Cllck on the image above to obtain the below published articles that we were recently quoted in, as well as, other helpful resources.
· "Without proper protocol, boards deal
with issues over and over"
As published in the
Chicago Sun-Times, 9/7/08
Part 3-Board Member Education series.
· "Small boards look out for 'mob rule'"
As published in the
Chicago Sun-Times, 8/29/08
Part 2-Board Member Education series.
· "Newcomes need a 'conducation'"
As published in the
Chicago Sun-Times, 8/22/08
Part 1-Board Member Education series.
· "Issues to consider in preparing budget"
As published in the
Chicago Tribune, 8/22/08
Discusses important considerations in preparing association budgets.
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Seasonal Tips...
Winter Reminders:
Notices should be sent out to remind vacationing owners to set their thermostats to a safe level to prevent pipes from freezing in their absence, which could possibly cause serious damage they could be held responsible. In addition, if gone for long periods, ice makers should be shut off to prevent clogging and flooding. And, with the switch from cooling to heating, this is a good time to replace batteries in carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms. Contact the appropriate professional for guidance, when applicable.
Snow Removal:
Be sure your snow removal contract and/or protocols are in place (i.e., who will shovel) prior to the first snow fall or you will be left out in the cold. Place plastic buckets of the proper salting materials for your property (i.e., salt, calcium chloride, etc.) with lids and scoops at each entry door, garage and/or gated parking areas. Request that all owners be considerate when entering/leaving the property to spread materials to prevent icy spots and slippage between snow removal visits.
Landscaping:
While yanking out your end-of-the-season annuals and putting down your mulch, this is a good time to do an inventory of what plants did not survive the summer and may require replacement. Check with your landscaper or gardening center to determine if now is a good time to replace dead bushes and/or sod or if specific plants may be best to wait for Spring. This will also help you with next year's budgeting.
Sprinklers, Water Spigots & Pipes:
Sprinklers and outdoor water spigots should be turned off and drained prior to freezing temps. Inspect any uninsulated pipes in lower levels and take precautionary measures to prevent frozen pipes.
Window Washing & Carpet Cleaning:
Fall is a good time to schedule your last window washing of the year and carpet cleaning prior to the holidays so your common areas will look nice when your owners entertain!
Holiday Preparations:
Time to review or create Rules regarding holiday decorations. Live trees should be carried through the property inside tree bags to prevent debris. Specific dates should be included to ensure decorations aren't installed too early or stay up too long after the applicable holiday. Safety must be a top priority. And, protocols for holiday parties will prevent inconvenience to others.
Rubbish Rebates:
If your Association is in the City of Chicago and has more than 4 units, be sure to contact your alderman's office to apply annually for the Condo Refuse Rebate. The deadline is usually the last City Council meeting of the year or you could be missing out on a sizable reimbursement to your Association. (see AAI Spring 2007 Newsletter archive issue for further details)
Annual Calendar:
Fall is a good time to review your Reserve Study, not only for budgeting purposes, but also to consider implementing the recommended maintenance projects for the upcoming year. Be sure to include these in your Annual Calendar and start getting proposals, so you will be ready to implement the projects come Spring.
Don't have an Annual Calendar and/or are unfamiliar with the above protocols? Then perhaps our Services will benefit you!
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Coming Soon...
Currently in development is our
"Do-It-Yourself Forms
and How To's"
including step-by-step instructions on how to self-manage every aspect of your Association. We are compiling over 50 forms, checklists and sample letters that will be available on CD and easily customizable for your Association.
www.AssociationAdvocatesInc.com
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Shirley Feldmann, President
773.348.0742
Angela Falzone, Consultant 847.685.0710
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Greetings!
Are you aware that there are new condo lending guidelines that Associations must adhere to or risk negatively impacting potential buyers from obtaining a mortgage? Are you also aware that the decisions of the Board can be challenged if it is determined that proper Election proceedings were not followed?
For many Associations, Fall is the time for Annual Meeting and Budget preparation so be sure to read on to learn about recommended protocols from some industry experts. Also included in this issue are articles we were recently quoted in, upcoming seminars, and highlighted services to assist the volunteer board and/or to act as an extension to management.
Association Advocates, Inc. is celebrating the start of our 7th Year helping homeowners protect their investment. We're proud to say that we've assisted over 70 Associations-ranging in size from 3 to 700 units- developers and management companies through training, retainers, project and loan management, developer turnovers and management searches. Thanks to all for your support and referrals. Please let us know how we can be of service to your association, company or development.
If you know of someone that would benefit from this valuable information and you would like to share this newsletter with them, please use the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of this email, as that will save the formatting, links and graphics.
--Shirley Feldmann & Angela Falzone
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Realistic Budgeting During An Uncertain Economy
In today's uncertain economy, Boards are in hot debate on how to balance the needs of the property while keeping assessments as low as possible.
On the one hand... If budgets are not realistic to begin with, projects may be delayed resulting in increased damage, costs and large special assessments to make up for the shortfall. In addition, delinquencies and foreclosures are creating a huge hardship on the remaining owners to make up for unanticipated lost income not collected.
On the other hand... a high assessment and/or special assessment can be a burden to an owner who recently lost his/her job, as well as, negatively impact a seller in a very competitive real estate market.
To make matters worse, there are new condo lending guidelines required by Fannie Mae that are making it more difficult for buyers to obtain a mortgage. The new requirements include: 1) An "adequate" budget; 2) 10% of annual revenues must be allocated to Reserves; 3) Available funds equaling the deductible of the Association's master insurance policy; and, 4) No more than 15% of delinqencies by more than one month. Disclosure statements and documentation that used to take a few minutes to assemble by management or self-managed boards may now take hours to meet the new requirements, which could drive up these sales and refinance fees.
To address this, Boards must take their personal situations out of the equation and work through their Association's physical and financial needs with a business-like approach to create a realistic budget. Prioritize
projects, if possible, and try to phase them over a period of time
unless the waiting could create safety issues and/or increased damage
and expenses in the long run. Make sure that any proposed cut backs in
services will not negatively impact the owners and/or those trying to
sell. And, to reiterate last month's newsletter, strong Collections
Policies must be enforced (see Summer 2008 Newsletter).
Once the Board finalizes the proposed budget, be sure to follow the rules governed by the Illinois Condominium Property Act (ICPA) and Association's Declaration/Bylaws including, but not limited to, sending out the proposed budget to the owners for a 30-day review followed by a meeting for the purposes of discussion and adoption by vote of the Board.
Ralph Picker, CPA and managing principal of the accounting firm Picker & Associates, has provided us with the below article with recommendations on budget development. You may also click on the above graphic to learn more about their firm.
| "Condominium Budgeting Can Be Rewarding!" by Ralph Picker, CPA
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Annual Meetings, Elections & Mail-In Ballots
 Annual Meetings & Elections can be very confusing and political at best. Ideally, the first step is encouraging potential board members to run that will work in the best interest of the Association, will work as a team player and will make time to be actively involved and make informed decisions. The next step is following all notification and election protocols per the ICPA to ensure that the election results cannot be challenged.
Boards have a fiduciary duty to put the interests of the Association above their own; however, we often hear complaints about a board member who assumes that other board members will do all of the work and/or they have a personal agenda that is conflicting with the Association's best interest. For example, a board member who is or may soon be selling his/her unit may fight against a large, but needed, maintenance project in order to keep assessments down for fear this may make it harder to sell his/her unit.
One way to try to ensure that the best candidate gets voted in is for the Board to send out a Board Qualification Form, also known as Board Application, about 30 days in advance of the Annual Meeting with the initial Notice of the Meeting. By having potential candidates state their qualifications and intentions, it will help the owners better understand who might represent them in the manner they expect. Those who submit their Applications should then be placed on the Proxy, which would be sent out along with the Applications submitted, Meeting Reminder Notice and other applicable meeting materials. In this way, owners will be informed on who is running and can make the most informed decision.
Charles VanderVennet from the Law Office of Charles T. VanderVennet, P.C., has provided the below articles to help better understand Annual Meeting procedural requirements including the Mail-In Ballot process. You may also click on the above graphic to learn more about his credentials.
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Fall Seminars for REALTORS® & Associations
In our quest to help Realtors® work the most efficiently with associations and help them educate their clients on how to select the best investment to meet their needs, we are pleased to again provide Part 2 in our condo series for CAR's Member Profitability Programs.
"Selling Condos & Townhomes... Save Time & Facilitate The Sale!" Additional speakers will include: Charles VanderVennet, P.C.; and, Karyl Foray, CIRMS, CRIS, of Rosenthal Bros. Insurance. Topics will include: Illinois Condominium Property Act (ICPA) overview; 22.1 resale disclosures; the new ICPA foreclosure laws; how to work efficiently with associations-whether self or professionally managed; association vs. homeowner insurance; and, how to recognize a problem property and better investment.
Seminars are free to CAR members; $15 for Non-Members and will be held: 10/2-CAR North; 10/22-CAR NW; 11/20-CAR South; 12/3-CAR Central.
ACTHA Educational Seminar for Homeowners
On October 27th from 7-8:30pm, we will be speaking with Mark Pearlstein, partner of Levenfeld Pearlstein, on the topic of "Self vs. Professional Management-What's best for your Association?" to be held at the Bucktown/Wicker Park Library at 1701 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.
To learn more about these seminars, please go to the Events & Seminars page of our website. You can also obtain the Registration form for the CAR event by clicking on the CAR logo above.
Events & Seminars |
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Decrease Liability & Increase Efficiency
Project & Loan Management Do you have projects that haven't been implemented yet but need to be? Is your volunteer Board or property manager too busy to research and implement the required pending Projects? We can act as an extension to Management or the Board to assist with your projects from Criteria and RFP development to Vendor Pre-Qualification & Selection to Loan or Special Assessment Guidance and thru Project Completion.
Board Training & Developer Turnovers Are you a new Association starting up after a Developer Turnover? Or an existing Association that may not be working as efficiently as it could? Is your Budget realistic to meet the specific needs of your property, including setting aside "reasonable" reserves? Do you have Rules & Regulations in place to assist the Board in ensuring that all owners are treated equally and the community lives harmoniously? Do you have an Annual Calendar that includes all important administrative, financial and operational deadlines to ensure important items are not forgotten? We can customize a training package to meet the specific needs of your Association, whether self or professionally managed.
Refresher Courses are now being offered to our past training clients. This is an excellent way to review past action items lists, bring new board members up-to-speed with how to efficiently and accurately manage your Association, and to ensure everyone is on the same page and to avoid board member burnout.
"Do-It-Yourself" and "Management Coaching" Retainers are designed to provide on-going assistance to our self-managed Boards to encourage annual compliance with the Illinois Condominium Property Act, increasing efficiency and decreasing Board liability. Various service levels are offered on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.
Management Searches Are you a start-up Association after the Developer Turnover looking to find new management? Or, perhaps your current management company may not be fulfilling the expectations of the owners, and the Board has exhausted its options trying to rectify the issues? We can assist by guiding the Board on the proper due diligence needed to help them make the most informed decision. Services include: Needs Analysis, RFP Development, Pre-Qualification, Interviewing, Contract Negotiations and Transitions.
What makes AAI different? We provide customized training designed for your specific association's needs, prompt responsiveness, and practical information to help empower the Board. Can you afford our services? Can you afford not to have them? Your home is most likely one of your biggest assets. We can help you save time, money and frustration while protecting and increasing the value of your property in today's very competitive market! Learn more... Scope of Services | |
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