Think Before You Lease Your HOA Amenities to Outside-Residents

Many associations are considering a range of revenue-generating measures to offset ever-tightening budgets. But before you rent out your clubhouse or sell memberships to your golf course, pool, tennis courts, or other facilities to non-owners, keep a few critical rules in mind.

Think About It

1) Consider the liability. The biggest issue that keeps associations from renting out their facilities to non-owners is liability. Check with your insurance carrier to find out if injuries to non-owners and injuries caused by non-owners would be covered under your current policy. Chances are they won’t, and it’ll be much more expensive to expand your policy to include that coverage. Once you know the additional insurance costs, you need to weigh them against the potential new revenue to determine whether the financial gain adequately offsets the added cost.

2) Which facilities will you rent? Don’t automatically assume that you should rent all your facilities to the public. For example, you may find that it’s too expensive and the liability is too great to allow public assess to your pool, but the increased insurance costs and limited risk of personal injury in allowing non-owners to use your clubhouse is acceptable. Evaluate each amenity individually before making any decisions.

3) Who’s in, and who’s out? Ask yourself whether it’s necessary—and permissible—to place limits on whom you’ll allow to be guests. For instance, your association might be heavily populated by seniors who prefer not to lounge at the pool while children happily scream and perform cannonballs. But banning children might open your association up to family law discrimination claims, even if those claims end up being frivolous. Similarly, opening your golf course to novice and sometimes ill-behaved players may transform your residents’ peaceful round of golf into a high-tension activity. On the other hand, allowing an aerobics instructor to conduct classes in your gym or allowing personal trainers to use the same facilities to train nonresidents during certain hours may not bother residents—who may actually appreciate the convenience of those services. In addition, you may be able to require instructors or trainers to include your association as an additional insured under their liability insurance policy, which would limit your liability. Whatever the amenity, get residents’ feedback on whether they’ll feel comfortable sharing it with non-residents.

4) Know the laws that apply. Remember that once you allow the public to use your facilities, your association will be subject to new laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Do your facilities meet the requirements of the ADA? If not, what would it cost to bring them up to compliance, and do those costs outweigh the revenue? Also, renting out your clubhouse for such events as weddings and parties will open up the issue of liquor liability. You can require that guests not bring alcohol onto your property, but that rule can be hard to enforce, and it may limit the facility’s appeal. If you allow the consumption of alcohol, you’ll again have to check with your insurer to determine how that affects your coverage.

5) Don’t forget the added expenses. It sounds great to be able to supplement your association’s income, but how many people will sign up to use your newly available facilities if you don’t market them? You’ll probably have to pay a salesperson or marketing firm to advertise your facilities, so be sure to add those expenses into your cost versus revenue calculation.

There are so many issues to consider before allowing nonresidents to use your facilities that it’s unwise to make the decision without professional guidance. So be sure to run your ideas by an attorney or professional management association with experience on the issue. Reviewing these five questions with your board and researching insurance costs in advance will help you be prepared and minimize the time and money you spend to get that critical advice.

Source: http://www.communityassociationmanagement.com/facilities-a-maintenance/amenities/

Call Riverside Property Management of Kennesaw for more information!

678-866-1436 or www.riversidepropertymgt.com

How to Overcome a Lazy Board of Directors in Your HOA

A stagnant board of directors slows down the business initiatives of an Association and may cause the Community to lag behind comparable neighborhoods. Overcoming stagnation at an HOA requires establishing more open lines of communication with board members and seeking to identify key problems. Solving those same problems may also require the removal of board members in favor of more progressive executive minds.

Present Accurate Information

An obstinate board of directors may be unreceptive to vague concepts and generalized initiatives in the absence of hard facts and current comparisons. Arming yourself with thorough research into your proposal and/or requests compels board members to connect with your idea in a way that’s relevant to the geographic area. For example, presenting a proposal for tennis court lighting could use marketing research to indicate a residents (and guests-ALTA) need for features your new lighting will serve.

Listen to the Board

Candid conversation between you as a homeowner or investor and a Homeowners’ Association board of directors may reveal issues within the board that are causing the stagnation among its members. Opening up these issues and finding workable solutions to problems can make board members more receptive to new ideas because you’re seeking to address existing concerns even while moving the Community ahead. This builds a climate of trust between you and board members and lays the groundwork for more open communication in the future.

Gain Voting Rights

When reason and a well-crafted proposal fail, reaching a stagnant board of directors may involve accumulating enough power to remove certain members in favor of new voices. Homeowners have the right to elect and remove board members because they have equal ownership of the common areas. If you have the neighborhood backing, accumulating enough interest to call a vote for the removal of board members is a matter of lobbying. The Governing Documents (Covenants and By-Laws) or articles of incorporation contain the rules detailing the exact amount of votes required to gain this power. Ousting key dissenting board members may be sufficient to convince the remaining board members to listen more closely to new initiatives.

Riverside Property Management, Inc. is a leading provider of Homeowner Association management services in the North Atlanta area.  Including, but not limited to:  all accounting procedures, vendor/contract management, covenant enforcement and management consulting services.  Call today for a free quote on management of your HOA, POA or Condo Association at 678-866-1436 or go to www.riversidepropertymgt.com.

 

Homeowners Associations in Marietta and Woodstock, GA

Atlanta at Night

Real estate developers usually create a homeowners association to control the appearance and managing of common areas in the land being developed. Upon selling a preset number of homes in the developed residential subdivision, it is turned over to the homeowners of the subdivision. There comes a time though that this association would need some form of help from experts to make sure that the subdivision will be a great place to live in.

This is where HOA managers come in. If you are living in Georgia and you think that your homeowners association is in need of professional guidance, you are in luck as there are good HOA managers in the city.  When searching you might want to consider this helpful website.  Before you work with one though, make sure that they offer plenty of services that will satisfy the needs of the association and that you have a good understanding of what your associations needs are so you can communicate those clearly to the community association management company.

Common features include HOA managers attending annual board meetings. This way, they would be able to gauge properly the progress of the association in terms of obtaining its goals. It would also enable them to see in what facet is the association lacking in terms of focus. This would allow them to be able to provide enough input that the whole association would benefit from.

The annual budget of the homeowners association is a delicate matter and it needs to be properly managed. Thus, it would be a good thing to have an HOA management company that would be able to provide professional guidance to the board of directors in formulating the annual budget. This way, the association would be able to make the most out of its budget. With that in mind, all residents of the subdivision would be able to benefit greatly from the money they have put in the association.

On the meeting that HOA managers would attend, they also have to be able to present a recap of the past year’s budget and its appropriations. This would allow the members of the association to see where the money went. This would provide transparency which is a very important thing especially with money involved.

These are the most common things that you should look for in an HOA manager or HOA management company. They would be handling very vital functions and thus should have the right background for the job. Apart from having these most common features as part of their service, they should be able to provide you with enough proof that they have extensive experience in such endeavors.  Also ask them to show you the certifications the staff has from the industry educational organizations.  This educational experience will allow you to understand the time and energy the HOA property management company has invested to prepare to help your Homeowner Association or Condominium Association.

Call (678) 866-1436 for more information!  www.riversidepropertymgt.com

Riverside Property Management in Kennesaw works with homeowner and condo associations providing a variety of management, code enforcement, consulting and educational services, reserve studies, budgeting assistance and maintenance planning expertise.

 

Think Before You Lease Your HOA Amenities to Outside-Residents

Many associations are considering a range of revenue-generating measures to offset ever-tightening budgets. But before you rent out your clubhouse or sell memberships to your golf course, pool, tennis courts, or other facilities to non-owners, keep a few critical rules in mind.

Think About It

1) Consider the liability. The biggest issue that keeps associations from renting out their facilities to non-owners is liability. Check with your insurance carrier to find out if injuries to non-owners and injuries caused by non-owners would be covered under your current policy. Chances are they won’t, and it’ll be much more expensive to expand your policy to include that coverage. Once you know the additional insurance costs, you need to weigh them against the potential new revenue to determine whether the financial gain adequately offsets the added cost.

2) Which facilities will you rent? Don’t automatically assume that you should rent all your facilities to the public. For example, you may find that it’s too expensive and the liability is too great to allow public assess to your pool, but the increased insurance costs and limited risk of personal injury in allowing non-owners to use your clubhouse is acceptable. Evaluate each amenity individually before making any decisions.

3) Who’s in, and who’s out? Ask yourself whether it’s necessary—and permissible—to place limits on whom you’ll allow to be guests. For instance, your association might be heavily populated by seniors who prefer not to lounge at the pool while children happily scream and perform cannonballs. But banning children might open your association up to family law discrimination claims, even if those claims end up being frivolous. Similarly, opening your golf course to novice and sometimes ill-behaved players may transform your residents’ peaceful round of golf into a high-tension activity. On the other hand, allowing an aerobics instructor to conduct classes in your gym or allowing personal trainers to use the same facilities to train nonresidents during certain hours may not bother residents—who may actually appreciate the convenience of those services. In addition, you may be able to require instructors or trainers to include your association as an additional insured under their liability insurance policy, which would limit your liability. Whatever the amenity, get residents’ feedback on whether they’ll feel comfortable sharing it with non-residents.

4) Know the laws that apply. Remember that once you allow the public to use your facilities, your association will be subject to new laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Do your facilities meet the requirements of the ADA? If not, what would it cost to bring them up to compliance, and do those costs outweigh the revenue? Also, renting out your clubhouse for such events as weddings and parties will open up the issue of liquor liability. You can require that guests not bring alcohol onto your property, but that rule can be hard to enforce, and it may limit the facility’s appeal. If you allow the consumption of alcohol, you’ll again have to check with your insurer to determine how that affects your coverage.

5) Don’t forget the added expenses. It sounds great to be able to supplement your association’s income, but how many people will sign up to use your newly available facilities if you don’t market them? You’ll probably have to pay a salesperson or marketing firm to advertise your facilities, so be sure to add those expenses into your cost versus revenue calculation.

There are so many issues to consider before allowing nonresidents to use your facilities that it’s unwise to make the decision without professional guidance. So be sure to run your ideas by an attorney or professional management association with experience on the issue. Reviewing these five questions with your board and researching insurance costs in advance will help you be prepared and minimize the time and money you spend to get that critical advice.

Source: http://www.communityassociationmanagement.com/facilities-a-maintenance/amenities/

Call Riverside Property Management of Kennesaw for more information!

678-866-1436 or www.riversidepropertymgt.com

Homeowners Associations in Marietta and Woodstock, GA

Atlanta at Night

Real estate developers usually create a homeowners association to control the appearance and managing of common areas in the land being developed. Upon selling a preset number of homes in the developed residential subdivision, it is turned over to the homeowners of the subdivision. There comes a time though that this association would need some form of help from experts to make sure that the subdivision will be a great place to live in.

This is where HOA managers come in. If you are living in Georgia and you think that your homeowners association is in need of professional guidance, you are in luck as there are good HOA managers in the city.  When searching you might want to consider this helpful website.  Before you work with one though, make sure that they offer plenty of services that will satisfy the needs of the association and that you have a good understanding of what your associations needs are so you can communicate those clearly to the community association management company.

Common features include HOA managers attending annual board meetings. This way, they would be able to gauge properly the progress of the association in terms of obtaining its goals. It would also enable them to see in what facet is the association lacking in terms of focus. This would allow them to be able to provide enough input that the whole association would benefit from.

The annual budget of the homeowners association is a delicate matter and it needs to be properly managed. Thus, it would be a good thing to have an HOA management company that would be able to provide professional guidance to the board of directors in formulating the annual budget. This way, the association would be able to make the most out of its budget. With that in mind, all residents of the subdivision would be able to benefit greatly from the money they have put in the association.

On the meeting that HOA managers would attend, they also have to be able to present a recap of the past year’s budget and its appropriations. This would allow the members of the association to see where the money went. This would provide transparency which is a very important thing especially with money involved.

These are the most common things that you should look for in an HOA manager or HOA management company. They would be handling very vital functions and thus should have the right background for the job. Apart from having these most common features as part of their service, they should be able to provide you with enough proof that they have extensive experience in such endeavors.  Also ask them to show you the certifications the staff has from the industry educational organizations.  This educational experience will allow you to understand the time and energy the HOA property management company has invested to prepare to help your Homeowner Association or Condominium Association.

Call (678) 866-1436 for more information!  www.riversidepropertymgt.com

Riverside Property Management in Kennesaw works with homeowner and condo associations providing a variety of management, code enforcement, consulting and educational services, reserve studies, budgeting assistance and maintenance planning expertise.

Homeowners Associations in Cobb and Cherokee County, GA

Atlanta at Night

Real estate developers usually create a homeowners association to control the appearance and managing of common areas in the land being developed. Upon selling a preset number of homes in the developed residential subdivision, it is turned over to the homeowners of the subdivision. There comes a time though that this association would need some form of help from experts to make sure that the subdivision will be a great place to live in.

This is where HOA managers come in. If you are living in Georgia and you think that your homeowners association is in need of professional guidance, you are in luck as there are good HOA managers in the city.  When searching you might want to consider this helpful website.  Before you work with one though, make sure that they offer plenty of services that will satisfy the needs of the association and that you have a good understanding of what your associations needs are so you can communicate those clearly to the community association management company.

Common features include HOA managers attending annual board meetings. This way, they would be able to gauge properly the progress of the association in terms of obtaining its goals. It would also enable them to see in what facet is the association lacking in terms of focus. This would allow them to be able to provide enough input that the whole association would benefit from.

The annual budget of the homeowners association is a delicate matter and it needs to be properly managed. Thus, it would be a good thing to have an HOA management company that would be able to provide professional guidance to the board of directors in formulating the annual budget. This way, the association would be able to make the most out of its budget. With that in mind, all residents of the subdivision would be able to benefit greatly from the money they have put in the association.

On the meeting that HOA managers would attend, they also have to be able to present a recap of the past year’s budget and its appropriations. This would allow the members of the association to see where the money went. This would provide transparency which is a very important thing especially with money involved.

These are the most common things that you should look for in an HOA manager or HOA management company. They would be handling very vital functions and thus should have the right background for the job. Apart from having these most common features as part of their service, they should be able to provide you with enough proof that they have extensive experience in such endeavors.  Also ask them to show you the certifications the staff has from the industry educational organizations.  This educational experience will allow you to understand the time and energy the HOA property management company has invested to prepare to help your Homeowner Association or Condominium Association.

How to Overcome a Stagnant Board of Directors in Your Homeowners Association

A stagnant board of directors slows down the business initiatives of an Association and may cause the Community to lag behind comparable neighborhoods. Overcoming stagnation at an HOA requires establishing more open lines of communication with board members and seeking to identify key problems. Solving those same problems may also require the removal of board members in favor of more progressive executive minds.

Present Accurate Information

An obstinate board of directors may be unreceptive to vague concepts and generalized initiatives in the absence of hard facts and current comparisons. Arming yourself with thorough research into your proposal and/or requests compels board members to connect with your idea in a way that’s relevant to the geographic area. For example, presenting a proposal for tennis court lighting could use marketing research to indicate a residents (and guests-ALTA) need for features your new lighting will serve.

Listen to the Board

Candid conversation between you as a homeowner or investor and a Homeowners’ Association board of directors may reveal issues within the board that are causing the stagnation among its members. Opening up these issues and finding workable solutions to problems can make board members more receptive to new ideas because you’re seeking to address existing concerns even while moving the Community ahead. This builds a climate of trust between you and board members and lays the groundwork for more open communication in the future.

Gain Voting Rights

When reason and a well-crafted proposal fail, reaching a stagnant board of directors may involve accumulating enough power to remove certain members in favor of new voices. Homeowners have the right to elect and remove board members because they have equal ownership of the common areas. If you have the neighborhood backing, accumulating enough interest to call a vote for the removal of board members is a matter of lobbying. The Governing Documents (Covenants and By-Laws) or articles of incorporation contain the rules detailing the exact amount of votes required to gain this power. Ousting key dissenting board members may be sufficient to convince the remaining board members to listen more closely to new initiatives.

Riverside Property Management, Inc. is a leading provider of Homeowner Association management services in the North Atlanta area.  Including, but not limited to:  all accounting procedures, vendor/contract management, covenant enforcement and management consulting services.  Call today for a free quote on management of your HOA, POA or Condo Association at 678-866-1436 or go to www.riversidepropertymgt.com.

 

Think Before You Lease Your HOA Amenities to Non-Residents

Many associations are considering a range of revenue-generating measures to offset ever-tightening budgets. But before you rent out your clubhouse or sell memberships to your golf course, pool, tennis courts, or other facilities to non-owners, keep a few critical rules in mind.

Think About It

1) Consider the liability. The biggest issue that keeps associations from renting out their facilities to non-owners is liability. Check with your insurance carrier to find out if injuries to non-owners and injuries caused by non-owners would be covered under your current policy. Chances are they won’t, and it’ll be much more expensive to expand your policy to include that coverage. Once you know the additional insurance costs, you need to weigh them against the potential new revenue to determine whether the financial gain adequately offsets the added cost.

2) Which facilities will you rent? Don’t automatically assume that you should rent all your facilities to the public. For example, you may find that it’s too expensive and the liability is too great to allow public assess to your pool, but the increased insurance costs and limited risk of personal injury in allowing non-owners to use your clubhouse is acceptable. Evaluate each amenity individually before making any decisions.

3) Who’s in, and who’s out? Ask yourself whether it’s necessary—and permissible—to place limits on whom you’ll allow to be guests. For instance, your association might be heavily populated by seniors who prefer not to lounge at the pool while children happily scream and perform cannonballs. But banning children might open your association up to family law discrimination claims, even if those claims end up being frivolous. Similarly, opening your golf course to novice and sometimes ill-behaved players may transform your residents’ peaceful round of golf into a high-tension activity. On the other hand, allowing an aerobics instructor to conduct classes in your gym or allowing personal trainers to use the same facilities to train nonresidents during certain hours may not bother residents—who may actually appreciate the convenience of those services. In addition, you may be able to require instructors or trainers to include your association as an additional insured under their liability insurance policy, which would limit your liability. Whatever the amenity, get residents’ feedback on whether they’ll feel comfortable sharing it with non-residents.

4) Know the laws that apply. Remember that once you allow the public to use your facilities, your association will be subject to new laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Do your facilities meet the requirements of the ADA? If not, what would it cost to bring them up to compliance, and do those costs outweigh the revenue? Also, renting out your clubhouse for such events as weddings and parties will open up the issue of liquor liability. You can require that guests not bring alcohol onto your property, but that rule can be hard to enforce, and it may limit the facility’s appeal. If you allow the consumption of alcohol, you’ll again have to check with your insurer to determine how that affects your coverage.

5) Don’t forget the added expenses. It sounds great to be able to supplement your association’s income, but how many people will sign up to use your newly available facilities if you don’t market them? You’ll probably have to pay a salesperson or marketing firm to advertise your facilities, so be sure to add those expenses into your cost versus revenue calculation.

There are so many issues to consider before allowing nonresidents to use your facilities that it’s unwise to make the decision without professional guidance. So be sure to run your ideas by an attorney or professional management association with experience on the issue. Reviewing these five questions with your board and researching insurance costs in advance will help you be prepared and minimize the time and money you spend to get that critical advice.

Source: http://www.communityassociationmanagement.com/facilities-a-maintenance/amenities/

Call Riverside Property Management of Kennesaw for more information!

678-866-1436 or www.riversidepropertymgt.com

 

Homeowners and Condominium Associations in Georgia

Real estate developers usually create a homeowners association to control the appearance and managing of common areas in the land being developed. Upon selling a preset number of homes in the developed residential subdivision, it is turned over to the homeowners of the subdivision. There comes a time though that this association would need some form of help from experts to make sure that the subdivision will be a great place to live in.

This is where HOA managers come in. If you are living in Georgia and you think that your homeowners association is in need of professional guidance, you are in luck as there are good HOA managers in the city.  When searching you might want to consider this helpful website.  Before you work with one though, make sure that they offer plenty of services that will satisfy the needs of the association and that you have a good understanding of what your associations needs are so you can communicate those clearly to the community association management company.

Common features include HOA managers attending annual board meetings. This way, they would be able to gauge properly the progress of the association in terms of obtaining its goals. It would also enable them to see in what facet is the association lacking in terms of focus. This would allow them to be able to provide enough input that the whole association would benefit from.

The annual budget of the homeowners association is a delicate matter and it needs to be properly managed. Thus, it would be a good thing to have an HOA management company that would be able to provide professional guidance to the board of directors in formulating the annual budget. This way, the association would be able to make the most out of its budget. With that in mind, all residents of the subdivision would be able to benefit greatly from the money they have put in the association.

On the meeting that HOA managers would attend, they also have to be able to present a recap of the past year’s budget and its appropriations. This would allow the members of the association to see where the money went. This would provide transparency which is a very important thing especially with money involved.

These are the most common things that you should look for in an HOA manager or HOA management company. They would be handling very vital functions and thus should have the right background for the job. Apart from having these most common features as part of their service, they should be able to provide you with enough proof that they have extensive experience in such endeavors.  Also ask them to show you the certifications the staff has from the industry educational organizations.  This educational experience will allow you to understand the time and energy the HOA property management company has invested to prepare to help your Homeowner Association or Condominium Association.

How to Overcome a Stagnant Board of Directors in Your Homeowners Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A stagnant board of directors slows down the business initiatives of an Association and may cause the Community to lag behind comparable neighborhoods. Overcoming stagnation at an HOA requires establishing more open lines of communication with board members and seeking to identify key problems. Solving those same problems may also require the removal of board members in favor of more progressive executive minds.

Present Accurate Information

An obstinate board of directors may be unreceptive to vague concepts and generalized initiatives in the absence of hard facts and current comparisons. Arming yourself with thorough research into your proposal and/or requests compels board members to connect with your idea in a way that’s relevant to the geographic area. For example, presenting a proposal for tennis court lighting could use marketing research to indicate a residents (and guests-ALTA) need for features your new lighting will serve.

Listen to the Board

Candid conversation between you as a homeowner or investor and a Homeowners’ Association board of directors may reveal issues within the board that are causing the stagnation among its members. Opening up these issues and finding workable solutions to problems can make board members more receptive to new ideas because you’re seeking to address existing concerns even while moving the Community ahead. This builds a climate of trust between you and board members and lays the groundwork for more open communication in the future.

Gain Voting Rights

When reason and a well-crafted proposal fail, reaching a stagnant board of directors may involve accumulating enough power to remove certain members in favor of new voices. Homeowners have the right to elect and remove board members because they have equal ownership of the common areas. If you have the neighborhood backing, accumulating enough interest to call a vote for the removal of board members is a matter of lobbying. The Governing Documents (Covenants and By-Laws) or articles of incorporation contain the rules detailing the exact amount of votes required to gain this power. Ousting key dissenting board members may be sufficient to convince the remaining board members to listen more closely to new initiatives.

Riverside Property Management, Inc. is a leading provider of Homeowner Association management services in the North Atlanta area.  Including, but not limited to:  all accounting procedures, vendor/contract management, covenant enforcement and management consulting services.  Call today for a free quote on management of your HOA, POA or Condo Association at 678-866-1436 or go to www.riversidepropertymgt.com.