Hello, please allow me to introduce myself.
I’m your community manager. I’ve met the requirements of California Business and Professions Code sections 11502 and 11502.5, and having taken hours of classes on California law, governance, management, human resources and various financial topics, I was certified by the California Association of Community Managers. I’m proud to hold the designation of Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM). I am committed to continuing education so that I can help you and the other members of the board of directors navigate the 1200 plus laws governing California HOAs, and to oversee the financial and physical operations of your community.
I want to thank you and the other directors for the confidence that you have placed in me and for recognizing the work that I do and the skills that I employ in providing you the services included in our contract for the management of your association. I invite you to walk with me through a day of work for your association; it’s bound to be exciting, challenging and quite unpredictable.
Though my days can rarely be defined as typical, there are three things that are always included; e-mails, phone messages and coffee. First off, when I sit down at my desk, coffee in hand, I can expect 20 or more e-mails. Often they are from service providers, scheduling work, sending bids, seeking payment or navigating contractual issues. Many mornings I find several e-mails from directors like you, asking questions about projects, financials and agenda items or requesting action on certain items. Often I receive communications from residents and owners alike; I find that they usually write when something is not to their liking. Once I’ve answered the e-mails I move to the telephone messages, which are quite similar in nature to the e-mails, and I return those calls. It’s time for another cup of coffee.
I invite you to walk with me through a day of work for your association; it’s bound to be exciting, challenging and quite unpredictable.
The interesting thing about all of those morning communications is that they usually send my day in an unexpected direction, which makes each day new and never boring. I sometimes have fires to put out (almost never literally); I often have contracts to negotiate for the benefit of the association; I frequently address water intrusion issues (usually between neighbors) and insurance claims; and I have to remember to code the invoices for payment on time and under budget. Today I’m also putting together the agenda for the next meeting, along with the management package, which includes the pending bids, correspondence between me and homeowners and the minutes that I wrote from last month’s meeting. We’ll also be holding an executive session to address a homeowner non-compliance issue, as well as the pending construction defect litigation. I’ve been in communication with the HOA’s attorney, and he’ll be there too. The rule revisions are almost ready for the board’s review, the ballots are done and the mailing is about to go out for the upcoming board election, and you can expect the first budget draft to be completed in a few days. It’s lunch time!
Now that the administrative tasks are sorted, let’s stretch our legs. It’s time for a site review. Let’s walk through the community and take a look at how the painting contractor’s work is progressing and review the punch list for that balcony repair. The landscaping is looking a bit brown because of the drought, but I have to also remind the landscaper to trim those hedges, and we should schedule gutter cleaning and paving after the board approves the bids. There will be a few violation letters; unfortunately some residents really favor pink window shades. We should also meet with the owner of that unit that was recently flooded.
It’s time to swing back by the office, input the notes from the site review, calendar some letter writing for tomorrow and a bid walk for the day after, and gather my things to go to tonight’s board meeting.
It’s been a pleasure taking this walk with you, and again I thank you for the trust that you have placed in me. I will continue to strive for excellence and to exceed your expectations. I’ve scheduled similar walks with the boards of directors of six other associations I manage.