Condo Media - November 2015 - 16

Homeowner's Corner

Wearing Many Hats

Managers Work With Boards, Owners, and Residents
[by James Connolly]

Each association is unique. While certain building aspects are similar, every condominium has a
personality all its own. With a volunteer board elected
to serve as leaders, they are not professionals in real
estate in most cases. Because of this, many boards
choose to seek the assistance of a professional management company, with a manager to handle the dayto-day business of running the association.
The board and the manager each have their own role
within the community, and while the manager works
directly for the board, their roles are vastly different.
As the ultimate governing body for the association, the
board creates and enforces procedures, rules, and policies, enters into contractual agreements, and abides by
the condo documents. The manager implements the
decisions and actions of the board. To be successful in
this role, the manager must have a great deal of managerial skill and the ability to efficiently juggle a variety
of responsibilities. The manager also must possess the
same skill set needed to manage real estate, including
financial, planning, and administrative expertise.
A basic overview of the manager's role and skill set
could include among other things:
■ Follow what's set forth in the condo documents.
■ Ensure the policies of the board are carried out.
■ Prepare, implement, and oversee the annual budget.
■ Keep the board informed of fiscal, financial, and

operations health.

■ Negotiate contracts for board approval.
■ Oversee physical plant.
■ Oversee all community relations.
■ Act as liaison with local government authorities.

While these alone present a challenge for any
manager, there's another aspect that makes residential
condominium association management so different
from any other type of real estate management. The
association is comprised of owners, who truly own
a part of the community they live in. They have a financial stake in the property, and because it's also their
home, it's personal and they have feelings about the
association that are unlike anything else.
As a result, while the manager works for the elected
board, they simultaneously work with the residents of

CONDOMEDIA

the community, which presents a unique situation for
the manager. The manager's ability to effectively listen
and react to issues is important to residents' overall
satisfaction, so excellent communication is needed to
handle issues that confront the manager every day. If
issues are not dealt with at the early stages, they can
quickly grow to crisis status.
I have found dealing with residents in person is
crucial to reaching success. At times, owners can feel
the manager works for them and may tend to react
negatively if they're not getting their way. But once
owners understand the manager is working with them,
not for them, in seeking solutions to the problem, a
manager can go a long way in finding how to work and
live within the parameters provided.
■ JAMES CONNOLLY IS AN ASSOCIATION MANAGER
WITH CROWNINSHIELD MANAGEMENT CORP., AMO.

Condo Media - November 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - November 2015