Being On The Condo Board Can Be Challenging and Frustrating
Being a member of a condominium community’s board of directors is undoubtedly a fantastic experience. However, the position does come with its share of burdens. For starters, disagreements and delinquencies with condo owners on the property are routine issues experienced by the board. Of course, other than that are the usual long-term and short-term problems.
Being a member of a condo board is certainly quite a rewarding experience despite its challenges. For those who are new to the job, or thinking about taking up a position in a condominium board, the most common issues typically faced by condominium boards, along with their possible solutions are explained below. They will give you a better idea regarding whether or not you really are up to the task:
Management Problems
In some situations, the techniques of the property manager you hired to look after your community’s day to day operations may be difficult for you to understand. But this is mainly due to the fact that most property management firms follow industry practices that aren’t always the same as to what a condo board expects from them. You should only focus on the outputs and whether or not are they proving to suffice as per your requirements. Just to remain on the safe side, though, the condo board should remain in touch with the property manager on a regular basis just to make sure everything is duty is being performed accordingly. If the manager isn’t performing up to your requirements, you can always hire someone else to look after the affairs.
Reserve Funding
Reserve funding should be closely monitored by the condominium board. All of the future maintenance costs and requirements directly depend on the available budget so make sure you keep the balance in your bank account in check. If you happen to have large sums in reserve and there are several physical assets that need to be managed at once, you should consider hiring a reserve fund study.
Budget Shortcomings
Dealing with budget shortcomings is the biggest challenge condo boards have to face. Try cutting back on all of your unnecessary association expenses. Raising condominium fees or charging extra for special assessments and amenities might be a good start, though it won’t be earning you much praise from the residents. There are certain types of expenses – emergencies, for instance – which are likely to happen at any time. But others, such as repairs and improvements, can always be postponed until the budget fully recovers.
Communication with Residents
The most essential aspect of condominium board membership is your relationship with the residents. You need to maintain a strong and communicative association with the owners in your community. Regardless of any shortcomings from your behalf, it is your utmost duty to keep all communication channels available for the residents to get their messages across, no matter how negative their remarks may be. Make sure the amount of unsatisfied residents on your building doesn’t grow too high otherwise it could be quite troublesome for you.
