Posted on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 03:44 AM
I would like to know how to change a condo association rule that
prohibits attaching flower boxes outside the balcony railings. The rationale behind the rule is safety, but it seems more like a pretext than a valid concern to me, given the situation.
I live on the second floor of a four-story, 52-unit condo. I have lived there for the last three years. I put up flower boxes when I moved in and they have been up for three years now. Recently, the condo association board decided to enforce the rule that flower boxes can only be mounted on the inner side of the balcony railings, citing safety concerns. There is no sidewalk underneath my balcony. There is no roadway. No water, gas, or electric meters. Only a patch of grass bordered by a fence surrounding the parking lot of the neighboring funeral home. The foot traffic is basically limited to landscapers moving the lawn once a week.
I believe my flower boxes benefit the building and the condo association. Several Turnberry residents have complimented me on them. The flowers beautify the building, boost curb appeal, and help create the inviting atmosphere that makes our building a desirable place to live. Can you please suggest some steps I can take to change this rule? Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it!
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Posted on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 @ 12:13 PM
Here are some creative initiatives your condo board can take on with your condo association.
Leverage the Condo Association with Direct TV.
Maybe your property has a mix of cable and internet providers and can leverage group buying power through the condo association or HOA. If properly wired, Direct TV can have all residential units feed from one satellite dish, eliminating the satellite dish skyline and wiring mess in and on top of your condominium building. You have to call Direct TV’s MDU Division (Multi-Dwelling Unit) for this kind of deal. I think its worth checking out. Here is the link to the Direct TV MDU webpage Direct TV MDU.
Use a Condominium Association Credit Card
Pay condo association bills on time while helping with the cash flow by charging it. Go through the condo association vendor list and find out who takes credit cards. If your vendors accept credit cards, your condo association can rack some points over the year that can be redeemed at place like Home Depot for new community grill. If you’re a small condo association, American Express provides great financial reporting at the end of the year that will certainly help you keep the books.
Collect Condo Fees from Credit Cards
Your condo association can do this through most banks. This is a great way to collect total funds needed for larger capital assessments. It’s another way to increase your condo association reserves and minimize accounts receivable and default risk.
Secure an HOA Loan or Condo Association Loan
Regardless what your condo reserve or budget looks right now, every condo association should have one have a HOA Credit Line. The cost is nothing or minimal to open a HOA Credit Line and it’s becoming more acceptable practice for condo associations and home owner associations to use one. Current HOA loan rates can be anywhere from 6.5% to 8% and condo associations usually have a choice of amortization schedules. HOA loans and lines of credits are usually secured by the right to assess condo owners.
Take your Condo Association on a Green Initiative
How can this be a bad thing? There is a plethora of content available on the Internet on how to go green, but basically it’s about energy conservation in our condo buildings, which I’m sure we can all do greener. Maybe switch from oil to gas or other alternative energy sources, use faucets and toilets that use less water, put in energy saving light bulbs – they’re more expensive, but will last a lot longer.
Start a Condo Association Website
There are many different condo association website service providers that specialize in hosting condo websites and all you need to do is update it on a regular basis. A condo association website will help raise the property value and enhance communications with condo boards and condo owners.
Start your own Condominium Association Loyalty Program
This is interesting – I stumbled upon this the other day: www.condoperks.com. Evidently this service combines a condo association website with a shopping portal, where as condo association members make purchases at affiliated retailer, the condo association gets a percentage of the sales. Looks like its only available in few metropolitan cities right now and they’re still growing their business concept. They're definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Posted on Thu, Feb 12, 2009 @ 07:57 AM
Does your Condo Association have a strategy to go green?
If you live in an older condo building the answer is most likely no, but that can change quickly after understanding a number of fairly easy to implement green initiatives found on the EPA's Energy Star website. No one expects the condo association an older residential building to go 100% green tomorrow, but there a many small steps that can make your building more energy efficient and a healthier place to live right now. Here are some ideas for condo associations boards and property managers.
A Condo Association Can Do a Energy Self-Audit On Their Condo Building
Energy Star has a self evaluation tool called the Home Energy Yardstick, which helps you determine the overall energy efficiency of your property. It works well and actually only takes about 5 minutes, like the website claims. Although it's intended for a single family property, you can make it work for your condo building by calculating an average condo unit, then extrapolating the information to meet the size of your condo building.
It's a quick and useful calculation of your energy usage, and requires some knowledge of your energy usage over the past year (which will be on your monthly bill), so just make sure you have your energy bills for handy before you get started.
Install Energy Efficient Light Bulbs or Fixtures On Your HOA Property
Replacing old light bulbs with Energy Efficient Light Bulbs is a no-brainer. There are a host of Energy Star rated light bulbs that are a little more expensive than your traditional light bulbs, but they should last for a very long time. According to the EPA, "ENERGY STAR qualified lighting provides bright, warm light but uses about 75% less energy than standard lighting, produces 75% less heat, and lasts up to 10 times longer."
Seal the Windows and Doors In Your Condo Association's Building
Energy Star estimates that a homeowners associations "....can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% on their total annual energy bill) by sealing and insulating." If you live in an older building, it can be much higher percentage than this. Our building is over 80 years old and when I moved in the building, I could feel a breeze with the window shut. We sealed the windows and felt an enormous difference. The sealing of windows and doors should be high on your green priority list. Here is a link to educate you to the impact of air leaks in the envelope of your condo building.
Switch Your Condo Association from Oil to a Gas Burner
We switched to a gas burner two years ago and our energy bill dropped about 15% per annum over the past two year. Old oil burners are grossly inefficient - emitting more pollution because they don't have modern controls standard today on new boilers. Due to its size, our old oil burner needed its own room in the basement. Our new gas boiler is smaller than a footlocker and was mounted to our wall, rendering the room pretty much empty.
There are many other green initiatives you can take, but these few that I mentioned are certainly worth looking at today.
Posted on Wed, Feb 11, 2009 @ 06:52 PM
Last winter overextended the budgets of a lot of condo associations.
"In many cases, snow removal and heating will probably be over budget," said Brad Schneider of Condo CPA in Elmhurst.
Some money-minded condo associations took steps to counter these price pressures. "Some were creative and added an energy surcharge, which I thought was a good idea," he said.
Tim Allwardt of Aegis Properties in Chicago also highlighted energy costs as budget busters. "The current major impact that all buildings will be feeling is the energy crunch," he said.
"Last year, you could lock in [natural] gas prices at .75 to .80 a therm, but this year rates being quoted are .50 per therm higher," he said. "This will have a significant impact on high-rise properties that are currently struggling to make ends meet."
Generally, condo associations can expect to see increases from vendors in categories other than those related to the price of utilities and gasoline. "In calling vendors to see if there will be an increase for 2009, most are saying yes," said Tracy Davis of McGill Management.
"The financial pressure on Chicago condo high-rises from the ongoing facade inspections have continued to have a serious impact on many buildings' ability to stay financially solvent," said Allwardt. "As if the cost of this is not significant in and of itself, on top of it you have the life-safety work that needs to be completed by 2012, and major increases in natural gas." Associations have been forced to borrow money and regularly special-assess to cover these mounting expenses.
Allwardt, whose firm manages primarily Chicago buildings, indicated that multiple foreclosures can have a devastating effect on an association's budget. "I haven't seen it as critical yet, but this certainly can change with a long-term mortgage crisis," he said.
Schneider has found the same true by the lakefront. "Most of the condo associations along Lake Shore Drive do not have huge problems with foreclosure," he said. "Some of the properties in the suburbs have experienced high rates of foreclosure."
Schneider recommends that condo associations faced with the problem of multiple foreclosures estimate what their bad debts will be and cautiously include that income loss in their budgets to be covered by higher assessments. Hopefully, that will not be too much of a strain on the other owners.
By freelance write, David Mack.