Northshore Living: Residential Property Management

by Karen B. Gibbs

It’s 2 a.m., and you haven’t slept a wink because your neighbor’s partying—for the third weekend in a row. To make matters worse, he loads his party trash into cans that he leaves on the street for days before trash pickup. Sound familiar?

If you live in a subdivision, you know the trouble that can arise when neighborliness gets trumped by inconsideration. Aware of the awkwardness of handling such situations on your own, you turn to your homeowners association board for help. That might do the trick. But put yourself in the position of the board members. All of a sudden, you inherit a problem that doesn’t even involve you.

In order to avoid such headaches, many boards hire a residential property management company. Robert Phillips, of GNO Property Management, says, “Property managers can help board members get their lives back. Being on a board is a volunteer job that can consume more of their time than it should.”

As objective third parties, property managers are often able to resolve situations that would have homeowner boards running for aspirin—for example, homeowners who are delinquent in their dues. A property manager collects the money due. If that fails, the manager files a lien, and as a last resort turns the matter over to an attorney, who initiates a lawsuit.

Property managers can handle the everyday, nitpicking violations of covenant rules. From non-maintenance of yards, house paint color, boats and RVs in driveways to unapproved structures or even unauthorized swimming pools, the procedure is usually the same. The manager sends a letter to the offending resident, and then makes a follow-up visit. Without revealing the name of the complainant, the manager mediates the problem. According to Phillips, that usually resolves 70 percent of such situations.

Often, implementation of covenant regulations is difficult because of “soft” enforcement stipulations in the original covenant. Property managers who have experience working with covenants can help associations amend and update these documents to make them more realistic and tougher to circumvent.

In addition to handling such internal association matters, a property manager may take care of interactions with vendors, obtaining bids and interviewing companies to work for the subdivision. Landscapers who maintain green space, garbage and trash collectors, pool maintenance for common pools—all pass the scrutiny of the manager. Recommendations of vendors are given to the board. Spared the aggravation of interviewing and researching, the board can quickly and easily decide which company to hire. The property management company may even pay bills.

Strange as it may seem, property managers can help maintain friendships. Many homeowners meetings dissolve into shouting and angry words over matters as innocuous as a new entrance sign. Property managers defuse such situations by handling all the details, from the architect’s design to contractor bids. With a neat package in hand, the manager presents options to the board, eliminating the stress of negotiating these items.

A homeowners association can contract with a property management company for full management or for à la carte services tailored to the association’s specific needs. Costs range from an average of $2 to $12 per month per household.
While professional property management is a relatively new concept, homeowners associations are increasingly giving it serious consideration.