8 minute read
Fall Calendar: Southern California
upcoming courses & events
See upcoming Northern California offerings on page 43.
Date
SE PTE MBER 12 18-19 25 26 26
OCTOBER 2-3 8 9-10 9 16-17 23-25 29 30 30
NOVEMBER 5 5 7 7 14 21
DECEMBER 4 5
Course/EVENT
Ethics for Community Managers Basics of Association Management Series Risk Management in Community Associations Leadership Values and Ethical Decision Making Effective Meeting and Election Tools
Basics of Association Management Series Forum Luncheon California Law Series Forum Luncheon California Law Series Large Scale Community Management Forum Luncheon Ethics for Community Managers Enhance Your Professional Presence
Strategic Financial Planning Forum Breakfast Effective Meeting and Election Tools Leadership Values and Ethical Decision Making Professional Development Seminar Forum Luncheon
Human Resource Management Holiday Reception
Course/Ev en t Co e
CMM130 CMM101-CMM102 INS400 LDR500 BDA220
CMM101-CMM102 FRMLA CMM121-CMM124 FRMVEN CMM121-CMM124 SPC410 FRMOC CMM130 CMM200
FIN320 FRMCV BDA220 LDR500 PDSSC FRMSD
LDR400
Loc ation
Laguna Hills San Diego Laguna Hills San Diego San Diego
Laguna Hills Culver City San Diego Camarillo Laguna Hills Indio Costa Mesa San Diego San Diego
San Diego Palm Desert Laguna Hills Laguna Hills Costa Mesa San Diego
Laguna Hills Newport Beach
You hear all sorts of horror stories in this industry, but until you actually have to deal with a true “shortcut board,” one cannot begin to imagine the true chaos that ensues when you are the person who is expected to pick up the pieces. Sometimes the fallout of bad decisions is immediately apparent, and sometimes it takes years for the damage to rear its ugly head. I have the pleasure of working with a board, as the first-ever professional management company, who is in the unenviable position of trying to fix 40- plus years of shortcuts; these shortcuts have resulted in an estimated $20 million dollars of deferred maintenance.
By Vic
ki Mac Hale , CCAM
When I was asked to write this article, I thought it would be an easy lesson: just do everything the opposite of this community and you will be fine. From a maintenance standpoint, I would be correct, but before we condemn, they have done a few things right … kinda. Dysfunctionality (my own made up word) at its best, but somehow this core group of original owners has managed to build a village. If you want to know who to go to when you run out of your pain, sleeping or depression meds, they have a call list. If you want to know where the sale is on Depends, canned chili and wine, just ask the shopping committee. If you need a ride to the doctor, store or a person to put on your “help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up bracelet,” there is a self-appointed committee.
They have had the same mailman since inception, and while it takes three full days to deliver the annual budget mailing, this man can spread gossip faster than Call-Em-All. On days that he is late to deliver, the office gets phone calls to see if he is (1) sick, (2) has unusually juicy gossip or (3) if his prostate, apparently the size of Rhode Island, is bothering him. (You just can’t make this stuff up.) Now don’t take this to mean that the longtime residents are all nice. Some of them will poison you during the day, just so they can amass Good Samaritan points by nursing you back to health at night. One thing is for certain, while they point out every mistake made by every board over the past 40-plus years, the minute you try to change something, they chant in unison, “BUT THAT’S THE WAY WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT!”
Rather than go into detail as to what led to their downfall, I have outlined a few of the major errors. Hopefully none of this sounds familiar to you, but if it does, you need to have a serious discussion with your board.
Historical Shortcuts & Fallout Self-managed for 40-plus years with excessive turnover of staff.
• Loss of history and/or history is gained by whomever remembers the best and/or yells the loudest at the board meetings.
Continued on page 24
We take the pain out of pest control!
HonESt, RELIAbLE AnD pRofESSIonAL
THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION EXPERTS
CoMMERCIAL bUILDInGS
MILItARY HoUSInG Great Customer Service Damage Replacement Guarantee Real Estate Inspections $2,000,000 Liability Insurance Accurate Invoicing
SInGLE fAMILY HoMES
Toll Free 877.277.3970 www.paynepestmgmt.com
SAN DIEGO • ORANGE COUNTY • LOS ANGELES
Lack of qualified managers and/or managers who were willing to stand-up to the board. (Did I mention they have a nine member board?)
Operating increases were offset by reducing staff, staff benefits and reserve funding in order to keep assessments low. Customer service expectations never reduced. (They even took away the bottled water to save $$$!)
• Short cuts resulted in work being done poorly. • Medical insurance was cancelled, vacation time was reduced and many staff fired for having poor attitudes. • Staff was thirsty. • Reserve funding, while reported at 50% during management selection process was actually less than 16%. Major components missing and almost every component in study was provided pricing by the board (ex: Drainage project in process at time of contract, with price tag of more than $400,000. Reserve funds, $12,500 every 10 years.).
Attorneys, Project Managers and other professionals were viewed as a waste of good money.
• Numerous lawsuits that could have been avoided. • Policies in conflict with governing documents. • Expensive repairs failed prematurely because the root cause of problems was not addressed. • Unlicensed pool professional resulted in $18,000 in chemicals per year and closure by Department of Health (DOH) at almost every inspection. (Oddly, most of the older swimmers have beautiful skin.)
Management and/or board staff wrote specs for large projects.
• First week at project, learned that the new spa heater failed because the venting was installed upside down and backwards. (Didn’t even know that could happen – and this is just one example of some of the stuff we have seen.) • Major specifications were missed and fighting between vendor and board/management resulted. Several major vendors either quit or others will not bid the project. • On the bright side, some of the specs are really good reading with words like heretofore, henceforth, irregardless, obviously, and absolutely-never-ever.
ACC Specifications written by committee. No maintenance and indemnity agreements filed as they were too time consuming and expensive for the homeowners.
• Poor specifications actually voided the warranty on owner improvements.
During major projects, the association ended up paying for the removal and reinstallation of homeowner improvements, as the original owner/ installer was long gone and new owner was never made aware of the requirement.
Same 20 people for 40-plus years serving on the board and all committees.
• Don’t even get me started … use your imagination!
Continually assuming more and more maintenance responsibility, but not adequately budgeting for the actual repairs. (I forgot to mention that this is an attached PUD community that still argues that the exterior of the unit is common area.)
• Life health safety issues are now a concern and a major special assessment is on the way. • Monthly assessments are more than $400 per unit, and it doesn’t come close to being enough. • Good money is being thrown away on “Band-Aid” fixes while a solid plan can be put into place.
To be fair, the governing documents are poorly written and created 40 years ago, when things were simpler. The CID industry was not nearly as sophisticated as it is today, and many residents don’t care about investment; they care about home and don’t plan
on being around to enjoy the benefit of restoration. If a child or pet falls through the eight inch balcony pickets, it is poor parenting, not poor construction.
It is an uphill climb each day to educate the vocal minority as to why it is important to stay the course in bringing the community up to a safe standard. There is also a lot of fear and generational differences that come into play. In the meantime, I will wait for the market to turn around so that I can reclaim my expertise as a “Developer Baby,” or at least revel in the fact that, if nothing else, I can probably outlast most of them!
Vicki MacHale, CCAM, is the Executive Director of ARK Management, a subsidiary of Stos Robinson Companies, in Cardiff by the Sea.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW PETERS & FREEDMAN, L.L.P.
encinitas offi ce desert offi ce
760 436 3441 760 773 4463 A FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM
Experience you can rely on People you can trust www.hoalaw.com • mail@hoalaw.com
