Southwest Property Management: Orlando Community Association Management

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Why would I want to have a management company, manage my neighborhood?
Like any corporation that receives funds and is responsible to its principals, the management of a community is a complicated business. In most cases, the homeowner documents and bylaws prohibit the remuneration of Board members. Lawsuits, contractors, lawn care, pool safety issues, and the day-to-day operation of the community will quickly take the “fun” out of self-management. One mistake with a legal document can put the community in jeopardy.

• At what point should we consider a management company?
Figure out your exposure! A simple rule of thumb is to take the average resale value of a home in your community and multiply that by the number of homes in the subdivision. For example if the average resale is $200,000 and there are 100 homes, that gives you an exposure of $20,000,000. Yes, 20 million dollars! Realistically, this is too much for a volunteer Board of Directors to handle! What if a decision that you and the Board make, affects the neighborhood’s value by a 10% devaluation in home sales? That is a $2,000,000 mistake and with litigation the way it is today, the Board may be responsible to make up that difference. If you are handling $1,000,000 in value or more, you need a management company.

• We recently had a presentation by a management company, but after two hours, we still aren’t sure what they charge….. what’s up?
Many management companies charge a very low fee upfront, but charge you “back-end” fees that are exorbitant! These fees are buried in “administrative” costs. For example, some management companies charge you every time you or a homeowner calls their office. They use swipe card technology, the same technology your attorney uses when he or she talks to you. What if they have to mail out late notices….you are charged! What about Board meetings? Many companies charge you, but bury the fees in your financial statement! SWP Management does not charge “back-end” fees! Our fee is our fee!

• How often should we expect our management company in our neighborhood?
Weekly or in many cases , more often than that! Why don’t most companies honor this? Because they have to drive so far to get to your community and it is not worth the manager’s time to be “in” your neighborhood. At SWP Management, we only handle communities in our immediate, Central Florida area. We operate two offices; one in Winter Garden and one in Windermere/Ocoee. At SWP Management, not only are we “in” our communities weekly and sometimes twice weekly, but utilizing digital technology, we can discover problems, document them and sometimes solve them within the time that we are there!

• Optimally, what is the best time to handle covenant violations?
At SWP Management, we are proactive when it comes to covenant violations. You should handle covenant violations BEFORE they occur! How is this possible? Education! The management company along with the Board of Directors should have a vehicle to offer two-way dialog with residents. At SWP Management, we utilize our community websites as well as frequent meetings with residents at organized community functions to accomplish this. Using Power Point technology, it is easy for us to visually teach residents the do’s and don’ts of changes and alterations to their homes and how this affects their covenants. We graphically show residents the result of good covenant control and the result of poor covenant control.

With a professional, “good neighbor” attitude, our management staff rarely has to take violators to task on violations. All violations are recorded digitally and most violations are quickly and peacefully resolved. This approach saves time and money and promotes a cohesive neighborhood.

• Recently our gates were crashed that left pieces lying in the street. It took two days to get anyone out here. What SHOULD we expect?
This depends on the locale and the responsiveness of your management company. When notified (during business hours) many management companies will simply call the gate company and hope that the gates get fixed. At SWP management, your neighborhood is in our backyard. If it’s an emergency, we can be there at a moment’s notice. Using our communication between offices, we can usually have someone out to your gates within a very short period of time. Our management staff handles the situation as if he or she lives in your community and tends to the emergency right then and there, to eliminate any further damage.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS • Why would I want to have a management company, manage my neighborhood? Like any corporation that receives funds and is responsible to its principals, the management of a community is a complicated business. In most cases, the homeowner documents and bylaws prohibit the remuneration of Board members. Lawsuits, contractors, lawn care, pool safety issues, and the day-to-day operation of the community will quickly take the “fun” out of self-management. One mistake with a legal document can put the community in jeopardy. • At what point should we consider a management company? Figure out your exposure! A simple rule of thumb is to take the average resale value of a home in your community and multiply that by the number of homes in the subdivision. For example if the average resale is $200,000 and there are 100 homes, that gives you an exposure of $20,000,000. Yes, 20 million dollars! Realistically, this is too much for a volunteer Board of Directors to handle! What if a decision that you and the Board make, affects the neighborhood’s value by a 10% devaluation in home sales? That is a $2,000,000 mistake and with litigation the way it is today, the Board may be responsible to make up that difference. If you are handling $1,000,000 in value or more, you need a management company. • We recently had a presentation by a management company, but after two hours, we still aren’t sure what they charge….. what’s up? Many management companies charge a very low fee upfront, but charge you “back-end” fees that are exorbitant! These fees are buried in “administrative” costs. For example, some management companies charge you every time you or a homeowner calls their office. They use swipe card technology, the same technology your attorney uses when he or she talks to you. What if they have to mail out late notices….you are charged! What about Board meetings? Many companies charge you, but bury the fees in your financial statement! SWP Management does not charge “back-end” fees! Our fee is our fee! • How often should we expect our management company in our neighborhood? Weekly or in many cases , more often than that! Why don’t most companies honor this? Because they have to drive so far to get to your community and it is not worth the manager’s time to be “in” your neighborhood. At SWP Management, we only handle communities in our immediate, Central Florida area. We operate two offices; one in Winter Garden and one in Windermere/Ocoee. At SWP Management, not only are we “in” our communities weekly and sometimes twice weekly, but utilizing digital technology, we can discover problems, document them and sometimes solve them within the time that we are there! • Optimally, what is the best time to handle covenant violations? At SWP Management, we are proactive when it comes to covenant violations. You should handle covenant violations BEFORE they occur! How is this possible? Education! The management company along with the Board of Directors should have a vehicle to offer two-way dialog with residents. At SWP Management, we utilize our community websites as well as frequent meetings with residents at organized community functions to accomplish this. Using Power Point technology, it is easy for us to visually teach residents the do’s and don’ts of changes and alterations to their homes and how this affects their covenants. We graphically show residents the result of good covenant control and the result of poor covenant control. With a professional, “good neighbor” attitude, our management staff rarely has to take violators to task on violations. All violations are recorded digitally and most violations are quickly and peacefully resolved. This approach saves time and money and promotes a cohesive neighborhood. • Recently our gates were crashed that left pieces lying in the street. It took two days to get anyone out here. What SHOULD we expect? This depends on the locale and the responsiveness of your management company. When notified (during business hours) many management companies will simply call the gate company and hope that the gates get fixed. At SWP management, your neighborhood is in our backyard. If it’s an emergency, we can be there at a moment’s notice. Using our communication between offices, we can usually have someone out to your gates within a very short period of time. Our management staff handles the situation as if he or she lives in your community and tends to the emergency right then and there, to eliminate any further damage.
Southwest Property Management provides expert property management services to homeowner and community associations throughout Orlando. Click here to email		Main Office/Financial Information Phone: 407.656.1081 (9am - 5pm) Fax: 407.656.0974 (available 24/7) Mailing Address: PO Box 783367, Winter Garden, FL 34778 Click here to email	*Architectural/Violation Office* Phone: 407.656.1081 (9am - 5pm) Fax: 407.656.0974 Please mail ARC submittals Mailing Address: PO Box 7, Gotha, FL 34734 Click here to email


	Southwest Property Management provides expert property management services to homeowner and community associations throughout Orlando and specializes in Orlando HOA Management, Orlando Property Management, Orlando Community Management, Orlando Community Association Management.