There are many benefits to living in Seattle — it is a city close to nature with great employment opportunities and cool, comfortable summers. For all of the perks of living in Seattle, the city isn’t perfect. There are common issues that many communities face, but professional condo community management providers can provide solutions to many of these problems.
Common Issues Condo Community Management Resolves
Condo community managers provide many services that address the problems that community associations may face. Here are a few common examples of community association problems that management firms can resolve:
Maintenance of Common Areas and Facilities
One of the primary responsibilities faced by condo associations is the need to maintain common areas. Sun, rain, and ice can damage outdoor areas like walkways and patios. Community buildings will need maintenance to exterior features like the roof and the facade. Interior areas need regular cleaning. Even green spaces need regular attention from gardeners to look their best.
Condo associations need to hire contractors and service providers to address these needs. Finding the best provider for these services can be time-consuming and expensive.
Condo community management solves this issue by building relationships with maintenance providers. Community managers have the advantage of working with service contractors on multiple projects; they have more opportunities to learn which are the best fit for a community association’s specific needs.
Condo managers also have the advantage of scale. Management companies may sometimes get better rates from service providers because they work with more than one community association. Bulk contracts allow community managers to combine the needs of multiple community associations. Larger contracts give the management company better leverage when negotiating for services. By combining services for more than one association, managers may save their clients money.
Condo Association Budget Constraints
Condo community associations rely on membership fees paid by the association’s residents. These membership dues are a limited source of funding that puts significant constraints on the association’s budget. Board members may be able to generate more money by levying special assessments, but this is a difficult issue even without Seattle’s high cost of living.
Condo community management companies can offer their clients budget planning and management services. These services give the association access to professional financial services even if none of them are CPAs.
Scale is an advantage here as well. Community managers work with more than one community association, so they have more experience with the specific needs of a condo association. A manager can help board members optimize their budget and plan for needs that volunteer board members may overlook.
Community Rule Enforcement
One of the most problematic issues a condo community’s board members will face is the need to enforce the community’s rules. Sooner or later, one of the residents may violate the terms of the condo association’s restrictive covenants. It will then be up to the board members to take measures to enforce those terms.
The problem is that the board members are all volunteers — they live in the community they serve. When someone violates the restrictive covenants, the board members know that person. They are neighbors, and they may even be friends.
Enforcing the rules against someone the board members know well can cause hurt feelings and damage relationships.
While it can be tempting to take a more lenient approach when disciplining a friend, this path also poses dangers. Lax enforcement sets a bad precedent and can undermine the reason the restrictive covenants were put in place. Uneven enforcement can also harm the relationships between community members.
Condo community managers can help with this by providing an impartial third party. The board members can delegate enforcement to the manager, who can then take disciplinary actions without the risk of hurt feelings and accusations of favoritism. The distance provided by third-party arbitration helps the community get the benefits of the restrictive covenants without damaging the cohesion of the condo association.
Use Professional Management for Your Condo Community
There are many advantages of living in a condo community. Living in a beautiful, close-knit community is worth dealing with the issues the community will face. Professional condo community management makes this more convenient by addressing issues like these on the community’s behalf. Look for a reliable community management company today.
