Community Association Management

What fun! I attended the CAI Conference held in Orlando at the end of April with my colleagues Bill Harding (Net5 Software, owner of CAM*Pro) and Nancy Nordyke-Shelley, his Sales Consultant. We debuted the CAM*Pro Association Management software at the conference. It was a great opportunity to meet other vendors, property managers and management company executives. Florida provided perfect weather, the property at Disney was certainly convenient and comfortable and it was a wonderful opportunity for all involved. Marc Ingram, the CAI National Event Manager, did a great job of managing the event!

What I learned was how much more stringent laws are in Florida regarding licensing of property managers, and how gi-normous some of the management companies are. It boggles my mind to think of +/-300 property managers working for one company! It was also fascinating to talk with property managers there about management issues, portfolio size, fees and more.

We also talked to folks about technology of course, since CAM*Pro is an association management software. It seems that almost every large management company (and there were some there from other states as well), have written their own proprietary software or use JenArk, ATG, Tops, or one of the other comprehensive (read expensive!) software. There was a big gap between those companies and the smaller ones (under 50 properties), many of whom had cobbled together their own systems for managing the plethora of data and tasks related to community management. One of those was an owner/manager who described an amazing system that was based in Excel! Time prevented us from understanding how this system was able to generate the wide variety of customized letters and reports required of managers today.

The trend to PDAs and online software was also evidenced by the number and type of service providers with booths at the convention. Yet, I am left wondering if these trends really service the BULK of manager’s today. How many association management companies are out there that serve 5 – 50 properties with a staff of no more than 5 to 15 people? My sense is that is more the norm than are these huge companies which may also have their own landscape and maintenance divisions.

In almost every case, software has been developed on an accounting platform. So what happens to those managers who outsource their accounting, or use Peachtree, Quickbooks, Timberline, or other accounting software? Is the opportunity for and access to a fully functional management software restricted to having to change accounting systems? Of course I am biased since I developed CAM*Pro http://www.campro.us meet my (and my clients) needs and we have always outsourced our accounting and collection services. I believe it is the first, best and most affordable option for managers who are happy with their existing accounting functionality and who need to be able to manage multiple properties effectively.

The other bias I have that as fast as this industry grows, it lags greatly in the areas of technology, training and software. Despite the growth of these huge property management companies in Florida and Southern California, the bulk of association community management is still done by small businesses with limited availability to state-of-the-art technology or by volunteers (in the case of self-managed properties), with little capability or time to even know what is available to them to support their endeavors. Many of these companies are real estate professionals who are now entering the marketplace as a result of the collapse of the subprime market. Yet the number of communities is growing by leaps and bounds every year, providing a fertile ground for vendors and service providers willing to put the time and effort into developing service packages or technology and the fortitude to figuring out how to reach their marketplace.

Amazing!

Gayle J. Hasley,
Community Assoication Manager
Community Assoication Homeowner
Gayle@campro.us
http://www.campro.us

For whatever reason, it seems that in every association there is someone you just can’t please. (I think it’s the old marketing “80/20” rule in action!) They “bad mouth” you to other residents, are abusive on the phone and no matter what you do, they just aren’t happy.

Fortunately, I only have a couple of those, one of whom is the topic for today. Now this is a person that over the years has been ejected from board meetings, and, due to verbal abuse, has been told she is only to communicate in writing to the office.

She recently called the office to talk about a leak she has in the bathroom. It was a most pleasant conversation! She said she remembered articles in our newsletters referencing common maintenance issues and thought I might be able to help her figure out the source of the leak. After she described it, I gave her a couple of suggestions (replacing the cartridge in her shower and checking the caulking around her tub spigot and overflow) and she thanked me. She even said, she “knew I could help her!” A couple of weeks later, she called about a different problem and in her message, she thanked me for my “wise advice” since they had determined it was, in fact, the caulking around the overflow device that was the source of the leak.

What this proves is that it truly is never about you. When people are angry and abusive, they usually have an issue in their lives that is driving their behavior. Whether their anger is “justified” or not, it is important to keep your personal boundaries and to insist on respectful conversations. Sometimes, you have to really just stop it. I have a little green cheeked conure [parrot] named Jimmy who says “stop it, now…stop it, Jimmy, right now! It’s like having a 2 year old repeating your worst phrases back to you!

Of course, we have to be a bit more diplomatic than that on the phone. My assistant, Carol, has a marvelous way of doing that by simply saying “I’m sorry to stop you…however I will have to close the phone now. Please put your concerns in writing.” and then she hangs up. She knows she has my complete backing, and more importantly, we document every call in the call log association management software (see www.campro.us) so there is never any confusion about who called when, how many times, and about what. It is an invaluable tool that allows her to see immediate history including phone calls, emails and past requests so she can be professional and responsive to residents and their concerns.

Living in the association as I do, I am often stopped by residents who want to vent or report an issue because they just happened to see me. Often, I know what is coming simply by who is approaching me. It isn’t always easy but I have learned how to say “please stop hollering and I will be happy to listen to you”, or “I’m sorry, I’m on my way out and I don’t have time to talk right now.” Setting boundaries isn’t always easy however with consistent, clear messages, it can be done.

Of course, the old adage is true, you can’t please everyone 100% of the time, but you can try!

Gayle J. Hasley,
Community Association Manager
Community Association Homeowner
gayle@campro.us
www.campro.us