One of the most common question asked by condo association board members AND homeowners is whether or not it is a good investment to hire a management company.
This question is of particular relevance to smaller associations that are under 25 units. Coincidentally, the vast majority of condo associations in Illinois are under 25 units. For larger community associations and high rise condo associations, there is no doubt that some type of professional support is needed to supplement the volunteer board members.
So this article is written specifically for the smaller associations in mind that typically are self managed and are considering hiring a management company.
Here are the top 10 ways it pays to hire an EFFECTIVE condo management company:
- Contract services cost containment and cost reductions. The management company has leverage to drive your costs down around landscaping, janitorial, waste removal etc. Associations can potentially save thousands of dollars a year on their contract services expenses.
- Unpaid assessment collections expertise. There are hundreds of associations that don’t pursue unpaid assessments from their neighbors because of the discomfort of addressing the issue directly between homeowners. As a result, there are associations with thousands of dollars of uncollected assessments. By hiring the right management company, the association can quite possibly collect those assessments.
- Avoid emergencies and expensive repairs. A helpful management company will recommend ways to avoid pipes from bursting and door knobs from falling of on Sunday afternoons rather than reacting after it’s too late. And its a lot cheaper to prevent emergencies than it is to respond and fix emergency maintenance issues.
- Property tax appeals. With cities looking for more and more revenues, property tax abatement is becoming more critical for condo associations. A skilled management company can often times get property taxes lowered for condo owners because of their vendor partner connections.
- Utility bill reductions. Are your gas bills and water bills sky high? An effective management company has ways to make the condo association more energy efficient that WILL save the condo association money.
- Insurance bill savings. Does your association have the right coverage? Is your insurance agent shopping around for competitive quotes? A helpful management company will ensure the association is getting the best coverage and price.
- Expert advice. When an association hires an EFFECTIVE management company that SPECIALIZES in condo associations, one of the biggest benefits is having access to their expertise. This expert advice WILL save the board time and money and will help avoid countless headaches.
- Avoid expensive lawsuits. Condo management companies don’t dispense legal advice. However, they have specialized knowledge that can help condo association boards and homeowners avoid expensive lawsuits and litigation.
- Greater homeowner engagement. Effective management companies have the skill set to drive up homeowner engagement and create better community living. Wouldn’t it be nice if board meeting attendance doubled and people actually wanted to attend the meetings rather than avoid them?
- Capital projects savings. Useful condo management companies have excellent working relationships with all types of vendor partners than specialize in serving condo associations. In addition, they have leverage with those vendor partners to get better deals. This drives costs DOWN. In comparison, self managed condo associations typically down have the leverage with vendors and are typically paying much higher fees especially for capital projects.
In summary, it DOES pay to hire an EFFECTIVE condo management company even for smaller condo associations.
About the Author:
Salvatore J. Sciacca aka “Condoboss” is one of the nation’s leading experts in the community property management industry. 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’s contact information is:
312-455-0107 x102
ssciacca@chicagopropertyservices.com
www.chicagopropertyservices.com