Why Community Association Board Members and Homeowners Are Experiencing Too Much Stress (It’s NOT what you think)

Why Community Association Board Members and Homeowners Are Experiencing Too Much Stress (It’s NOT what you think)

Ever wonder why so many people are so stressed out these days? Isn’t it fair to say that stress levels have gone up over the years? Ever wonder why that is?

Some people say its because companies are more demanding and technology has made our work lives much more pervasive. And that our work hours have extended way past a typical 9am to 5pm work schedule. Others may think that it is because we (Americans) are so busy building careers, that we don’t take the time to smell the roses that we walk past (and drive by)

Well that may very well be true. But I don’t think that is what is the BIGGEST cause of all the extra stress that is now part of many of our lives.

I argue that it is because more and more companies are providing what I call “stress inducing” services. These are companies that provide services that are actually causing more stress for people than actually relieving stress. The get away with it by charging cut rate prices. These prices lure shoppers into hiring these companies. This is especially true with businesses in service related industries such as home remodeling, auto repairs and property management companies. I’m by no means suggesting that all service type companies are stress inducing. In fact, there are many that are stress relieving. I’m simply sharing what I have experienced through first and second hand knowledge over the past 13 years.

Stress Inducing Example: Community Property Management

In this example, I am going to simply ask the question:

“Why board of directors remain loyal AND committed to property management companies that cause nothing but stress and headaches to the board members and to the homeowners?”

It is a question that has dogged me and remained unanswered during my entire 14 career in community property management. I have gone on countless presentations and have met hundreds of board members over the years and time and time again I hear the same old story.

And the story goes something like this:

• I’m really frustrated with my property manager
• I don’t get return phone calls.
• I have to keep reminding him/her to do things.
• We never get any support around projects.
• I have to email multiple times until I get a response.
• We often end up getting the bids ourselves and oversee the projects ourselves.
• And then when we ask for the property manager to resolve a warranty claim for a project, it feels that the property management company is taking the side of the vendor and not the side of the community association.
• It has gotten to the point that we don’t bother to ask for much and we end up doing most of the extra work ourselves other than the basic accounting
• In fact, we are now questioning all their extra charges for the last 12 months and have been waiting for their response for the last 3 months.

After hearing that typical story, I then think to myself “this is going to be a no brainer”. No one in their right mind would put up with that level of service.

But in the end, the vast majority of people (board of directors) actually stay with the same service provider (property management company). This also ends up causing undue stress for the homeowners that live within the association. The board justifies it by saying (and thinking) something like this:

• We’re going to give them another shot
• They said they are going to assign us a different property manager (for the 5th time)
• I’m good friends with the property manager so I don’t want to get him/her in trouble
• We’re right in the middle of a project, so let’s just wait until it’s over
• I’m waiting to hear from the other board of directors and see if they think we should switch or search for a new firm
• Let’s just see how it goes
• I changed my mind

Now imagine if the board simply said enough is ENOUGH.

They actually took aggressive action and switched to a community property management company that:

• Took care of things right the first time.
• Provided timely responses day in and day out
• Addressed matters in an expert level fashion
• Proactively addressed matters before they became issues
• Got bids from vendors that would result in the most value for the association
• Operated in a highly transparent way that built trust with the board of directors and homeowners
• Actually saved the board members and homeowners time and money
• That provided a service so AMAZINGLY WELL that the homeowners were actually turned into RAVING FANS.

What would that do to the board member’s and homeowner’s stress levels?

SUMMARY

Stop accepting high stress levels. Stop justifying the status quo. Take immediate action today. Fire all your mediocre service provides today and hire ones that will actually lower your stress levels. Paying cheap prices doesn’t really save you money if it causes you HIGH stress levels.  And think about it, you will actually have more fun in life and more time to spend with your family and friends!

About the Author:

Salvatore J. Sciacca aka “Condoboss” is one of the nation’s leading experts in the community property management industry and is also recognized for his blogs and insight on personal and organizational transformation. He is also the President and Founder of Chicago Property Services, Chicago’s #1 community property management company specializing in management and operations of condos/townhomes/HOA’s of 100 units and under. Salvatore is also the founder of managmycommunity.com (MMC), which is a state-of-the-art online support portal for community associations.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Salvatore is recognized for his extensive knowledge of capital planning, preventative maintenance, cost-saving measures and community building techniques. He holds industry stature as a Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), the designation of Association Management Specialist (AMS) and is fully licensed as a manager (License #: 261.001386) through the State of IL.

Salvatore can be reached at: 312.455.0107 x102 or atssciacca@chicagopropertyservices.com.