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Posted over 6 years ago

Community Managers, Are You Ready for Fall?

Yes, it's that time of year again!  As we are one month away form the end of summer and the onset of fall, a manager has a lot to think about to prepare the community for the upcoming season.  Here, we provide a checklist along with some tips that every manager can incorporate into their "fall to-do-list".  Read along, get started, and start crossing off these activities from your checklist!

Inspect all common areas and equipment

Prepare a checklist of all the physical assets your management company owns and manages:

  • Common area grounds - Inspect the streets (fix major potholes and gutters, enhance the pavement if necessary, remove trash, etc), parking spaces, sidewalks, courtyards/backyards, walking trails, and ponds/lakes.  
  • Central HVAC - Cooling systems are typically utilized up until September, however it depends on location and annual climate.  Perform general maintenance for the HVAC system to prepare it for winterization.  
  • Furnace - Performing a routine maintenance of the furnace increases longevity of the equipment as it is an expensive investment.  
  • Pool - If you community has a pool, be prepared to close it, post Labor Day weekend.  Conduct a final maintenance - filter out insects and other debris, remove old filters, drain the water, and seal the pool with a water-resistant cover.  
  • Other community amenities - Most likely, other common amenities would still be available for use during the fall and winter.  Before your team becomes heavily occupied in other tasks, conduct an inspection on the clubhouse, gym, tennis/basketball courts, playgrounds, etc.  
  • Resident Units - Take a look at all the requests that come in from residents, organize them appropriately, and contact a vendor to resolve the issues.  

TIP: Document each maintenance task and assign the task to yourself, a staff member, or a vendor.  Most importantly, prioritizing each task helps you and staff members to keep ahead of deadlines and ensure accountability of each team member.  

Evaluate your vendor list

Now's a great time to sift through your vendor list.  Keep in mind the following throughout your assessment:

  • All the maintenance tasks your have vendors assigned to - are there any types of maintenance tasks for which you do not have a contracted vendor for?
  • Compile a list of potential contractors to fill the gaps of your community's maintenance needs.  Start the vetting process to identify vendor(s) whose capabilities will be a good fit for your community requirements.  Can some of your existing contractors fill in those gaps?
  • Rate each vendor for:
    • Promptness/Timeliness - Do they resolve an issue or service request on time?
    • Performance - Does their performance meet or exceed the standards set by your management's vendor policies?
    • Customer service - Do they respond to your inquiries on time and respectfully? Are they helpful?
    • Communication effectiveness - How well do they respond to your team on task acknowledgement, fulfillment, and any delays?  What methods do they use?
    • Cost - How do they price their services compared to other vendors, and are they cost effective?
    • Insurance - You never want to have a maintenance worker appear at your community doorsteps without proper insurance.  What types of insurance coverage(s) do they hold and are they sufficient enough?  Require that a copy of the Certificates of Insurance (COI) be submitted by each vendor.  

TIP:  When on-boarding new vendors, make sure that they are fully aware of community requirements an that both parties have agreed upon the fulfillment of duties. Have an internal employee or company-appointed lawyer read through the contract carefully.  If you are using an organized system to keep track of vendors, make sure to attach the contract and have it readily accessible to you and your team members.  

Evaluate your insurance coverage and policies

Every management company requires a sufficient amount of insurance coverage to protect its business operations and recover from both tangible and intangible loss.  Before each season starts, we recommend you review your insurance coverage, rates, and premiums with your agent.  As we are approaching fall and winter, make sure that your property insurance includes repairs and replacements  for damage to building structure caused by natural disasters.  Typically, every property manager needs coverage for:

  • Repair and replacement of structural investments - buildings, landscaping, and other physical assets.
  • Loss in earnings in the event residents default on rent or assessments as a result of personal circumstances or disasters.  
  • Reputation or physical damage potentially caused by failure in staff performance or employee noncompliance.
  • Legal costs that arise from any tenant discrimination lawsuits.  

TIP: Evaluating any past situations can be an indication of how well your current insurance policies are panning out for your management company.  Assess communication effectiveness of the insurance agent/company, responsiveness to emergencies, coverage included, policies, and cost savings for your company. 

Improve your communication strategies

Take this opportunity to review your ongoing communication strategies form this year and last fall/winter.  Evaluate:

  • Were your communication strategies effective for reaching out to residents, board members, employees, and vendors on time?  If not, then review all your stakeholder's addresses, emails, and phone numbers.  Check for accuracy.
  • Do you have a communication strategy in place to relay all types of pertinent information to residents?  For emergency situations? Violations? An invitation to a community event?
  • Are you using a communications software?  If yes, you should obtain a communication delivery confirmations on who is receiving your message and who isn't.  Being proactive in identifying the best mode of communication for your stakeholders now helps you to respond quickly and without hesitation when any type of emergency situation arises.  

TIP: Send an email through your communications platform to your residents or community members with a checklist of how they can prepare their homes for the fall season.  Keep the list short and informative!  The more informed residents are of the community association's housekeeping rules, the easier it will be to manage service request workflows (and you'll reduce the amount of violation emails too!)



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