What is a Community Association Manager?

 

 

To achieve success in this industry, a Community Association Manager must be able to skillfully interact with a wide array of individuals, who often have competing needs and agendas.  The manager reports directly to the Board while providing a valuable service to the residents and owners of the community.  This level of skill and service does not come without a price, but the benefits far outweigh the cost.

Indeed, the Community Association Manager is a very unique individual.  This professional, and the management team of which they are a part, must combine all of the following:

Ø    The skills of a diplomat to deal with the different residents and owners within the community, not to mention the problems and day to day decisions that require attention all at the same time;

Ø    Administrative skills to juggle all the written and oral communication items that must be dealt with each day quickly and efficiently;

Ø    Knowledge about federal, state (The Massachusetts Condominium Act) and local statutes that form the basis for the legal governance of condominiums.

Ø    Knowledge about insurance issues and basic risk management.

Ø    Knowledge about construction issues including developing bid packages, negotiating contracts and effectively dealing with contractors and vendors;

Ø    Knowledge about routine and preventive maintenance issues from the roof to the ground with everything in between;

Ø    Governance skills to effectively handle elections, community issues, run effective meetings, work with volunteer committee and board members.  A condominium community is essentially a mini-government.

Ø    Business skills to responsibly manage a budget that can range from $100,000 to well into the millions. 

Ø    Knowledge about an array of property types, from condominiums to co-operatives to planned unit developments; all with different styles, from suburban townhouse to urban high-rise; and buildings built with different materials from wood to masonry.  The property might have miles of common hallways with elevators or it might have acres of common area landscaping. The property might have fireplaces and individual HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems or it might have one primary heating system (boiler, chiller) to serve all the residents.

 

Although the following is a partial list of the responsibilities of a Community Association Manager, some of these items may not be included in the basic management contract.  Items such as project supervision, administering insurance claims, managing site payroll, attending additional meetings and loan procurement, just to mention a few, typically involve additional compensation.  In addition, the responsibilities and expectations may vary for a manager that oversees several properties at the same time (multi-site or portfolio) versus a manager who manages only one site at a time (single-site or on-site).

Ø    Administrative and governance: promptly returning telephone calls, messages and e-mails; promptly responding to routine or emergency maintenance requests; facilitating or running Board, annual and special unit owner meetings and elections; assisting in the development of board and community policies and procedures; and the toughest of all, rule enforcement.  The manager must establish a working relationship with town, city, and often state government officials and various local government department heads.  The manager is the liaison with the association’s attorney for collection, litigation and all other legal matters.

Ø    Facility management: developing criteria for procuring bids for large and small projects; working cooperatively with a large and diverse group of professionals such as accountants, attorneys, engineers, insurance and risk management experts; roofing, carpentry; painting, mechanical, cleaning, paving, pool, masonry, plumbing and electrical professionals; landscaping and snow removal professionals; pest control, towing, security, access control professionals, and many others.

Ø    Business: acting as the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) of the Association or Trust.  The manager provides information to the Board members so that they can make a final informed decision on the item at hand.  The manager is responsible for carrying out as effectively and efficiently as possible the decisions and policies of the governing Board.  The manager assists in the development of the annual budget for both operating and reserve expenditures.  The manager administers the bank accounts; pays bills; collects common area fees; develops monthly financial reports including owner delinquencies; procures insurance for the property, acting in a limited capacity as a risk manager; and overall, makes the day to day business decisions in conjunction with the Association and Board policies and direction.  If the property has on-site staff, the manager might also be an employer, requiring knowledge of employment practices, as well as handling the financial aspect of payroll and related employee benefits.

 

As clearly indicated, the role of the community association manager is quite complex and few professions require such a wide variety of skills.  Although the responsibilities are always challenging, the profession can be very rewarding.  A well-run professionally managed community has a positive direct affect on the financial value of the property and its units, as well as the quality of life of the residents within the community.