to have an “outsider’s evaluation”, we can do that too! Many boards either cannot or do not see they are not conducting their meetings in an efficient fashion. Are your meetings lasting more than 2 hours? They are then inefficient. We can help you not spend your volunteer evening hours sitting at a board meeting away from your family. Long board meetings also discourage others from stepping up when it’s time for the annual meeting! If you’re not afraid of a bit of constructive criticism for a good cause, bring us in for a look-see.
Minutes
Just need someone to attend your board meeting and take your official minutes? We can provide that service for you. Give us a call.
Interview Potential Management Service Providers
When seeking out a community management change many times there are either systemic issues with the existing firm or political clashes between the firm and the existing board of directors; it could be as simple as a personality clash with the current manager assigned to the property.
In the last example, it would be recommended as a first approach to ask the existing management firm to change the manager. It is a much more efficient way to handle the problem if this is the sole reason for looking for different representation.
If there are irreconcilable problems between the board and the management company or there is neglect, mishandling of the Association’s assets, or poor or non-existent recommendations, it could be time to change.
At this point, all the board knows is that they want a change. Most management companies have the “basics” of what is needed to manage a community and gain the information through a questionnaire similar to the one we use here at Families United.
Proposals are gathered and distributed to board members, meetings are scheduled and the interview process begins. Usually, cost and services are the main areas of scrutiny from the board, but also most times the decision is made on whether the board feels as though they connected with the company’s representatives. The problem there is… the representatives which attend the interview to conduct the sales pitch are not the ones who will be assigned to manage your community. Six months later the board is left wondering why they changed companies.
We can help break through the menagerie of the interview process by asking pointed questions board members seldom consider asking. The answers to these questions should reveal enough information for the board to make the right decision.
Please contact us! We’d love to speak with you. We’ll have a series of questions to ask about your community and set up a date to meet with you and prepare a proposal for your review.
