Goals for Enhancing Property Value
It takes a lot of planning and work to maintain our property value.
It's important for owners to know where we are spending our money.
Here are current needs to be considered.
All sections in red are suggestions only and not evaluated by the board.
Follow the governing documents—budget ratification, meetings, garage storage enforcement
Amend the governing documents to clarify conflicts such as quorum, decks, meetings. This copy of the gov docs might be useful for considering changes. Maybe. ?? Also might make sure everyone is on the same page.
Create and use a Preventive Maintenance Plan
It would help avoid deferring maintenance. Here’s an article that explains it better than I can and a detailed example from a condo manager in Washington. A schedule and record would make sure we’re budgeting properly to get everything done when it needs to be done. Then we trust Mark to look at the facts on the ground to tweak the plan as necessary when he sees a need. A plan would also be available to share on the website or portal. Seems like a great selling point to show how conscientiously we maintain our property.
Keep up with higher cost maintenance items.
We have paid for a Reserve Study, and since it was a decision of the board, it should be seriously considered as a way to maintain our higher cost elements—roads, painting, carpeting for example. Here’s a summary of how the study suggests we approach making sure our high cost items are well maintained without needing emergency special or supplemental assessments. Costs are from 2021, so they are low.
Upgrade the delinquency collection policy.
We need to avoid large delinquency problems. Maybe check into AXELA which other associations use with positive results?
Keep the Residence Center updated by adding bylaws, handbook and other procedures and information. (Currently no bylaws, but the rest is helpful—thanks!)
Open board meetings with a clear policy and an announcement with agenda 10 days before per state law.
Here’s a draft of a possible policy to start with. It’s really important to have open board meetings to educate owners about what goes into decision making and maintain transparency. They help build community.
Review our procedures to make sure all board members are on the same page.
Take action on decks and patios beginning with an owner's meeting.
I’ve gathered lots of information on this issue. Boards have now used or decided on three different approaches over the past ten years but have never had a special meeting to educate owners and listen to our opinions and preferences. Here’s info that can be used for a meeting and as a summary handout. The slide deck gives more background info.