PROPERTY MANAGEMENT BLOG

Are you new on the board, and faced with building the 2019 budget? Are you a unit owner, and just want to understand your fees?  Keep reading!So, what’s in a budget? Well, the Florida statutes tell us what has to be, as well as the Association’s governing documents.For condos, Ch 718 says:718.112(2)(f) Annual budget.&md...

Since 2015, Association’s have been able to enter the digital age and offer online voting for unit owners. Any board member who has struggled to get a quorum at an important meeting, or enough proxy votes to pass an amendment, should be jumping for joy over this option.Online voting can be used for any of the following types of vote...

With elections coming up, now is a good time to review exactly what you are voting for in that election. The Board of Directors controls your association – they set the budget, adopt rules and regulations, and essentially make all the decisions regarding repair and maintenance of the property. Just like with the federal governmen...

Association board members are volunteers, and most have little training in the job. The vast majority have their own jobs and families, and have only limited time to apply to this very important job.They apply their own skills to the job and do the best they can. No one gets it right all the time. Here are some common errors I’v...

All associations have some level of yearend financial reporting required. If you are small, under 50 units or $150,000 in revenues, you only need to produce a simple statement of cash receipts and expenditures. A little bigger? Florida statutes, and your governing documents, will determine what you are required to do. The statute 718....

Account reconciliation is an important part of the accountant’s job. In the case of an Association, that accountant generally doesn’t exist – the books are handled by the property manager. But is everything being reconciled? Everyone knows the bank accounts must be reconciled each month, but what else? All balance she...

Most boards don’t have a simple month by month list they can follow and check off when done. Instead, they must constantly balance association needs, which can change with the seasons. Fall In the autumn, boards finalize budgets and begin preparations for the upcoming annual meetings. While budget preparations begin in the late su...

As I mentioned in my prior blog, Identity Theft in Associations, theft of personally identifiable information (PII) is on the rise. Data breaches of major firms are in the news on a consistent basis. How do you protect your data without going off the grid and becoming a hermit? Here’s few basic steps to take to help protect your...

As most are aware, identity theft is rampant, with South Florida one of the highest risk areas. What kind of risk does a condominium have? While you may not be an attractive target to an organization such as WikiLeaks, you are still a target. More than most would imagine. Think about it. Major firms have major protection levels, so o...

You’ve done your best all year, and now you and your association have realized a year end surplus. What should you do with the funds? Who makes the decision, the board or the owners? There are several choices: roll the funds into reserves, issue a refund to the owners, budget the surplus into next year’s budget (and thereby loweri...