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What management services does CA provide to community associations?
There are three broad categories of services that are provided: physical, financial and administrative services. The physical services include the management of items
such as roofs, parking lots, pool, exterior painting, lawn & landscaping and other common elements. Financial services include collection of maintenance fees,
payment of invoices, financial statement preparation, payroll, budget preparation and other related financial matters. Administrative services include matters involving
compliance with Florida Statutes, board meetings, annual meetings, correspondence with owners, obtaining bids, coordination with legal counsel, etc.
Why does a community association need a professional property manager?
The alternative to professional management is "volunteer" management provided by homeowners and board members. The volunteer approach may work well
for a while but volunteers generally lose interest in the non-paid and rather thankless job of assisting the association. Additionally, the Florida Statutes which govern
community associations are very complex and if not strictly followed, the association may be subject to fines or penalties for non-compliance. Companies such as CA
are equipped to deal with the business and statutory requirements of associations.
How does CA handle after hours emergencies such as a plumbing leak?
CA has a 24 hour emergency answering service that will contact a property manager in the event of an emergency. All of CA’s property managers are provided
with pagers and cell phones so that they may be contacted day or night for an emergency.
If an association is dissatisfied with a particular vendor or contractor (pool, lawn service, etc.), how will CA assist the association?
Because CA manages approximately 8,000 units throughout the Tampa Bay area, we have access to a large database of preferred vendors and contractors. CA will
generally recommend two or three firms which can be interviewed by the board so that a new vendor or contractor may be selected.
If the association needs to complete certain projects such as roof replacement or exterior painting, how will CA assist?
CA will obtain bids from reputable contractors and present the bids to the board for their review. The final choice of the contractor is the responsibility of the board.
What is an LCAM?
LCAM stands for "licensed community association manager." Generally, any individual who works for a management company and manages homeowner
or condominium associations must receive the LCAM designation from the state of Florida. In order to become an LCAM, an individual must undergo a thorough
background check, pass a state of state of Florida administered examination and must then meet continuing education requirements.
How can CA assist an association in determining whether replacement reserves are adequate?
CA works with many contractors who can provide replacement cost information for major replacement components. CA also utilizes several reserve study companies
that can provide a complete analysis of an association’s reserves to determine the adequacy of the reserves and the required annual funding. CA reviews all
reserve calculations on an annual basis during the budget preparation process.
Association insurance in the state of Florida is very confusing and costly. Can CA assist an association in determining that it has the
appropriate insurance coverage and is paying a fair premium?
Although we at CA are not insurance agents, we deal with insurance on a daily basis. Association insurance is very complex and costly, therefore we only deal
with agencies that specialize in association insurance. There are several good agencies in the area that CA can refer to your association.
Our association has several owners who are delinquent in the payment of their maintenance fees. How can CA help us to collect these
amounts and improve the association’s cash flow?
CA’s accounting department works very closely with the collection department of several law firms who specialize in the collection of association maintenance
fees. CA has an excellent accounting system which tracks maintenance fee charges and payments and assesses late fees when appropriate. CA also has a very structured
program for issuing reminder notices and lien notices.
Our association is preparing to paint the entire complex and we are seeking bids from painting contractors. How can CA assist us in
ascertaining that the bids are comparable in terms of product quality and the application process?
CA engages various paint suppliers who will prepare detail paint specifications to be presented to painting contractors so that all bids are based on the same
requirements. The paint supplier will inspect the job at various stages of completion and upon completion to verify that the work is being properly performed
and that the correct materials are being used..
How can CA assist our board of directors to educate us on the duties and responsibilities of the board?
CA offers a training program for board members which includes a professionally prepared video presentation and a question and answer session.
Our association has a major renovation project that must be completed. We need to levy a special assessment to pay for this project and we
would like for the payments to be spread over a two year period. How can CA assist our association in structuring such a payment plan?
CA has arranged many bank loans which in effect allow the association to finance a special assessment over an extended period of time in order to ease the financial
burden on the unit owners in the association.
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3001 Executive Drive, Suite 260, Clearwater, FL 33762
• Phone: 727.573.9300 • Fax: 727.573.8549 |
777 S. Harbour Island Blvd. Suite 270, Tampa, FL 33602
• Phone: 813.209.9300 • Fax: 813.209.9153 |
| • Toll-free: 1.866.259.3983 • info@condominiumassociates.com |
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