CAI-NJ March 2021

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Road Inspections, Budgeting, Protecting Robert Davidson, CAMCO Management

G overning documents bind owners and associa- tions together through mandated actions (Taken from the M-100 Participant Guide). In short, the governing documents will explain how repairs are to be made, who is responsible for repairs, rules, and regulations of the homeowners and how and when to elect your board members. Having a healthy, working relationship with your board members, could be either very easy or very difficult, especially if your communication is not one of your strengths. Your board members are charged with the ultimate responsibility and authority for operating the community association on behalf of its owners (Taken from M-100 Participant Guide). One can find that communicating consistently, going to your board members for recommendations, providing weekly updates, sometimes daily updates, to be extremely helpful. Having one “go-to” board member, typically your board president, for quick decisive actions, will speed up results for contractor work or responses to homeowners. One of the first things that should be done as soon as you meet your board, is to know what their expectations are for you. What are some of their major concerns? Is it violations or delinquent accounts, or perhaps one building or unit is constantly having an issue? Each community will have different problems that need to be resolved and some more than others. Constantly discussing these issues with your board and setting boundaries with your boards will help you become more trusting as a manager and ultimate- ly more successful with your board. Keep professional contacts on speed dial and having go-to contractors is very essential. It is suggested in having a minimum of two contractors per individual repair that is needed. For example, when there is a major issue it makes sense to have two different roofers in the event one is not available.

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As managers, it is not always one’s responsibility to know exactly what the problem is, but to make sure the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time. Use your professional contacts to your advantage. Ask them questions to help guide you in the right direction so you can explain different scenarios to your board or the owners if needed. For example, if you read your governing documents to decide if the association is responsible for a repair or the homeowner, discuss with your board any past experiences, or use your associations’ attorney to give you a concrete answer. This allows you to understand the verbiage better, and you can let the owner know. Some owners may not back down so easily when incurring an additional charge so when it comes from the attorney directly, it could be more easily acceptable to them. Lastly, plan, schedule, and use your time efficiently. A manager is defined as a person with the responsibility CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 38 problem is, but to make sure the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time” “As managers, it is not always one’s responsibility to know exactly what the

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