Homeowner's Associations Plan for the Future

Everyone understands the value and comfort of personal savings when planning for the future. For community associations, those savings are reserves. The basic purpose of a reserve is to plan for known and measurable major repair and replacement and provide adequate funds for projected expenses. Reserve expenses are inevitable and responsible planning for the future requires establishing an adequate reserve fund, which in some jurisdictions is required by law. Each association requires a different amount of cash in reserves to perform specific projects on time without special assessments or loans. The reserve fund has a clearly specified purpose and is not a contingency fund for smaller cost items which can be handled in the operating budget.

Grossly under-funded or low reserve funds can be a big problem as community amenities age. A professional “Reserve Study” provides an analysis of an association’s common element components which allows the Board of Directors to take confident steps toward a healthy reserve fund that reduces the likelihood of special assessments and deferred maintenance problems. The measurement of how well your association’s reserve fund fits its reserve needs requires annual review of cost and timing estimates to determine recommendations of funding goals and investment strategy. An association with an adequate reserve plan is well on its way to financial health and stability.

Efficient Water Usage for Homeowner Associations

The largest monthly expense for many community associations is landscape maintenance, and water is a necessary cost in the landscape maintenance budget.  Landscape water demand is a function of the weather and the types of plants in common areas that require sufficient water for optimum health. Measuring and controlling water use for landscape irrigation systems is not an exact science, but most community associations want to know if their water use is appropriate.

To achieve efficient water use, associations must try to adapt contract specifications with detail maintenance practices and techniques that deliver efficient monitoring and operation of irrigation schedules.  Signal controllers for community landscape areas generally must be set or changed manually at individual stations or valves, and frequent adjustments can be costly.  Some systems are equipped with rain gauges that when filled to a specific level will delay automatic operation until rain water has evaporated. Each landscape irrigation system is unique, and as systems age, serious operational problems can become a nightmare.

Residents do not always have a clear understanding of irrigation mechanics and schedules, and naturally, they are concerned when less than efficient water use is observed.  However, irrigation during a rain period is not necessarily an emergency since stations will continue to run only for a specified time and then shut off.   If rain continues for a long period, then temporary shut down of the signal controllers for all stations will be considered. An irrigation station that runs continuously after its specified time is an emergency and the signal controller must be turned off and repaired. A waterspout or continuous flow of water at an individual sprinkler head is not necessarily an emergency since the signal controller will stop the flow of water at its specified time, however this type of malfunction will require prompt repair and should be reported.

Frequent analysis of landscape components, water bills, weather data, and maintenance practices have helped community associations reduce and manage landscape costs and water use.  CMA offers a wide variety of SERVICES to help your community manage these and other expenses.