Condo Media - March 2013 - 49

at the annual meeting for $5.80?” Abel
will ask.
Curb appeal is about a community’s
appearance, but it isn’t superficial, he
emphasizes, it is fundamental. Curb
appeal and value, he notes, overlap in
important ways. For that
reason, maintaining curb
appeal doesn’t necessarily
require additional expenditures; it often involves
expenditures the board is
making, or should be making, anyway.
For example, painting
the buildings on a regular
maintenance schedule will
enhance the community’s
curb appeal, but it will also
preserve the wood, preventing decay and extending its
life. Maintaining trees will
similarly enhance a community’s appearance, but it will
also preserve “an incredibly
valuable asset.” Abel says.
Trees aren’t just part of the
scenery, “they’re part of
the community’s infrastructure,” contributing both to
its value and its curb appeal.
“You can’t separate them.”
Robert Keegan,
CMCA, AMS, PCAM,
Vice President
R&E Associates,
Inc., AAMC,
Kennebunk, Maine
Keegan agrees with
Abel that prospective buyers and owners both view a community’s appearance as “a reflection on how it is run.”
If the landscape isn’t well-maintained
and if the entryway sign hasn’t been
touched up in years, he notes, prospective buyers will question whether they
want to live here and existing owners will question how their money is
being spent. On the other hand, if the
property looks nice, retirees looking
out of their windows and residents
coming home from work every night
will have “warm and fuzzy feelings”

about the community, and those are
feelings boards and managers want to
encourage.
But while owners may appreciate
the nicely manicured lawns and the
well tended flower beds, they may also

question the costs involved in maintaining them. If the board has just
announced a major assessment, Keegan notes, owners who see someone
tending the flowers twice a week may
question whether that is an essential
expense, or one the community can afford. “Boards have to walk a fine line,”
he says, maintaining curb appeal but
finding cost-effective ways to do it.
He suggests concentrating on major “focal points,” such as the front
entrance, and looking for areas where
it is possible to cut expenses without
significantly affecting the property’s
appearance. “If the community
invested a lot of money in landscaping around the entrance but hasn’t
been able to maintain it,” he suggests, “consider scaling that back to
something more affordable” — fewer
shrubs or flowers that are less expensive to maintain — “something that

will give you curb appeal but won’t
break the bank.”
One community he manages was
trying to decide what to do about a
badly deteriorated fence at the property’s entrance. The fence was “just for
show,” Keegan says, and replacing it would cost about
$4,000. So the board
decided to spend $500 to
remove it instead. The area
now looks much better,
and “if they want to put a
fence there in the future,
that can be easily done.”
You don’t want to cut
essential maintenance, he
emphasizes, but there may
be some areas in the community that “you can let go
for a while.” For example,
some communities seal
their driveways every other
year because they like the
freshly-paved look. “But
they’re not extending the
life of those areas,” Keegan says. “They’re just
buying a look.” Sealing
less frequently can reduce
maintenance costs, and as
long as areas are free of potholes and
large cracks, he notes, prospective buyers won’t be put off if the pavement
doesn’t look new.
Communities looking to reduce their
landscaping costs without sacrificing
curb appeal might consider letting
grassy areas behind buildings grow in
for a while, Keegan suggests. “You can
start mowing those back areas again
when budgets are less tight,” he notes,
“and you won’t be causing any damage in the interim.” Nor will you be
affecting curb appeal, he notes, because
the front of the buildings, on which
first impressions are based, will still be
attractive.
Owners will see those back areas,
however, Keegan says, and it is important to make sure they know what the
board is doing and why. “You don’t
want them showing up at the annual
meeting with pitchforks.” CM
Condo Media • March 2013

Condo Media - March 2013

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