What Does a Community Association Management Firm Do?
If you sit on the board of a Tacoma HOA, then you’ve likely heard of community association management firms. The Management Trust is proud to be one of the nation’s premier HOA management companies, having been in the industry for more than 30 years. Over these years, we’ve noticed that we receive a lot of questions and confusion surrounding what services we provide and what tasks fall to the HOA board itself. In this blog, we’ll explain a few of the basic community management services The Management Trust provides and clarifies which tasks are strictly left to the HOA board and homeowners.
Financial Services
The Management Trust offers comprehensive financial management services independently as well as part of our full-service management program. Community finances can be a complex topic to handle, especially if your HOA board members don’t have previous financial services experience. We’ll work alongside the board to ensure that your HOA has adequate reserves for long-term and emergency costs. We’ll also make sure that dues are paid on time, assist you in filing your board’s taxes, prepare annual budgets, handle vendor billings, and more. Living in the same community you supervise can make financial enforcement an awkward topic. Having your community management services handled by a third party can ease this burden and ensure that your HOA has the funds it needs to flourish.
Administrative Duties
When you sign on with a community association management firm, you’ll be assigned a primary point of contact who will provide administrative support to the board and homeowners when needed. This can include answering homeowner inquiries, assisting in annual budget preparation, or attending board meetings. They can also help schedule community events, board meetings, and other tasks that the HOA has agreed upon. Since board members are volunteers, they sometimes don’t have an extensive amount of time to dedicate to these events. Having the assistance of an HOA management firm can gain the resources and manpower you need to execute ideas that the HOA board conceptualizes.
What Does the HOA Management Firm NOT Do?
Community management services are created to assist the HOA in every way possible, from financial services and administrative tasks to site management and operational duties. However, there are some things that a community association management firm never does. For instance, all final decisions are made by the HOA board. The board is responsible for finalizing the budget, brainstorming community events, and passing new laws. The management firm, on the other hand, works to execute and implement these ideas. The community management company will enforce any rules set in place, but the HOA board itself is the only party who can create new rules and determine the penalties for violating them.
What Makes The Management Trust Different?
We differentiate ourselves from others in the industry by continually listening and adapting to the needs of our homeowners. As a 100% employee-owned management firm, we are uniquely motivated to ensure the success of the communities we serve. By utilizing our employee-owners’ diverse strengths, we can offer individualized, personable assistance in every aspect of community management. Implementing this mentality both within our own offices and within our represented communities results in thriving neighborhoods around the country. Where some community management services offer a one-size-fits-all approach, we take the time to create strong, one-on-one relationships between our clients and our employee-owners so we can best understand and serve your needs. We strive to think differently, do more, and do what is right every day for all of our communities.
If you think that your Tacoma HOA could benefit from community management services, then don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at The Management Trust. We have the network and resources of a national corporation, but our local offices and employee-owner business model allows us to stay in tune with each community’s needs in a way that no other HOA management firm can. To find out more about what we can do for your HOA, give us a call at (253) 472-0825 today.
