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Ways of Choosing a Vendor That Won't Put Your HOA at Risk
No matter what kind of vendor your HOA needs – a caterer for your onsite party, a roofer to repair post-hurricane damage or a painter to spiff up your lobby – your board should never take a casual approach to the hiring process. -
Top Five Tips for Board Member Success
After partnering with thousands of board members like you, we've identified 5 tips to help you be successful this year. -
What You Need to Know About Short-Term Rental Liability
Online access to user-friendly host platforms like Airbnb & HomeAway have contributed to skyrocketing numbers of short-term rentals. While a vast majority of rental stays are uneventful, the sheer number of travelers who use these services mean that accidental or even fatal injuries can occur. Take action to make sure that your homeowners' association is educated on insurance risks and coverage for the unexpected. -
What Your HOA Needs to Know About Community Insurance
How much do you know about community association insurance? Although your bylaws and declarations include requirements to provide community association insurance coverage, most board members don’t know as much about it as they should. -
Email Communication
You may be unaware that you are opening up all of your emails to scrutiny. When using a personal or work email address to conduct association business, there is a potential liability involved. -
Email Communication
You may be unaware that you are opening up all of your emails to scrutiny. When using a personal or work email address to conduct association business, there is a potential liability involved. -
3 Facts About Insurance Your Condo Corporation Should Know
You and your fellow board members want what’s best for your condo corporation. You’re serious about your fiduciary duty and about protecting the corporation’s interests. Misunderstanding some important facts about insurance can actually put your community may be at risk. -
3 Ways to Fund Your Condominium Corporation Replacements and Major Repairs
At one time or another, every condominium corporation has to spend money on replacing equipment or making major repairs. Whether that means replacing a roof, installing a new ventilation system or any other big-ticket project, they are a necessity. But how should your condo corporation pay for them? -
4 Ways Your Board Can More Effectively Communicate Your Condo’s Budget
Creating your condominium corporation’s annual budget is one of the most important responsibilities your board has. It takes a lot of hard work and may require spending decisions that won’t be popular with unit owners. Consequently, owners may voice strong objections or even question the board’s ability to manage the corporation’s money. -
Effects of frozen pipes in cold weather and how to avoid them
Frozen pipes are an unwanted, but common, occurrence during Alberta's cold winters. The damage caused can be significant to condominium units and shared property. Our cold weather warning offers condominium residents tips to prevent frozen pipes and the water damage that results. -
Creating a Condo Flooring Policy to Address Noise Issues
When people live in close quarters, it is inevitable that they will hear sounds from neighbouring condos from time to time. Noise between units can be minimized in many ways. One of the most effective tools for a condominium board to implement is a flooring policy that guides owners when they want to replace their floor coverings. Choosing the right products makes a big difference when it comes to the transfer of noise between condominium units. -
Does Your Condo Corporation Have A Plan For Fostering A Sense Of Community?
Humans are social creatures. Since the dawn of time, we’ve had a deep-seated yearning for connection and community. This is particularly evident in a condo corporation, where a strong sense of community can be the difference between long-standing residency and high turnover. -
Five Steps for More Effective Condo Board Meetings
If you’re like many board members, one of your most challenging jobs is running your condominium corporation’s board meetings. Keeping everyone on task and addressing board member disagreements is not always easy. So what can you do to manage your meetings more effectively? -
Five Things that Break Your Budget
Determining the annual budget is an important responsibility that condominium board members know is important to the financial success of their community. This article discusses things to consider when making the important budget line-item decisions. -
Getting Your Building's Spring Cleaning Started
As community managers begin property inspection, they note the necessary repairs for winter damage as they make their rounds through the community. T -
Home for Sale? Six Tips to Add Value and Appeal
For most people selling a condominium, it is important to stand out from the competition in the real estate market, have a quick sale and obtain the best possible price. But how do you do that? The way your property is presented to potential buyers makes a big difference. Consider these tips to help you achieve real estate sales success. -
How a preventive maintenance plan can keep your condominium from walking on thin ice
Cold weather will soon be upon us, so now is the time to make sure your condominium maintenance program is on track. As brutal as Alberta winters can be, you certainly don't want to discover a leak in your roof during a heavy snowfall or have a boiler stop working during a record cold spell. -
How Condo Owners Can Manage Their Homes During Summer Vacation
Summer vacation is an exciting time-it’s great to get away! There’s no end to the adventures that await us all. At the end of the journey, though, you want to come home to a home that is safe and well looked after in your absence. -
How to Create Policies for Your Condo Association—Without Making Enemies
Rules are essential in a multi-family community. They layout expectations for the residents and promote a spirit of co-operation amongst the group. When the board-set policies are violated, a defined set of steps should occur to encourage compliance. It is important for a condo board to craft their policies thoughtfully, looking at the rules from all angles to determine the balance between the need, property values and homeowner freedom. Here are eight steps to consider when developing policies for your condominium. -
How to Identify and Resolve Conflict within a Condo Board
As a condominium or HOA board member, how do you deal with contentious issues? This article discusses five steps to take to foster a spirit of cooperation among board members and diffuse difficult situations. -
How to Protect Your Condo Corporation From Cyberattacks
When it comes to cyberattacks, you may be under the assumption that your condo corporation is flying under the radar. But you’d be dead wrong. In fact, as a small business, your corporation may be at greater risk of being targeted than ever before. -
Setting reasonable pet policies for your condominium: What you need to know
Pet owners love their pets, but not everyone else feels the same. When people live in multi-family communities it is imperative to create a balance for all residents, whether they have furry companions or they don't. How can this be achieved? A good start is clear bylaws and pet policies that consider the needs of all. -
How Your Condo Board Can Ensure Great Communication
For a condominium corporation, great communication relies on an open exchange of information, thoughts and ideas among residents, board members and your property management company. When communication is done well, you can get the answers you need, tackle challenges and strengthen community spirit. -
Potted Plants are Not Ashtrays
It seems innocent, but a surprising number of balcony and backyard fires are unintentionally started by disposal of smoking material in a potted plant or planter box. In a condominium environment this can have, and has had, disastrous consequences. And it's not just a summertime problem.