As we watch the fight for the first 12 team playoffs in college football come down to the wire, our Chief Revenue Officer Shea Dittrich sees it as a reminder of the rewards awaiting CAM companies if they prepare to win. He’s shared his top trends and advice for the rest of 2024 and going into 2025, as our industry evolves and grows more competitive. Read his LinkedIn article below or click here to connect and join the conversation.

Nick Saban, who is widely considered the greatest college football coach of all time, once said, “Becoming a champion is not an easy process. It is done by focusing on what it takes to get there -- and not on getting there.” This captures the crucial task facing association management companies today, in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive space.

Not only will management companies need to define what that success looks like for them. They’ll need a sound strategy to go for victory. As we barrel through the end of the year, the college football playoff race is an apt reminder of the rewards that lie ahead with the right preparation. Here’s what CAM companies should consider approaching 2025, starting with what’s on everyone’s mind.

Acquisitions are rising, impacting everyone.

Anyone in our industry can see that a record number of acquisitions are happening. As emerging tech provides more scalable, cost-effective processes and platforms, investors are increasingly attracted to CAM companies. Whether you plan on growing and scaling your company or selling, you’ll need a solid foundation built on reliable data and efficient processes.

If you’re ultimately headed for the exits (and, perhaps, somewhere warm and tropical), EBITDA will be your constant refrain. Have you measured your cost per door, or better yet, benchmarked your costs against industry standards? According to third-party research, the average CINC Systems customer operates at a $1.33 efficiency per door.

When you’re staying in the game, growth and expansion also demand minimizing operating costs. CAM companies looking to scale should also consider adopting new revenue streams and aim for these to exceed 50% of base management fees.

Driving operational efficiency is critical.

Between rising operational costs, manager burnout, and boards demanding lower fees, increasing operational efficiency is a tall order. The good news is that it is very achievable, thanks to recent tech innovations.

The one I’m most excited about is Generative AI for the CAM space. The AI hype is real, and it’s not hyperbole to say GenAI will completely transform our industry and the way management companies serve boards and homeowners. That’s because we’re already seeing it.

After building and launching Cephai, the industry’s first generative AI solution, we’ve already seen some customers reduce homeowner contact volume by as much as 75%. Imagine the short and long-term impacts of automating mundane tasks—from increased client engagement and retention to the broad organizational impacts from sustained cost savings and the ability to explore new revenue streams.

And Cephai for homeowners is just the beginning. Next month, we’re incorporating generative AI into the CINC Manager app, driving even more efficiencies and opportunities.

Increased oversight has introduced more challenges.

Increasing investment in CAM companies will bring more attention—and scrutiny—to the industry. Companies must navigate shifting legislation, including the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires almost all associations to file a beneficial owner report to FinCEN by January 1st. CINC has introduced new software features to help boards streamline filing, stay compliant, and keep sensitive data safe.

Still, any new or evolving HOA/COA legislation is unwelcome news in a climate where CAM companies face no shortage of other hurdles, like rising costs and cyber-attack threats; meanwhile, boards are demanding lower management fees.

Successfully navigating these obstacles requires a proactive approach and a commitment to staying informed and secure. And you don’t have to go it alone.

It’s time to think of CAM as a team sport.

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If you asked any community manager why they chose a career in association management, they likely wouldn’t rave about answering the same homeowner questions repeatedly or spending hours reviewing CC&Rs. Yet, these tedious tasks often dominate their schedules, leaving them chained to their desks.

It’s a dilemma no one wants. Boards and homeowners expect more meaningful engagement, communication, and strategic support from managers; their satisfaction with the management company hinges on the service managers deliver. Meanwhile, managers are stretched thin, leading to widespread burnout, high employee turnover, and deferred maintenance in communities—a costly cycle that impacts both operational efficiency and long-term satisfaction.

Rather than adding headcount or overburdening existing staff, management companies can embrace AI technology that streamlines workflows and frees managers to focus on tasks that drive customer satisfaction, retention, and operational improvement. Enter Cephai, the AI solution that’s revolutionizing the CAM industry!

How Cephai Supports Community Managers Like an Assistant

• Quick data retrieval. Managers spend around 5 hours per week manually looking up things like, “How many violations does this homeowner have?” or “How many ACC requests are pending?” With the CINC Manager app, they can ask Cephai and get the answers in seconds.
  
• Efficient property inspections. During inspections, Cephai can provide instant access to past maintenance requests and violation histories, enabling them to complete inspections more quickly and accurately. 
• Streamlined homeowner communications. Cephai leverages community and homeowner data to draft email responses, saving managers up to 30 hours per week. With Cephai integrated into the CINC Homeowner app, homeowners can easily self-serve, reducing calls and emails to managers.

With Cephai handling routine tasks, community managers can focus on enhancing homeowner engagement and the community experience. They can educate board members through workshops and updates on priorities like budget planning and reserve funds. Managers can also organize social events, strengthening relationships and communities.

Improving Retention and Unlocking Proactivity

The bottom-line impact AI has on businesses is growing. McKinsey’s State of AI report shows that 72% of organizations now use AI, and 65% have adopted generative AI. Those in service operations, including CAM companies, report the most significant cost reductions; 34% cut HR costs by 10–19%.

Imagine how these AI-driven savings could impact your business. With Cephai, associations gain the time and resources to conduct comprehensive reserve studies and build emergency reserves. Deferred maintenance, the industry’s greatest challenge, can now be tackled proactively, as community managers have the bandwidth to perform thorough inspections of common areas—preventing costly repairs and maximizing return on investment. 

Cephai is free to CINC Systems customers and available now in the Manager and Homeowner apps, with even more efficiency-driving functionality coming soon. Learn more and take a tour here!

When the world is on fire, it’s difficult for many to focus on routine community management tasks. Homeowner Bill may not be keeping up with his lawn maintenance, Sharon’s got her camper parked in the yard again, and Ed still hasn’t paid his dues—but these challenges pale in comparison to the overwhelming threats facing communities locally and globally.

This year alone has brought some of the deadliest, most destructive hurricanes in decades, escalating wars overseas, intensifying cybersecurity attacks, and an incredibly divisive election cycle—and these are just a few of the latest “scaries.” All this follows a global pandemic, a cascade of unprecedented events, and ongoing economic uncertainty that had already left us on edge.

Yet, employees are expected to plow forward with their account reconciliations, weekly status reports, and budget reviews like real-life versions of the “This is Fine” meme.

While no employer intentionally brings up politics, spreads doom and gloom, or makes light of situations weighing heavily on team members’ minds, they also can’t ignore how these events impact well-being and focus. Instead, leaders can acknowledge the challenges of the moment, provide support, and encourage a culture of empathy and resilience. 

Here are a few places to start.

Put your own oxygen mask on first.

You need to be at your best to help your team through chaotic times, but it isn’t as though leaders are immune to feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Strong emotions like anger can actually help remind us of our purpose and what we care most about. Even if you have a bias towards action, taking time for introspection is valuable and can help bring clarity around core values and principles that can ultimately rally your team around a shared purpose and vision.

Remember that getting help and needing rest aren’t signs of weakness. We are all human. Seek counsel when needed and make self-care activities like exercise or meditation part of your daily routine.

Foster a culture of psychological safety.

Effective leaders should take ownership of failures and allow their team members to take credit for their successes. Now, it’s even more critical to ensure your employees feel heard, valued, and protected. Practice leading empathetically, setting guardrails, clarifying expectations and priorities, and removing distractions. Does a particular C-suite executive have a habit of sending 1 a.m. emails, moving the goalpost, or having unreasonable expectations? It’s your job to manage up and help employees stay focused.

And, while it may be hard to stomach, plan for a dip in productivity after unsettling events. Better yet, encourage employees to take breaks, go off-camera, or practice whatever self-care works best for them. Remember: compassion and performance aren’t mutually exclusive.

Embrace a company growth mindset. 

While it can be tough to fathom when you feel stuck in survival mode, big challenges often lead to positive changes. Remember how quickly companies pivoted to remote work during COVID-19? That rapid adaptation gave rise to flexible work environments that are now the norm, with many employees reporting better productivity and work-life balance. 

When faced with a profound crisis, teams have the chance to innovate, rethink priorities, and grow stronger. As leaders like former Intel CEO Andy Grove once said, “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis, good companies survive them, and great companies are improved by them.”

Baseball has always been a game of tradition, filled with unwritten rules, iconic moments, and a human element that includes the players on the field and the umpires calling the game. As the world changes, so does baseball. Technology, and more recently artificial intelligence (AI), is becoming an integral part of the sport. From AI-powered pitch-tracking systems to automated strike zones, AI is redefining the role of umpires and how the game is played.

But baseball isn’t the only place AI is stepping in as a decision-maker. Companies everywhere are integrating AI into their operations—whether it’s streamlining processes, providing customer support, or analyzing complex datasets. Just as in baseball, though, not all AI systems are created equal. There’s a crucial aspect of trust that often gets overlooked: data security.

The Umpire’s Dilemma: Human Judgment vs. AI

In baseball, umpires have long been the final authority on balls, strikes, and plays at the plate. However, with the rise of AI and systems like the automated strike zone, some of that human judgment is now being outsourced. While this technology offers precision, it also raises questions about transparency, trust, and potential failure points. What happens if the system malfunctions during a critical game?

Similarly, in the business world, AI platforms are making important decisions, sometimes with access to vast amounts of sensitive data. Many organizations rely on AI systems like ChatGPT or other industry-specific third parties to help manage tasks, analyze customer data, or engage with clients. But what happens when those systems—like the AI umpires—are not held to the same standards of security? Just like in baseball, a single bad call or data breach can have significant consequences.

A Homerun, or Was It? The AI Triple that Missed the Wind

Imagine a baseball game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The batter swings and sends the ball flying towards the outfield fence. The crowd cheers as the ball sails over for a homerun—game over, victory secured! But wait. According to the AI-powered tracking system, that wasn’t a home run. Based purely on the speed, trajectory, and height of the ball, the AI calls it a triple.

What the AI didn’t account for, though, was the gust of wind that took the ball just beyond the outfield wall. The wind gave the ball an extra push, but because the AI system was limited to the data it was trained on, it missed this crucial factor. The human umpires, watching the game unfold, rightfully called it a home run. This scenario highlights the limits of AI—external conditions that can’t always be predicted by algorithms.

Now imagine this same situation, but instead of using live, real-time data, the AI system is relying on legacy data or information that has been pulled from multiple sources outside of the system. In this scenario, the AI is even more disconnected, working with outdated information or data that’s no longer relevant. Just like missing the wind that helped the ball over the fence, the AI system operating on legacy data would struggle to make accurate decisions based on the current reality of the game.

This is what happens with many AI platforms today: they work with disconnected, external data that are often outdated or fragmented, resulting in decisions that miss the mark. Legacy systems or external data integrationscan lead to errors, as these systems may not have access to the latest data within the secure environment of a self-contained platform. The more data moves outside the system, the greater the chances of inaccuracy and security vulnerabilities.

Why a Self-Contained System Makes a Difference

This brings us to the fundamental advantage of a self-contained AI system. When data stays within the same secure environment, as it does in a system like ours, accuracy improves significantly. The platform is always working with the most up-to-date information because the data hasn’t left the system to be processed externally. This is like having an umpire call the game from right behind the plate instead of relying on a delayed replay from a different ballpark.

By staying within the system, the AI can process data in real-time and account for real-world variables like the wind in the home run scenario. More importantly, this data stays secure. When platforms move data outside their systems, they introduce risk—data can be intercepted, modified, or delayed. This creates the same problem that occurs when AI misjudges the game: inaccurate decisions and lost opportunities.

Data Security: A Growing Concern for AI Users

More companies are realizing that many AI platforms today are not held to the highest security standards. There’s a growing awareness that many of these platforms, while powerful, may not be SOC 2 compliant or handle sensitive data securely. This creates a significant risk, especially in the event of a data breach or security failure.

However, businesses are increasingly looking for AI platforms that prioritize data security. When presented with the idea of a secure, closed AI platform—one that offers end-to-end encryption, controlled access, and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance—there’s immediate interest. As data breaches become more frequent and costly, security becomes not just a nice-to-have but a core requirement.

Umpires vs. AI: The Human Element and the Need for Security

Umpires bring a human element to baseball—a mix of experience, intuition, and judgment. AI systems, on the other hand, are built on algorithms and data. While they can be faster and more accurate in some instances, they lack the nuance and adaptability that comes with human oversight. But with the use of AI, whether in baseball or business, there comes a need for trust.

AI systems like ChatGPT or other third-party solutions are only as good as the security measures behind them. In baseball, when an umpire gets a call wrong, it’s visible and can sometimes be corrected. When an AI platform mishandles sensitive data, the consequences are often hidden until it’s too late. This is why security measures like SOC 2 compliance, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and regular vulnerability testing should be non-negotiable.

The CINC Difference: Setting the Standard for Secure AI

Much like how baseball is evolving with technology, so too is the business world. Companies are waking up to the fact that not all AI platforms are created equal. At CINC, the focus is on creating a secure, closed AI platform that puts data security first. This ensures that businesses using AI don’t get caught off guard when the stakes are high.

In baseball, the umpire’s role is to ensure the game is played fairly and by the rules. In AI, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our systems protect sensitive data and operate transparently, free from the risks of breaches or unauthorized access. With features like SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, data backups, and access controls, CINC’s platform goes beyond what many AI providers offer today.

Just Like in Baseball, the Game is Changing

As AI becomes more integrated into everyday operations, from the boardroom to the ballpark, the need for security grows. Clients may not always be aware of the risks they’re taking when using open, unsecured AI platforms. But much like a missed call in a high-stakes game, those risks can come back to hurt when least expected. That’s why companies should focus on platforms that prioritize security and compliance—because in today’s game, it’s not just about being fast or accurate, it’s about being safe.

In the end, whether it’s calling a ball or strike in a baseball game or safeguarding a company’s data, one thing is clear: trust and security are non-negotiable. And just like umpires who earn respect through consistency and fairness, AI platforms need to prove their worth by ensuring the safety of the data they manage.

Management companies offering a mobile-friendly website version rather than an app may feel they’re taking the more efficient route. The website portal provides all the basic tools homeowners need, and they can access it from both mobile and desktop! Plus, who wants another app on their phone, anyway?

This mindset, however, can be a little outdated. Americans spend a lot of time on their mobile devices. Today, 88% of the time spent on mobile is on apps—about four hours per day, up 5% over the past 2 years. Why?

“We can tailor it a lot better to their device and provide a more customized experience,” explains CINC Systems Chief Product Officer Ashley Berenson. “With a mobile-first design, we can get you from point A to B as quickly as possible. You’re generally on the go when you have your phone.”

A Tale of Two User Experiences

To illustrate the differences, let’s imagine two different management companies. Company A directs homeowners to its mobile-friendly website portal to make payments, view governing documents, and check out the latest announcements. Company B offers a mobile app with the same functionality and more.

To pay their annual dues online, Company A’s homeowners must track down the management company’s web address—not something easily remembered when they rarely visit. They must also remember login credentials, get out their credit card, and fill in tiny form fields. If the website isn’t optimized for their particular device, they will experience frustration and may even abandon the task altogether.

Homeowners with Company B open an app that’s saved on their phone. Rather than remembering credentials or having to reset their password, they use their fingerprint or face ID to log in. The app is quick to load and easy to navigate since it’s built specifically for mobile devices. Their payment information is already saved (and secure), so they can pay their dues in just a few taps. They can even opt to receive notifications so they never miss a payment deadline or announcement.

How Mobile Apps Benefit Homeowners and CAM Companies

Homeowners increasingly prefer mobile apps over mobile-friendly websites, and because they make it easier to accomplish tasks like paying dues, the enhanced self-service that apps provide also benefits management companies. CINC Systems is one of few CAM software companies offering a mobile app, with thoughtful features designed to boost management companies’ efficiency and bottom lines.

“Almost everything we are delivering is removing friction from daily operations so customers can focus more on building relationships,” Ashley says.

Cephai, the only free and secure generative AI in the CAM space, now powers the CINC Homeowner app. Cephai parses through governing documents, account data, and more to answer common homeowner questions instantly. Cephai is already reducing manager call and email volume by up to 80% for some associations, and will soon streamline other management tasks like:

• Automating manual accounting workflows
• Generating invoices and financial reports
• Drafting email responses to homeowners
• Creating and sharing newsletters
  

Because today’s management companies need new revenue streams and ways to engage homeowners, even more unique features are in the pipeline. Our Neighborhood Today, a curated, hyper-local news feed, will encourage homeowners to engage with the app regularly. A forthcoming vendor marketplace will also add value for homeowners and management companies, allowing homeowners to find vetted home service providers and providing a monetization opportunity for management companies.

The CINC Homeowner app is available on Apple and Android devices. Click here to take a product tour and see what it can do for your business!

Property insurance availability and affordability have officially reached emergency status. This past August, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation to stabilize the state’s volatile insurance market and protect residents from financial strain. Communities everywhere are grappling with a hardening insurance market marked by premium increases, restricted coverage, and carriers fleeing markets altogether.

While the situation is particularly alarming in states like Florida, which has seen the highest increase (68%) in insurance premiums, the crisis stretches far beyond coastal communities prone to hurricanes. Climate change and extreme weather events also impact inland states. As severe storms cause billions in damage in the U.S. heartland, insurers are even dropping customers in states like Iowa.

Extreme weather isn’t the only factor driving up insurance costs for HOAs. Others include increased litigation against HOAs, increasing property values, inflation’s impact on construction costs, and fewer players in the insurance market. The consequences of this “perfect storm” can be dire. Housing affordability, already a crisis, is worsening due to rising insurance costs. Condo owners and investors are losing money as inventory soars in places like Texas and Florida. 

HOAs everywhere are increasing assessments, bringing more unwelcome cost increases to homeowners. They may also resort to risky tactics like deferring maintenance or decreasing reserve funding. Here are some savvier steps HOAs and management companies can take to protect their communities and bottom lines in the face of the ongoing insurance crisis.

Limit exposure to liability and noncompliance.

We hope by now you’ve reviewed your community’s bylaws to ensure they don’t include racially restrictive covenants—remnants from a discriminatory history that often go unnoticed for decades until a lawsuit is filed citing the Fair Housing Act. AI solutions like CINC’s Cephai can quickly analyze your documents and pinpoint problematic language (along with professional legal counsel).

Now is a great time to review your vendor lineup and ensure they all have adequate insurance coverage of their own. HOAs should also implement risk management strategies like conducting regular inspections, properly maintaining common areas, and implementing other safety measures to protect against claims and minimize insurance costs in the long term.

Suppose you must charge additional fees to cover an emergency expense or reserve shortage. In that case, CINC’s sub-ledger module helps ensure all your documentation is in order and compliant with Florida law by keeping special assessment activity separate from regular assessments.

Review policies and shop around.

HOA boards should prioritize an annual review of their insurance policies. This allows boards to assess whether additional coverage is needed and to ensure that the existing policy aligns with the governing documents. Regular evaluations help boards make necessary adjustments and take advantage of potential changes in insurance rates to secure the most favorable terms.

Fostering strong insurance provider relationships is essential to ensure your provider remains proactive in addressing your association’s needs and advocating on your behalf. By maintaining open communication and trust, you can better manage your insurance coverage and respond effectively to any changes.

Explore new revenue sources and efficiencies.

To hedge against mounting challenges, efficiency and innovation will be crucial. The traditional all-inclusive, fee-only model is no longer viable for sustained growth. Management companies are increasingly adopting strategies like charging extra for resale packages, adding contract fees, leveraging bank partnerships, or entering revenue-sharing agreements with third-party providers.

Embracing technology, automation, and outsourcing can streamline routine tasks, saving time and money. One solution is to invest in self-service platforms like CINC’s AI-powered Homeowner App. 

Tell us you work in association management without telling us you work in association management. We’ll start. When you’re a CAM company or manager, summer isn’t exactly the season of relaxation it’s cracked up to be. That’s because it’s pool season and peak violation season. As homeowners take off for summer vacation, host outdoor parties, and keep their new boats in the driveway, managers must ensure they still maintain their lawns, comply with noise ordinances, and follow parking rules, among many other things.

More citations means more questions and frustration from both homeowners and managers. However, with the right tools, CAM companies can increase transparency around the associations’ rules, streamline the violation process, and ease tensions. Here’s how.

Make bylaws accessible and easy to understand.

How often have you heard things like, “I didn’t realize my landscaping was breaking the rules”? It sounds like a common excuse to get out of a fine, but there’s truth in it for many homeowners. Most don’t take the time to read through covenants and bylaws, and the legalese can be complicated to understand. Often, the first time they learn about a rule is after they receive a violation notice.

Cephai, the first true generative AI platform built for the community association management industry, can process and interpret community rules for homeowners and provide immediate answers to their questions within the CINC Homeowner app, like:

“How often do I need to mow my lawn?”

“What time does the noise ordinance go into effect?”

“Can I park my boat in the driveway?”

“How high can my privacy shrubs be?”

Streamline the citation process.

Clear, consistent processes help ensure that violations are fairly and evenly applied, well documented, and issued lawfully. With the CINC Homeowner and Manager apps, the process is seamless.

Step 1: During their rounds, the community manager notes the address of each violation. They can issue notices or friendly reminders and upload photos.

Step 2: The homeowner receives a notification in the Homeowner app under “My Violations.”

Step 3: The homeowner can alert the manager when they’ve resolved the issue by adding notes and photos. If the problem is not resolved, the fee shows up in the homeowner’s balance within the app, which they can quickly pay on any device.

Outsource the leg work more efficiently.

CAM companies that use third-party vendors to identify violations and issue notices can provide access to the manager app, removing unnecessary steps and creating less room for error. Now, everything is documented in one place for all parties to access.

With fewer hours spent answering covenant questions, documenting violations, following up with homeowners, and managing third parties, managers have more time to focus on impactful tasks that strengthen their relationship with their community, like engaging and educating boards. Take a tour of all of CINC’s homeowner solutions here!

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Community managers and associations agree that managers’ time is best spent engaging and educating their boards. After all, HOAs and COAs today face complex challenges, and in our 2024 State of the Industry survey, board members cited a lack of education as their top perceived threat.

Managers said they’d prefer to use their time and talents engaging with their boards meaningfully, but most would also tell you that’s easier said than done. What’s holding them back? Endless queries from homeowners, typically with the same questions or requests.

Priestley Management Company (PMC), an established industry leader with 25,000 doors in its portfolio, was no exception. Coastal Division President Kyle Priestley shared that Priestley’s managers once received so many calls and emails from homeowners that they felt chained to their desks. About 80% of those were the same questions.

“Managers were afraid to leave their desks,” he said. “I was out one Friday and came back with over 400 emails.”

That changed when PMC adopted Cephai, the first generative AI platform built for the association management industry. Cephai cuts back on mundane management tasks like responding to calls and emails by providing immediate answers to homeowners. PMC soft-launched Cephai in January 2024, branding their white-labeled solution “Gilbot.”

“My grandfather’s name was Gilbert, so we named it Gilbot as a tribute to him,” said Priestley. “He wanted to provide good customer service. Now Gilbot is there, 24 hours a day.”

Immediately following its soft launch, Gilbot answered up to 45 questions per week for one Priestley association. Across all 100 associations, this amounts to 4,500 questions weekly or 234,000 questions annually. The business results were staggering:

• PMC estimates Cephai will save the company $50-60K annually
• Homeowner contact volume was reduced by about 50%
• Priestley managers save an estimated 30 hours per week
  

Check out our latest case study to learn more about how PMC harnessed Cephai’s generative AI technology, achieved widespread homeowner app adoption, and allowed its managers more time to flex their knowledge, passion, and expertise.

If you’ve been holding your breath that HOAs and COAs would be exempt from filing under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), “the time for hoping is over,” says the Community Associations Institute. Associations will have to file since FinCEN has confirmed that associations are considered “reporting companies” unless they are unincorporated associations under state law or designated as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. 

Most community managers and management companies are not considered “beneficial owners” required to file under the CTA since beneficial owners are individuals (not corporations), and managers typically perform services at the board’s direction. That means individual board members will need to file as beneficial owners. Managers can provide value by helping board members understand the requirements and answering questions. 

We created a slide deck that decodes the CTA and its requirements. This deck can be used in board meetings or distributed to board members. Here’s some additional guidance and resources.

When is the deadline to file?

Established associations should start preparing to file their initial Beneficial Ownership Information Report (BOIR) before the January 1, 2025 deadline. Those formed in 2024 have 90 days after the date of formation to file. 

The CAI recommends that most associations begin preparing now and aim to file in Q3 or early Q4 because of the expected volume at the end of the year.

How do I file?

Reports are filed through the FinCEN Report Company’s online portal, boiefiling.fincen.gov, and filing is now open. If you or your board members want a demo, you can request one here. FinCEN REPORT representatives are also available to work with you and answer questions:

Email: hello@fincenreport.com

Phone: 1-845-393-4623

Filing is free of charge.

How often will my association have to file in the future?

Beneficial ownership information reporting is not technically an annual requirement. However, most associations must update their filings regularly since board members (“beneficial owners”) change. Every time new board members are voted in, associations will need to update their filings within 30 days. Other changes that would require updating your filing include:

• Changes to the legal name or DBA of the HOA/COA
• Death or replacement of a board member
• If applicable, change in management company or to the terms and conditions of the management agreement
• Change in the name, address, or unique identifying number (new driver’s license, passport, etc.) of a board member
• Changes to the exemption status of the HOA/COA

What information will board members need to provide?

Associations must submit a Beneficial Ownership Report, which requires the association’s legal name, all trade names or DBAs, address, jurisdiction of formation, and Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Each board member will also need to provide the following:

• Legal name
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Information from a government-issued I.D. such as a driver’s license or passport (along with a photo of the I.D.)

Will board members’ personal information be secure?

According to FinCEN, “Beneficial ownership information reported to FinCEN will be stored in a secure, non-public database using rigorous information security methods and controls typically used in the Federal government to protect nonclassified yet sensitive information systems at the highest security level.”

While data submitted to FinCEN is secure, board members may be concerned about sharing their personal information over email or other unsecured channels. Fortunately, BOSS allows beneficial owners to enter their personal information into the portal and receive a code (FinCen Identifier) to provide to their HOA/COA.

Beware of scams! With the new filing requirement, scammers are widely expected to try to trick users into giving away sensitive information. Malicious websites may appear legitimate or even appear at the top of search engine results pages. Associations should not report beneficial ownership information to any organization except for FinCEN. When submitting the report to FinCEN, go to the online filing system on FinCEN.Gov.

Can CINC Systems’ platform help associations comply with the Corporate Transparency Act?

We have added fields to ensure that required information about board members or other “beneficial owners” is readily available. We’ve also enhanced permissions to restrict access and protect board members’ data.

We are evaluating ways to automate and streamline report filing. Soon, we will enable the capture of the required information from board members through WebAxis so the management company won’t need to enter it manually. Stay tuned!

As tech giants like Google and Apple race to make Generative AI part of everyday life, homeowners’ demand for instant, personalized information and responses will skyrocket. The association management industry, like most other industries, will need to embrace it. But adopting AI is about more than just keeping up with the times. 

Investments in Generative AI technology like CINC’s Cephai can yield significant returns and transformative change quickly. Here’s what that might look like for CAM companies in the short and long term.

Month 1: Adoption Campaign Streamlines Homeowner Queries

After a CAM company adopts and launches Cephai in the CINC Homeowner app, it immediately notifies homeowners across channels like direct mail, Web, email, and signage. Instead of waiting days for their community manager to respond,, homeowners can now ask Cephai questions and receive immediate answers.

Month 3: Homeowner Contact Volume Decreases

As more homeowners turn to Cephai for questions about covenants, amenities, payments, and more, managers notice a significant reduction in calls and emails. Cephai saves managers 30 hours per week per association, reducing burnout and freeing time to focus on community and board engagement.

Month 6: Client Satisfaction and Retention Increase

Homeowner contact volume has now decreased by 80%. The CAM company sees a boost in client satisfaction as response times decrease and managers can focus on board education—a top concern among associations in CINC’s 2024 State of the Industry Report. With more time to spare, managers can help boards navigate increasingly critical issues like emergency preparedness, deferred maintenance, and new legislation.

Month 12: CAM Company Sees Broad Organizational Impact

Employee retention and overall morale are significantly improved now that managers are less overworked and can devote time to the more rewarding aspects of their careers. While business is booming, the company spends less money adding headcount than expected now that many manager tasks are automated. 

CINC Systems’ industry-leading security framework protects sensitive information and relieves leadership from data breach fears. Now that the company is using CINC, it no longer requires onsite server maintenance and the need for those IT resources. The combined cost savings allow the company to explore new revenue streams and other ways to sustain growth.

Long Term: CINC Partnership Fosters Continuous Innovation

Besides providing Generative AI technology and CAM software, CINC Systems closely partners with the CAM company to pioneer new solutions to future-proof the business and meet the industry’s complex challenges. 

The potential is endless.

Click here to discover how CINC’s Cephai can springboard your organization into the future, positioning you for sustained growth and innovation.

HOA budgeting is never particularly fun, but the last few years have made it even more challenging. Inflation, rising insurance premiums, and rising interest rates have made financial planning and forecasting more difficult for HOAs and condo communities. While inflation is cooling and the Fed appears poised to cut rates, no association wants the risk of special assessments due to budget shortfalls. 

Most boards begin scrambling to prepare budgets for the following year in late summer. However, Lindsey Richardson, a CINC Systems sales engineer with deep experience in association management, property management, and retail banking, recommends a more prolonged approach that can help with budgeting accuracy and alleviate that last-minute stress.

“Start a draft of next year’s budget at the beginning of the year,” she says. 

The first draft should consider your association’s goals and priorities, such as making repairs or increasing reserves. You can also use past financial statements and tools like the CINC Budget Module to view your association’s financial data over time and make more educated guesses about the following year’s needs.

Once the initial heavy lifting is over, monthly check-ins and tweaks will help you fine-tune the budget to account for evolving needs, cost increases, or unexpected expenses. 

“Set a calendar reminder to review your budget draft regularly,” Lindsey recommends. “Consistency is key to making this process smooth and stress-free!”

While this agile approach requires some discipline, it reduces the headache of tracking expenses and paperwork later in the year. Did your landscaper or sanitation service announce a fee increase? Open the budget draft and edit the recurring expense while it’s already top of mind. Were you informed your clubhouse needs a new roof within the next two years? Add it to the budget now.

By the time budget season actually arrives, all that’s left to do is double-check numbers and make any final adjustments before submitting the budget to the board for final approval. Busy board members are sure to appreciate your vigilance and attention to detail throughout the year.

Pro tip: Budget planning season is also the perfect time to consider what investments you can recommend now to help your associations run more smoothly and efficiently. Tools like CINC’s AI-powered Homeowner App can help improve communications, free managers from answering routine calls and emails, improve homeowner data security, and streamline payments. Take a tour here!

As we hit the halfway mark of 2024, it’s a perfect time for management company executives to take a fresh look at their business strategies and ensure they’re set up for continued growth and success. And while communities are busier than ever managing pool schedules and peak violation season, now is also an important time to reflect on business goals. Are you hitting your growth and profit plans, or are you falling behind? If you’re not where you expected to be, what can you do to get back on track?

To fully understand how to get to your goals, it’s important to take a step back and review the big picture – the community association management industry in of itself. At CINC, we make this reflection easy through our State of the Industry Report. The 2024 State of the Industry Report offers valuable insights to help us navigate the changing HOA/COA landscape and expectations of homeowners, board members, and community and property managers. By focusing on redefining risk, roles, and revenue, executives can strategically enhance their management company’s operations and results. Let’s dive into these sections of the report to reflect and reassess business goals for the remainder of the year.

Redefine Risk: Keeping Communities Safe and Financials Secure

The tragic third anniversary of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse serves as a somber reminder of the importance of risk management in our industry. This event has heightened awareness and urgency around safety and compliance, making it imperative to prioritize risk assessment and mitigation. And because of new legislative measures put in place around the country – in particular in South Florida – management companies need to not only mitigate new requirements, but do so in a manner that keeps their organizational profitable. That’s why deferred maintenance remains a top concern within our industry, according to our recent LinkedIn poll.

Key Actions:

1. Conduct Comprehensive Risk Assessments: Regularly evaluate the structural integrity and safety of properties under management. Engage third-party experts to identify potential risks and recommend corrective actions.
2. Enhance Safety Protocols: Update and enforce stringent safety protocols and emergency response plans. Ensure that all staff and residents are well-informed and trained on these procedures.
3. Invest in Technology: Utilize advanced monitoring and maintenance technologies to proactively address potential issues. Implement systems that provide real-time data and alerts for better risk management, and utilize these seven features from CINC to help curb deferred maintenance.
4. Communicate Transparently: Maintain open and honest communication with boards about risk management efforts and safety measures. This builds trust and confidence among your boards and homeowners and ensures that everyone is aligned in keeping risk reduction a top priority.
   
   

Redefine Roles: Drive Manager Well-Being through Empathetic Leadership and Mobile Tools

We recently reviewed Calm’s 2024 Voice of the Workplace Report, which highlights significant trends in employee mental health and the critical role that executives play in shaping the workplace environment. With 69 percent of employees reporting that their mental health has stayed the same or worsened in the past year, it’s clear that redefining roles and responsibilities is essential – especially in a position as stressful as community management.

Key Insights:

1. Focus on Employee Well-being: Employees are facing increased stress, anxiety, and financial instability. Addressing these issues can lead to a more productive and engaged workforce.
2. Empower Managers: Managers significantly influence employee mental health. Training them to be empathetic leaders who can manage workloads, foster low-stress environments, and support mental health is crucial.
   
   

Our State of the Industry Report showed that manager workload is still a concern, and that managers strongly believe their workload would not only lessen, but their career trajectory would improve, if they had better self-service tools to provide to their communities. As executives reflect on ways in which they can improve manager well-being and redefine the role of the manager, it’s important to reflect upon the ways in which homeowner tools are utilized and promoted.

Key Actions:

1. Develop Empathetic Leaders: Provide training for your people managers on emotional intelligence, active listening, and mental health awareness. Encourage them to model positive behaviors such as taking regular time off and establishing clear work-life boundaries.
2. Regular Check-ins: Implement regular well-being check-ins during one-on-one meetings between managers and employees. This fosters open communication and allows for early identification of potential issues.
3. Adjust Workloads: Ensure managers are equipped to balance workloads to prevent burnout. Encourage them to be flexible and supportive, allowing for mental health breaks and time off when needed, and utilize project management tools such as CINC’s Portfolio Module to keep track of workload.
4. Promote Self Service Tools: Make it a priority to have your communities utilizing your homeowner and board app with Cephai, CINC’s latest generative artificial intelligence tool. By using AI to answer the day-to-day questions, like when the pool is open or how to make a payment, managers can focus on meaningful ways to drive community engagement and call volume is reduced by upwards of 75 percent.

Redefine Revenue: Find New Ways to Drive Income

The State of the Industry Report indicates several trends and opportunities for revenue growth in the property management sector. As we navigate economic fluctuations and changing market dynamics, it’s essential to adopt innovative strategies to enhance revenue streams.

Key Actions:

1. Diversify Revenue Streams: Explore new business models and services that can provide additional income. This might include offering premium services, expanding into new markets, or leveraging technology to create value-added services.
2. Optimize Operational Efficiency: ent cost-saving measures and improve operational efficiency through automation and process optimization. This can free up resources to invest in growth initiatives. Use accounting tools like CINC’s RevStream module to uncover new revenue opportunities and bill vendors appropriately.
3. Enhance the Customer Experience: on delivering exceptional customer service to increase resident satisfaction and retention, so that boards will feel better engaged with your organization and even refer your business to others. Utilize CINC’s Customer Retention whitepaper to develop a model that tracks customer service and identifies opportunities for you to improve service.
4. Leverage Data Analytics: ta analytics to gain insights into market trends, tenant behavior, and property performance. This can inform strategic decisions and identify opportunities for growth.
   
   

The 2024 State of the Industry Report offers a wealth of insights that can guide our business efforts for the remainder of the year. By redefining risk, roles, and revenue, we can navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead, driving growth and success for our management company. As we implement these strategies, let’s remain committed to safety, employee well-being, and innovative revenue generation to achieve our business goals.

It’s that time of year when school’s out, community pools are opening, and neighbors get to reconnect during the busy summer social season. Many look forward to the easygoing summer months all year, but things aren’t as laid-back for community managers and board members.

For them, early summer brings constant pool-related queries from homeowners, endless amenity bookings to coordinate, and more vendors to manage, such as lifeguard agencies or service crews. Managers are so inundated with calls and emails they can hardly leave their desks. Meanwhile, the “VP of Pool” can’t go for a neighborhood stroll, let alone the pool, without being ambushed with questions, suggestions, and complaints.

Now, help is here. It’s called Cephai, and it’s the first true generative AI platform built for the community association management industry. Cephai provides homeowner-facing support, offering instant answers to common questions concerning the pool and other amenities.

Let’s look at a few of the ways Cephai helps drive down contact volume by up to 80% so management teams can focus on building meaningful connections within their communities.

1 – Streamlining Pool Key Distribution

Assigning, distributing, and troubleshooting access pool keys or passes is a huge task for property managers each summer. Cephai can resolve the most common touch points residents have and point them in the right direction to start the process or replace a lost card, saving countless calls and emails.

Step 1: After learning about it in their welcome postcard, a new homeowner downloads the CINC Homeowner app.

Step 2: The homeowner asks Cephai, “How do I get a key to the pool?”

Step 3: Cephai uses association-specific data to provide an accurate answer in seconds. “To request a pool key card, please click this link to submit a pool key card request. Cards are typically issued and delivered within five business days.”

2 – Answering Common Pool Questions

No one wants to walk to the pool to see if the lifeguard’s currently on duty or whether the swim team is done practicing. They expect answers at their fingertips, quickly. Cephai answers common questions like these in seconds, so you don’t have to.

“What are the pool hours?”

“Is there a lifeguard on duty?”

“How old does my child have to be to go to the pool without me?”

“When does the pool close for the season?”

“Am I allowed to bring guests to the pool?”

“Is there a swim meet tonight?”

“Can I bring food to the pool?”

“Is there a snack bar?

3 – Managing Amenity Reservations

If your pool includes spaces like pavilions or clubhouses that homeowners can reserve for their events, you probably spend a lot of time emailing back and forth about available dates, guest rules, and reservation questions. Cephai can help by directing the homeowner to the reservations portal.

• Directing questions about available dates to the reservations portal within the CINC Homeowner app
• Informing homeowners that they can make a reservation easily through the online portal
• Answering questions about deposits and other rules

4 – Improving and Expanding Over Time

Because generative AI is built to learn and improve continuously, Cephai’s accuracy only improves over time. At CINC Systems, we’re actively expanding our platform’s AI capabilities; Cephai will soon be available in the CINC Manager app to help managers work more efficiently.

Cephai is secure, customizable, and free to all CINC Systems customers. Check it out in the CINC Homeowner app, or take a tour here.

Choosing the right community management software is a crucial decision for community association management companies, and with numerous new technological innovations happening in the CAM space, it’s essential to ask the right questions to ensure you’re making an informed choice. At CINC, we’ve noticed a pattern of three core questions every bright-minded executive asks us in their evaluation. Here, we’ll address the top three questions people have when considering CINC Systems software.

1. How Can CINC Systems Reduce Manager Workload?

Managing a community association involves handling multiple tasks, from communicating with homeowners to overseeing projects and maintenance upkeep. One of the most common challenges property managers face is managing the workload efficiently without being bogged down by tedious work. That’s why every product in our roadmap for CINC Systems is solely focused on creating more meaningful career experiences for community and property managers.

So how do we do it? Well, we start by thinking about the way our homeowners consume information. The average American spends 5.4 hours on their phone every day, and 9 out of 10 of Americans own smartphones. That means everything we develop needs to be mobile first for the homeowner, board member, and community manager. Our custom-branded apps for homeowners and board members come with built-in generative AI, known as CEPHAI. This advanced AI technology is designed to handle routine homeowner inquiries and concerns, reducing call volume by up to 80%. With fewer incoming calls and messages to manage, managers can focus on more meaningful tasks, such as event planning, working one-on-one with board members, and helping to secure better financing options for boards.

2. How Does CINC Systems Work with My Bank?

Collaboration between community management software and banking institutions is crucial for seamless financial operations. At CINC Systems, we’ve made this collaboration effortless with our integrated endpoints.

Our integrated endpoints serve as the bridge between CINC Systems and your partner bank, creating a seamless collaboration that simplifies life for everyone involved. This integration ensures trust, efficiency, and clarity, allowing your banking data to be elevated through the power of CINC Systems. From daily account reconciliation to automated bank statements, we’re able to ensure homeowners and management staff are able to seamlessly manage payments and finances through just a few button clicks. With our integrated approach, you can expect a smooth and hassle-free banking experience, streamlining financial transactions and reporting that builds trust between the homeowner and the management company.

3. What Does the Software Switch Look Like at CINC Systems?

Switching to a new software solution can be a daunting task, especially when it involves transferring crucial homeowner and vendor information. At CINC Systems, we strive to make this transition as smooth as possible with our comprehensive onboarding process.

Our in-house implementation and training team offer the most one-on-one software transition experiences in the industry. We understand the complexities involved in migrating data from one system to another, and our team of experts is well-equipped to handle this task efficiently. With decades of experience in the association management space, our team specializes in project management, data migration, accounting, and training. Unlike other solutions that place the burden on the management company to handle the transition, our team at CINC Systems takes care of the transfer for you. All we need is a review from your team, and we’ll handle the rest, ensuring a seamless transition that allows your team to hit the ground running with our platform.

Choosing the right community management software is a significant decision that can impact your operations significantly. By asking the right questions and understanding how CINC Systems can benefit your community association, you can make an informed choice that aligns with your needs and goals.

From reducing manager workload with advanced AI technology to seamless collaboration with banking institutions and a smooth software transition process, CINC Systems offers a comprehensive solution tailored to the unique needs of community associations. Contact us today to learn more about how CINC Systems can help streamline your operations and enhance your community management experience.

You’ve probably heard the term “greenwashing,” a form of advertising spin that misleads consumers into thinking a product is eco-friendly. Those in technical roles may recall a similar “cloud washing” trend that began in the late aughts as companies sought to quickly jump on the cloud computing bandwagon. Deceptive messaging made it difficult for some decision-makers to look beyond the buzzword, and both practices prompted standard-bearers and even government agencies to issue warnings. 

Now, meet “AI washing,” a deceptive practice that prompted the FTC to warn marketers to “keep their AI claims in check.” But as AI becomes more ubiquitous, with a third of organizations saying they use generative AI regularly, overhyped solutions continue to muddy the waters.

Companies deserve to know the difference when choosing a SaaS partner, especially in the CAM space, where sensitive homeowner and financial data is involved. Let’s look at the fundamentals of true AI and red flags signaling AI washing.

What does real generative AI look like?

Congress defines AI as “a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.” True AI solutions should be able to handle complex tasks, demonstrate human-like intelligence, and learn over time — not simply rely on pre-programmed templates or basic algorithms. 

Perhaps the more pertinent question is whether the “AI” product at hand provides real value. That was CINC’s guiding light when we built Cephai, the first true generative AI solution in the CAM space. We custom-built Cephai to provide the optimal homeowner experience and produce tangible business outcomes.

Cephai can handle complex tasks, unlike rules-based chatbots claiming to be AI-powered. Non-AI automation solutions don’t learn over time, whereas Cephai is capable of scouring countless data sources to generate intelligent responses and continuously improve. Solutions that rely on “if this, then that” business rules may be guilty of AI washing; asking about data requirements, training models, and outcomes or case studies is a great way to vet potential AI technology solutions.

Other signs AI claims may be exaggerated

Some companies tout their AI capabilities when, in reality, they have cobbled together a solution using third-party vendors. Developing AI products requires a robust team of specialists, like engineers with machine-learning skill sets. Ask to learn more about the AI talent on staff and, better yet, whether a tech-savvy executive team oversees security and long-term product strategy.

With the largest development team in the entire industry, we evaluate new innovations carefully with an eye toward security and providing the optimal homeowner experience.

Are you aware of the risks?

By allowing certain AI tools to access data, CAM companies can risk exposing sensitive information. For example, anything you share with ChatGPT can be retained and used to train the model, and companies like Samsung have banned it after unintentional leaks. Another risk of poorly implemented AI is introducing accidental bias.

AI vendors should be transparent about their data sources and back up security claims with credentials. At CINC Systems, we evaluate all new innovations carefully with an eye toward security, and are the only CAM software that’s SOC 2 Type II certified and Veracode Verified. 

How else is Cephai different??

Cephai isn’t an add-on; it’s now available in the CINC Homeowner app and is free to all CINC Systems customers. Cephai is available for both iOS and Android devices and can be fully customized with the customer’s branding. Best of all? It frees community managers from tasks like responding to routine emails, saving management companies up to 30 hours per week and freeing managers to focus on more impactful work.

Take a tour on our website, check out our webinar recording for details and frequently asked questions, or reach out to our team to learn more!

Connecting neighbors by pivoting from mundane to meaningful.

The word “community” has two definitions: (1) a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common, and (2) a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. When you think about neighborhoods and community associations today, which seems more accurate?

For the 57% of Americans who say they only know some or none of their neighbors, it’s the first definition—the only thing they share with their neighbors is geographic location. It’s a trend that appears to be worsening; 72% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 78% of 18- to 29-year-olds barely know their neighbors. 

What’s behind this decline in neighborly interactions and connections? Perhaps a key factor is the rise of technology and social media. We’ve seen these online communities become increasingly toxic as members attack each other and spew hate behind the safety of anonymous user names. The same happens in the real world; when neighbors are strangers, they become avatars characterized by others’ unconscious biases. We can see this playing out as distrust and fear fester in once-harmonious communities.

Distrust has grown towards HOAs and association management companies, too. Faced with mounting challenges like skyrocketing insurance costs, deferred maintenance, and new legislation, boards need engagement and guidance more than ever. But as community managers struggle under mountains of emails and routine tasks, their relationship with boards and homeowners becomes impersonal and transactional. 

Medical diagnoses start with a simple question: “Where does it hurt?” If the unraveling of trust, fellowship, and collaboration are symptoms that are worsening, it’s time for a new treatment. It’s time to redefine community.

What if, through innovation, our industry could help turn the tide by increasing transparency, participation, and collaboration? What if we promoted community engagement with tools that complement today’s mobile lifestyles? At CINC Systems, we not only believe it’s possible, but we are actively working toward that reality. 

We designed the Homeowner App to provide a positive experience from day one, where a homeowner’s first interaction with their management company isn’t a bill or violation, but an invitation to connect through the app. We introduced Cephai, the industry’s first true AI solution, providing homeowners with fast, reliable answers to common questions and freeing managers to devote more time to meaningful engagement. The Your Community News feature will allow users to discover businesses and experiences in their city, encouraging them to get plugged in, while the new-and-improved app communications center makes staying in touch easier than ever. 

As we continue to innovate and evolve, the idea of restoring and fostering community—real community—is our guiding light. We dare to imagine a future where revived neighborly spirit gives way to heightened local civic engagement, the backbone of healthy and well-functioning societies. Will you join us in redefining community?

As we find ourselves nearing the halfway mark of 2024, it’s a perfect time to evaluate where we stand with our business goals. Whether you’re surpassing expectations or facing challenges, the second quarter presents an opportunity to pivot, innovate, and drive revenue growth for your community association management company. Based on our 2024 State of the Industry results and spring and summer trends in the CAM space, we’ve compiled a simple three-step plan to get you ready to take your second quarter to a whole new level.

1. Embrace Self-Service Tools for Homeowners

One of the most effective ways to increase efficiency and client satisfaction is by offering self-service tools for homeowners. By empowering homeowners to manage their accounts, submit maintenance requests, and access information online, you can significantly reduce the workload for your managers. This shift allows managers to focus more on engagement and personalized service – after all, managers would much rather receive a phone call from their boards on how to create a killer summer event versus how to pay a bill!

Action Steps:

• Evaluate Current Tools: Assess the self-service tools you currently offer and identify areas for improvement or additional features. Do you regularly promote your homeowner and board app so that homeowners can self serve reservations, e-voting and more? Or, do you even have such an app to promote?
• Showcase New Features: With the launch of CINC’s Cephai artificial intelligence – available for free in our apps – every homeowner can have their common questions answered in easy-to-use generative AI. This is something that managers should be loud and proud about, regularly showcasing in board meetings and helping boards create promotional communications through their CINC Community marketing portal.
• Promote Adoption: Educate homeowners about the benefits of these tools through email newsletters, tutorials, and workshops. The spring and summer season is a perfect reason to highlight reservations booking, which will significantly reduce time for managers. You can also have some fun with digital engagement to bolster spirit for the new season, such as using your online survey tools to vote for the best-looking summer yard.
• Sell Self-Service: Finally, the self service mobile tools you are able to offer to your homeowners and board members should be included in all of your sales pitches to prospective clients. Showcase them in your pitch deck, and send out emails to your prospects to highlight how you use these tools in your community during the spring and summer season.

2. Evaluate New Revenue Opportunities with Self-Service Accounting Tools

Another way to boost revenue is by leveraging self-service accounting tools that uncover hidden revenue opportunities. For instance, CINC’s RevStream offers addendum billing features that help identify revenue opportunities through vendor relations. By automating billing processes and tracking vendor expenses, you can identify areas where additional revenue can be generated, such as vendor rebates or discounts.

Action Steps:

• Audit Current Processes: Review your current accounting processes to identify inefficiencies or missed revenue opportunities. Ask your accounting personnel which processes in Q1 were eating up their time and potentially leaving room for human error.
• Monitor and Optimize: Regularly review reports generated by tools such as CINC’s RevStream to monitor revenue growth and identify areas for optimization. See where you are not accounting for billing owed to you by vendors, and create action plans to get what’s properly owed to you.
• Brainstorm New Revenue-Generating Ideas: Have you taken advantage of all the ways in which you can drive revenue for your organization? Do you, for instance, take advantage of automated online resale processes, or are you correctly charging your boards for overtime? Brainstorm with your team a few ways in which you can drive more revenue within your organization through quick and efficient ways that can grow your bottom line while also implementing better operational procedures.

3. Spring Clean Your Business

Finally, a new quarter means that you have the ability to clean up some processes that bogged down you and your team over the previous quarter. This exercise will keep you focused on your 2024 goals while also clearing out the noise that erupts with common daily interactions. This is also a great time to review previous and set new quarterly goals with your team. Consider factors like budget, revenue projections, portfolio growth, and client satisfaction when setting these goals. Engage your team in the goal-setting process to ensure alignment and commitment.

Action Steps:

• Reorganize. Evaluate your workspace, segment email lists, and clear your inbox. These simple tasks don’t just result in a clean desk, but a clear mindset to keep you motivated and focused for the remainder of the year.
• Focus on summer preparations. Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes increased demand for community services and activities. Ensure your community managers are prepared for the summer season with routine maintenance plans and safety guidelines. Use digital communications to keep homeowners and board members informed and engaged as well – after all, this is the season where community engagement is at an all-time high!
• Regroup with your software provider. Finally, now is the perfect time to meet with your account manager to recap your Q1 and discuss what’s in store for Q2. Ask them for feedback on your performance, see if you’re properly taking advantage of all the technology available to you, and learn about upcoming product launches that can bolster your organization’s reputation and your ability to drive revenue.

The second quarter presents a valuable opportunity to drive revenue growth and enhance client satisfaction for your community association management company. By embracing self-service tools for homeowners and leveraging innovative accounting solutions like CINC’s RevStream, you can unlock new revenue opportunities and streamline operations. Set clear goals, optimize processes, and prepare for the upcoming summer season to maximize revenue and ensure success in Q2 and beyond.

For more on how to focus on revenue growth for your community association management company, check out our list of 24 ways to drive revenue in 2024.

In the community association management space, maintaining the well-being and security of homeowners associations (HOAs) is paramount. With the increasing complexity of managing community affairs, technology emerges as a powerful ally in mitigating risks and enhancing efficiency. Association management companies can harness technological advancements to streamline operations, improve communication, and minimize potential pitfalls within HOAs – and as legislation updates loom while infrastructure needs have potential to financially strain homeowners, this conversation is incredibly important for all executives to consider within the coming year.

Enter technology. Association management software as a whole should mitigate much of the risk that can be burdened onto a HOA/COA board – so long as the management company is using a powerful solution that consistently innovates with the times. Here are just five ways in which HOA/COA software shields boards and management company employees from risk.

Digital Documentation Management

Traditional paper-based documentation systems are prone to errors, misplacement, and damage. Transitioning to digital document management platforms  that digitize the board’s financial reports mitigates these risks by centralizing important records such as governing documents, financial statements, and maintenance logs. Cloud-based solutions offer secure access to authorized personnel from any location, facilitating efficient data retrieval and minimizing the risk of physical loss or destruction. Additionally, version control features ensure that stakeholders are always working with the latest information, reducing the potential for misunderstandings or discrepancies.

Online Payment Portals

Delinquent dues and irregular payments can significantly impact the financial stability of an HOA or COA. Implementing online payment portals simplifies the dues collection process, enhancing transparency and reducing the likelihood of late or missed payments. Through secure payment gateways, homeowners can conveniently submit their dues, special assessments, and fees, minimizing cash handling and associated risks. Automated reminders can also be configured to prompt homeowners about upcoming payments, fostering accountability and ensuring consistent revenue streams for the association.

Maintenance Tracking Systems

Prompt resolution of maintenance issues is essential for preserving property values and ensuring resident satisfaction. Technology-driven maintenance tracking systems – such as CINC’s Portfolio Manager – enable HOA managers to efficiently log, prioritize, and monitor service requests from homeowners. These platforms facilitate streamlined communication between residents, vendors, and management personnel, ensuring timely resolution of maintenance issues while maintaining detailed records for future reference. By proactively addressing maintenance concerns, management companies can mitigate potential liabilities arising from neglected or deferred maintenance.

Community Engagement Platforms

Effective communication is fundamental to fostering a cohesive and informed community environment. Community engagement platforms provide a centralized hub for sharing announcements, event schedules, and important updates with homeowners. Features such as discussion forums, polls, and surveys facilitate active participation and feedback from residents, fostering a sense of community ownership and involvement. By promoting transparent communication channels through one centralized login, management companies can address concerns promptly, build trust among homeowners, and mitigate potential conflicts or misunderstandings.

Compliance Monitoring Tools

Regulatory compliance is a critical aspect of HOA and COA governance, encompassing legal obligations, architectural guidelines, and community rules. Compliance monitoring tools that can be integrated into a core software solution – such as VIVE Vendor Management Software – leverage data analytics to fully vet vendors used nationwide. Regular compliance audits and reporting functionalities provide management companies with valuable insights into potential areas of non-compliance, allowing for timely interventions and corrective measures.

The integration of technology within association management operations presents significant opportunities for association management companies to enhance risk management practices within homeowners associations. By leveraging digital solutions for documentation management, payment processing, maintenance tracking, community engagement, and compliance monitoring, management companies can streamline operations, improve transparency, and mitigate potential risks. To learn more about risk management within community associations, watch a recap of our webinar featuring VIVE here.

Dear reader,

In one of his first interviews as CEO of Apple, with no shortage of PR and manufacturing crises to contend with, Tim Cook famously said, “You can focus on things that are barriers, or you can focus on scaling the wall or redefining the problem.” This is the perfect way to describe our industry’s state of affairs in 2024.

There are indeed plenty of factors threatening growth and success, from skyrocketing insurance costs to high employee turnover and cost-conscious boards. This pressure cooker environment has ushered in a reckoning and the need to pivot from “business as usual.” The most successful and sustainable companies will embrace transformation, turning challenges into growth opportunities.

Last year, we challenged the industry to Rethink Community. Now is the time to redefine our role within communities, from how we do business to the value (i.e., leadership) we can provide during a time of rapid change. With our latest State of the Industry Report, our goal is not only to inform but to empower.

Inside, you’ll find exclusive tips and insights around pertinent topics like:

• The biggest threats facing the CAM industry and whether associations feel equipped to meet these challenges
• External trends impacting the industry, such as new legislation, insurance rates, and AI technology
• How management companies can turn awareness into action when it comes to risks like deferred maintenance
• Ways to redefine the community manager’s role amid continued burnout and employee turnover
• Opportunities to diversify revenue streams as the all-inclusive fee structure becomes increasingly unsustainable

Please click here to download your free copy of the report. We also invite you to join our LinkedIn community for more resources, conversations, and camaraderie.

Sincerely,

Ryan Davis

CEO, CINC Systems

Decoding the Corporate Transparency Act for HOAs and Association Management Companies

On March 4th, a federal court ruled the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional. That’s welcome news for the association management industry, which argues that volunteer-led civic organizations shouldn’t be held to the same requirements as other corporations and that the law unintentionally impacts community organizations. Still, as the situation remains fluid, we at CINC believe it’s important to be positioned for change without distracting from those driving change.

As the law is currently written, the Corporate Transparency Act filing deadline is January 1, 2025, and many HOA board members are understandably concerned about how the new requirements will impact their association. Perhaps your management company has heard from clients receiving noncompliance notices from opportunistic legal firms or board members apprehensive about disclosing personal information.

We encourage the association management community to speak up about the law’s uncertainty and lack of clarity (now’s a great time to contact your Senator). In the meantime, management companies should still understand their responsibilities under the Corporate Transparency Act if it indeed becomes written law. While we recommend consulting with your legal counsel, we aim to keep you informed.

Let’s start by looking at some commonly asked questions and where the Corporate Transparency Act stands today.

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

The Corporate Transparency Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, aims to enhance national security and the financial system by detecting and reporting suspicious activities like money laundering or terrorist finance. 

Enforced by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the law applies to corporations with less than $5 million in sales or revenue and fewer than 20 employees, excluding certain entities like banks, investment firms, and tax-exempt organizations.

Why does the Corporate Transparency Act apply to HOAs?

While the Community Associations Institute believes the law isn’t meant to apply to community associations, as written, it could affect over 350,000 volunteer-driven homeownership organizations in the U.S., including homeowners associations, condo associations, and housing cooperatives. 

These organizations, typically organized as state nonprofit corporations, are subject to Business Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Act. Despite functioning similarly to nonprofit corporations, community associations often lack IRS nonprofit tax determination (501c), thus falling under the Act’s purview. 

What will HOAs need to do to stay compliant with the Corporate Transparency Act?

The reporting requirements are relatively easy to fulfill. At a minimum, here’s what associations must report annually to FINCEN.

• Business name
• Legal name of board members, birthdate, home address, and identifying number from a driver’s license, state I.D., or passport
• Individuals with “substantial control” (along with the same information listed above)

It’s currently unclear whether community managers or management companies qualify as individuals with substantial control.

When does the Corporate Transparency Act take effect?

The current filing deadline for existing corporations (established before January 1, 2024) is January 1, 2025. However, ongoing advocacy and legislative efforts aim to delay reporting requirements for small businesses or exempt HOAs from the requirements altogether, so the situation is still fluid.

What are the concerns around the Corporate Transparency Act and the CAM industry?

The Act will require management companies to submit an initial filing with FinCEN for each association and update the filings each time there is a change in board members or board member information. Collecting information from boards, filing, and submitting it through FinCEN’s website will be time-consuming for CAM companies and managers already stretched thin. 

Noncompliance could result in civil penalties of $500 per day, criminal penalties of up to $10,000, and up to 24 months in prison. It’s unclear which parties would be penalized, although it could be the association or their management company, depending on how their business agreement is structured. 

There is also a concern that requiring board members to submit personal information would deter community members from stepping into board positions when many associations already struggle to recruit board members.

What happens if there are changes to the HOA board?

If a board member moves or is replaced, community associations would be required to update the filing within 30 days.

How is the CAM industry pushing back, and how can I get involved?

The CAI is taking the following measures: 

• Requesting that community associations be exempt from the Act and the subsequent Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements
• Requesting to delay implementation of the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements by having Senators co-sponsor S.3625 – Protect Small Business and Prevent Illicit Financial Activity Act (introduced by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). S.3625 is the Senate companion of H.R. 5119 – Protect Small Business and Prevent Illicit Financial Activity Act, which was approved by the House on 12/12/23 by a vote of 420-1
• Urging confidentiality of the individual corporate filings of the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting through the rulemaking process

Industry professionals are encouraged to join these advocacy efforts by urging their Senators to support exempting community associations, delay implementation, and limit access to corporate filings. Click here to send a pre-written message to lawmakers, which you can customize with your perspective around the unintended consequences of this law.

What steps is CINC taking to help customers navigate the new legislation and stay compliant?

We have added fields within our system to ensure that required information about board members or other “beneficial owners” is readily available. We’ve also enhanced permissions to restrict access to this information to keep board members’ data safe.

We are also evaluating what we can do to automate and streamline the filing of the reports. We will be adding the ability to capture the required information from the board members through WebAxis so that the management company does not have to enter it.

Finally, we’ll be working to keep you up to speed on the latest developments with tips and tools to help you prepare and educate boards. Stay tuned!

As it’s been made clear in our 2024 State of the Industry Report, the challenge of deferred maintenance can loom large, often leading to costly repairs, dissatisfied residents, and strained finances. Luckily, the software provided by solution providers has entered a new era where proactive measures can be taken to curb these issues effectively. Here are seven CINC products that we know help improve issues surrounding deferred maintenance with respects to better budgeting, clearer communication, and improved homeowner relations.

Budgeting Software: Fiscal Planning Made Efficient

One of the primary pillars of effective association management is robust budgeting processes within an accounting solution. Budgeting software from CINC, tailored for HOAs and COAs, enables meticulous fiscal planning, allowing boards to allocate funds strategically for routine maintenance and unforeseen repairs. By providing comprehensive financial insights and forecasting capabilities, these tools empower boards to proactively address maintenance needs and avoid the pitfalls of deferred maintenance.

Subledgers: Managing Special Assessments

In cases where special assessments become necessary to cover unexpected expenses or significant projects, subledger functionality proves invaluable. Imagine having the ability to track specific assessments on a separate Homeowner ledger(s) than the regular assessments. With CINC’s Subledger Tools, HOAs and COAs can accurately track and manage funds allocated for specific purposes, ensuring transparency and accountability in financial transactions related to deferred maintenance projects.

Portfolio Manager: Streamlining Project Scheduling

Efficient scheduling of maintenance and repair projects is essential for preventing deferred maintenance. CINC’s Portfolio Manager empowers community and property managers to streamline project scheduling, allocate resources effectively, and monitor progress in real-time. By centralizing project information and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders, Portfolio Manager keeps HOAs and COA on track with maintenance initiatives.

Banking Integrations: Seamless Financial Transactions

Smooth financial transactions are the lifeblood of CAM operations, especially when dealing with large maintenance projects. CINC’s banking integrations within management software simplify the process of managing incoming and outgoing payments, transfers, and reconciliations. This seamless integration enhances financial transparency and reduces the risk of errors or discrepancies.

Vendor Invoices: Payment and Relations Made Easy

Managing invoices from various vendors can be a cumbersome task for association management companies, and disorganized standards can cause issues with vendors. Seamless vendor invoicing modules such as VendorPay streamline the payment process, allowing management companies to efficiently track and pay vendors for their services. This ensures timely payments and fosters positive relationships with vendors, ultimately contributing to the successful completion of maintenance projects.

E-Voting: Engaging Homeowners in Decision-Making

Engaging homeowners in the decision-making process regarding maintenance projects is crucial for garnering support and ensuring transparency within the community. E-voting platforms such CINC’s integrated solution provide homeowners with a convenient and accessible way to voice their opinions, participate in surveys, and vote on important matters related to maintenance initiatives. By fostering community involvement and consensus-building, e-voting contributes to the successful execution of maintenance projects.

Violations Tracking: Monitoring Progress and Compliance

To effectively address deferred maintenance issues, it’s essential to monitor progress and ensure compliance with established guidelines and regulations. Through mobile-first violations processes within the CINC Manager app, managers, board members, and homeowners are able to track maintenance progress, identify areas of concern, and enforce compliance with community rules and regulations. This proactive approach helps prevent deferred maintenance from escalating and preserves the overall aesthetic and value of the community.

Deferred maintenance is understandably a huge concern in the community association management space. From recent legislation to rising costs, it’s no wonder that boards and management companies alike are concerned with developing the right approach to improving maintenance concerns. By embracing technology-driven approaches to budgeting, project management, financial transactions, community engagement, and compliance monitoring, HOAs and COAs can proactively address deferred maintenance issues, promote fiscal responsibility, and enhance the overall well-being of the community.

In the every-evolving, increasingly competitive community association management, staying informed about industry trends, challenges, and opportunities is crucial for success. That’s why we are so investment in the development of our annual State of the Industry Report. This comprehensive report offers a deep dive into the current state of community association management, providing valuable insights that can shape strategic decisions and drive business growth.

So, is it worth the read? We may be a bit biased here, but here’s the reality: the landscape is changing faster than ever, and it’s important to stay up-to-date on the key findings we present. And keep in mind – this information isn’t coming from us. It’s coming from you.

Here are four compelling reasons why community association management professionals should prioritize reading this report:

1. Industry Bench-marking and Comparative Analysis

2024’s State of the Industry Report provides extensive bench-marking data and comparative analysis, allowing professionals to gauge their performance against industry standards and identify areas for improvement. For instance, you may be concerned with retaining quality managerial talent – and you should be, as our report shows that 39 percent of managers have experienced burnout. But how do these same managers feel they can relieve their burnout, you may wonder? According to them, it comes down to HOA/COA board education and self-service homeowner tools. By analyzing the data provided in our report, executives can make better business decisions for the future of their business and their employees.

2. Emerging Trends and Best Practices

In a rapidly evolving industry, staying ahead of emerging trends and best practices is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. The State of the Industry Report offers a comprehensive overview of the latest trends shaping community association management. For instance, we’re keeping readers up-to-speed on the latest legislation impacting communities, such as the Corporate Transparency Act. We’re also closely monitoring revenue trends, as our report shows over 70 percent of executives believe finding new revenue streams will be essential for prolonged business growth. By staying informed about these trends, professionals can proactively adapt their strategies and offerings to meet the evolving needs of residents and stakeholders. Whether it’s implementing new technology solutions, enhancing community amenities, or refining communication strategies, this report serves as a roadmap for innovation and excellence.

3. Risk Management and Compliance Insights

Effective risk management goes beyond addressing immediate concerns; it involves proactive planning and mitigation strategies for potential future risks. One significant area of concern in community association management is deferred maintenance, which can pose substantial financial and legal risks if not addressed promptly. 2024’s State of the Industry Report offers valuable insights into the risks associated with deferred maintenance and provides strategies for effective management – and for the first time since we’ve been doing this report, deferred maintenance took precedent as a #1 concern over homeowner engagement. By understanding the impact of deferred maintenance on property values, resident satisfaction, and legal liabilities, community association professionals can develop proactive maintenance plans, allocate resources effectively, and mitigate the long-term risks associated with deferred maintenance. This proactive approach not only protects the value and integrity of community assets but also enhances resident safety and satisfaction, ultimately contributing to the long-term success and sustainability of community associations.

4. Strategic Planning and Decision-Making Support

At its core, the State of the Industry Report serves as a strategic planning tool, offering valuable data and insights to inform decision-making at all levels of the organization. Whether it’s setting long-term strategic goals, allocating resources, or identifying growth opportunities, this report provides the foundation for informed decision-making. Armed with actionable insights from the report, community association management professionals can make data-driven decisions that drive business growth, enhance operational efficiency, and elevate resident satisfaction.

CINC’s State of the Industry Report is an indispensable resource for community association management professionals seeking to navigate the complexities of the industry and drive sustainable growth. We’re incredibly proud of the support we receive from CAM professionals across the country in the development of our findings, and we’re honored to know that our report has made an impact within the space.

Survey responses for CINC’s upcoming 2024 State of the Industry Report are pouring in. If one thing is evident from the early results, 2024 will be a year of change for the association management industry. As HOA management companies and boards report increasing concerns around client turnover, deferred maintenance, rising insurance costs, and other issues, improving efficiency and thinking outside the box will be key to profitability.

Adam Balkcom is the CEO of CAM Leadership Institute (CLI), a community of management company leaders and industry experts offering mastermind groups, coaching, tools, accountability, and more to help companies overcome their greatest challenges. We spoke to Adam to find out his predictions for 2024 based on CLI members’ top concerns and priorities. Here are the top four.

Technology has become more integral.

Many community managers responding to our State of the Industry survey said they believe homeowner self-service tools are vital to advancing their careers. Adam believes there has long been a disconnect between the role managers should be playing and the tasks that consume most of their time.

“When you think about the role the community manager should play, they should be interfacing with the board and handling more complex projects and issues,” he says. “They shouldn’t be handling simple homeowner requests.”

While there has been plenty of industry buzz around efficiency-driving tools like outsourcing, automation, and AI tools in recent years, he believes next year will see more companies fully leveraging these solutions to handle high-volume, low-complexity tasks, which could lower costs while allowing managers more time for higher-level projects.

“2023 was the year to tinker with these new tools,” he explains. “2024 is the year to fully integrate them into the company to see cost savings and bring reprieve to overwhelmed team members.”

The industry is getting serious about data and cybersecurity.

While technology like AI can boost efficiency and the bottom line, it can also threaten data security by giving bad actors more sophisticated tools to find and exploit vulnerabilities.

“One of our advanced group members, a large management company, was talking about hackers trying to get into their check scanners,” Adam says. “I think creative cyber-attacks like this are only going to grow, and that’s going to become a bigger topic.”

He explains that the industry also needs more standardized data and performance indicators to benchmark, measure, and make better business decisions.

“Across our membership, only about 20% of our companies are actually surveying the boards. And it’s very rudimentary. They mail them a form, or they do a Google form, but it’s not standardized. It’s pretty subjective.”

He hopes to see the industry move towards more standardized P&Ls to enable comparative data. “That’s really been a struggle. Everybody’s P&Ls are so different which makes it challenging to get consistent bench-marking data.”

Management companies tighten their contracts.

Many small to medium-sized management companies currently struggle with profitability, like one business owner in a CLI group Adam spoke of who was close to selling her company — until she began charging fees for the additional services her company was already providing.

“She called me last week and said, ‘I just received $20K from a board for a loan administration fee. I’ve done this a million times with boards and never charged for it,'” he recalls.

He believes revisiting contracts will be a top priority for companies with similar challenges, starting with defining what’s included in the base management fee and what isn’t.

“We are seeing a big move away from all-inclusive management fees. Most companies are now including everything that is predictable and ongoing as part of the base management fee,” He says.

“Things that are unpredictable, like a major project, having to get a loan, having to do an assessment, or having to make a big insurance claim, are not baked into the base management fee.”

Making these contractual changes could produce dramatic results for companies’ bottom lines in the short and long term. Consider the example of the owner who quickly boosted revenue simply by charging loan administration fees.

“She could bonus her people more at the end of the year than someone who didn’t have that,” Adam explains. “That money drives up profitability and makes more money available to improve and grow the business.”

Communities start running more like businesses.

The bad news is that insurance costs aren’t coming down, at least not anytime soon. But association management industry professionals and HOA boards are getting increasingly creative to offset rising costs. Adam says he’s seen some management companies using innovative strategies like group insurance to decrease rates, or even being able to get better rates through partnerships as a selling point to get boards to switch to their management company.

To maintain their communities without depleting reserves, Adam explains, more HOA boards will have to make the tough decision to increase dues. He also believes boards will start to find new revenue streams by monetizing their unique access to residents through exclusive agreements with service providers and more.

“Communities are going to have to start running a lot more like businesses and finding other revenue streams to offset the impact of rising insurance and rising costs of infrastructure, especially if they are not wanting to raise dues,” he predicts.

We look forward to bringing you more insights in our 2024 State of the Industry Report! Please stay tuned, and be sure to follow CINC Systems on LinkedIn.

In the ever-evolving landscape of community association management, leveraging cutting-edge software is imperative for revenue growth, homeowner engagement, and the overall bottom line. But what in software is a nice-to-have, and what’s a must-have? It’s not the same answer as it was in 2022, that’s for for sure!

So as we step into 2024, let’s explore four software necessities that can transform the way community associations operate, enhancing homeowner satisfaction, board effectiveness, and overall management efficiency.

1. Generative Artificial Intelligence: Revolutionizing Decision-Making

In 2024, community association management is stepping into the future with the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Unlike traditional AI, Generative AI goes beyond rule-based systems, allowing software to generate creative and contextually relevant solutions.

Generative AI in community management will transform that way homeowners interact with the management companies. Sifting through a large PDF of CCRs is unbearable, and that’s why so many homeowners ask the most minute of questions to their management team. But if they can simply ask an AI tool, like CINC’s Sunny AI, call volume is greatly reduced and managers can focus on real community needs.

Why it Matters: Generative AI ensures proactive homeowner self-service, allowing associations to address issues before they become problems, ultimately creating a more harmonious living environment.

2. Custom-Branded Homeowner and Board Apps: Enhancing Communication and Engagement

To foster effective communication and engagement, custom-branded homeowner and board apps are indispensable. These apps serve as centralized platforms for residents and board members to access information, receive updates, and participate in community discussions.

Custom-branded apps not only reinforce the management company’s identity, but they also provide a user-friendly interface tailored to the specific needs of the board member and homeowner. Features may include event calendars, board invoice approvals and document repositories, all designed to streamline communication and enhance the overall resident experience.

Why it Matters: Custom-branded apps create a sense of community, improve transparency, and empower residents with easy access to essential information, fostering a stronger connection between homeowners and the association.

3. Automated Addendum Billing: Simplifying Financial Processes

Financial management is a cornerstone of community association operations, and automated addendum billing can significantly simplify this aspect while also ensuring no money is left on the table. This software feature automates the process of generating and distributing additional bills or fees, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.

By automating billing processes, management companies can reduce the risk of errors, minimize disputes, and improve revenue collection overall. This not only streamlines the workload for accounting staff but also enhances trust between the management company and respective vendors.

Why it Matters: Automated addendum billing minimizes financial discrepancies, saves time, increases revenue, and promotes a more efficient and transparent financial management system.

4. Mobile Management Tools: Empowering On-the-Go Efficiency

In an era where mobility is key, community association managers need tools that allow them to manage operations on the go. Mobile management tools enable managers to access essential information, respond to queries, and oversee tasks from anywhere, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

Mobile management tools need to give managers the ability to complete the bulk of their work from their phone – from property inspections to vendor communications and overall project management. By providing flexibility and accessibility, mobile management tools ensure that community and property managers can address issues promptly without having to run back and forth to a computer.

Why it Matters: Mobile management tools empower association managers to be responsive, agile, and efficient, ultimately improving the overall management of the community.

As we navigate 2024, integrating these four software necessities can elevate operations, foster resident satisfaction, and streamline overall efficiency. From the power of Generative AI to the convenience of mobile management tools, embracing these technological advancements ensures that community associations stay ahead of the curve, providing a modern and efficient living experience for all residents.

The landscape of community association management is evolving, and as we enter 2024, management company executives are presented with an unprecedented challenge – are management fees enough to sustain profit?

The revenue revolution is underway, meaning that business owners need to be a little more creative in their approaches to driving growth – especially as insurance costs and other expenses continue to rise. So if you’re looking for some inspiration on how to jump-start your revenue for 2024, try these ideas:

1. Increase App Adoption: Increase the number of homeowners who utilize their mobile apps for payments. This improves efficiency for your organization and reduces customer service time. What’s more, your associations receive funds faster and you don’t have to pay for so much paper!
2. Charge Mailing Fees: Speaking of paper, why pay for it at all? Charge boards for mailing fees, including postage, envelopes, and more.
3. Board Meeting Minutes: Be sure you’re charging your boards if your managers stay past the agreed-upon time-frame for a board meeting, or if they want to meet with their manager during off-business hours.
4. Addendum Billing: Automate your addendum billing so that you’re consistently billing for all the fees owed to your organization without having to consider every single cent yourself. Our tool, RevStream, has improved revenue for companies by up to 30% per year.
5. Evaluate Manager Efficiency: Where is your management team spending more time than needed, and can their work be automated? Use project management tools such as CINC’s Portfolio Manager to review the project workload and efficiency of your team.
6. Resale Packages: Resale packages offer pertinent information about the association to the homeowner, including financials. This is a common tool used by management companies to generate extra revenue while providing necessary information.
7. Diversify Products/Services: Is your management company proficient in accounting, or can you offer pay-per-use services for your homeowners? Consider ways in which you can diversify your offerings based on specialties within your organization.
8. Increase Digital Brand Presence: Boosting your brand will surely lead to boosted revenue! Enhance your online brand presence through digital marketing tactics that are easy to implement, such as a custom-branded website and mobile app.
9. Exclusive Vendor Partnerships: Establish exclusive partnerships with vendors, such as landscaping or maintenance services, negotiating deals that benefit both your management company and the vendors.
10. Online Education and Workshops: Host online educational sessions and workshops for board members, covering topics like governance, financial planning, and community engagement. Charge a fee for participation.
11. Elevate the Customer Experience: Prioritize exceptional customer service to enhance the overall customer experience, leading to positive reviews, referrals, and repeat business. Measure your success through common customer service strategies, such as an NPS score.
12. Go Mobile First: Prioritize mobile solutions for your management team. When they can do everything on the road, it saves them time and keeps them focused in the community with their homeowners, therefore increasing customer stickiness.
13. Research AI Tools: See what AI in the CAM space – such as CINC’s Sunny AI – can streamline processes and enhance efficiency while also improving the homeowner experience. It’s yet another way to boost your brand’s reputation and increase retention.
14. Customer Referral Programs: Encourage customers to refer your business by implementing referral programs, rewarding both the referrer and the new customer.
15. Revenue Share: Generate a new stream of revenue through a share on a third party integration, such as e-voting and accounts payable.
16. Rental Management: If you’re finding that many owners within your association are renting out their properties through short-term or long-term services, consider charging for the management of the rentals as a new stream of revenue for you.
17. Invest in Management Certification: Employee turnover is extremely costly on any business. Show that you’re invested in your managers by supporting them in certification programs – and that PCAM will only help your organization’s service and reputation!
18. Virtual Assistants: Consider which administrative functions can be outsourced to a virtual assistant, which keeps productivity up while dramatically reducing labor costs.
19. Automated Reconciliation: Reduce chances for fraud, human error, and time by ensuring you are able to automate your budget reconciliation on a day-by-day basis.
20. Emergency Preparedness Planning: A natural disaster can be extremely costly if an association isn’t ready for the unplanned. Ensure that everyone has a solid emergency preparedness plan so that you protect your bottom line.
21. Invest in Marketing: Many management companies have been increasing their marketing spend to be more competitive in this growing industry. Use our ultimate marketing guide to help you build a proper plan to grow your business, and if you’re a CINC client, ask us about our CINC Community services.
22. Keep Fraud in Check: One of the most financially disastrous event that can happen to a management company is a cyberattack. Ensure that you are keeping homeowner data secure, and that your team is properly trained on working in a secure fashion.
23. Let Go of the Unmanageable: While portfolio growth is important, sometimes an association just isn’t the right fit. Don’t be afraid to let go of a client who is causing unnecessary time and stress – which leads to unnecessary costs.
24. Focus on Community: Finally, remember why we’re here – to make community living a great experience. Focus on ways to enhance homeowner engagement and work within your local communities to drive camaraderie that leads to greater client retention and brand awareness.

The Revenue Revolution in HOA/COA management for 2024 is about embracing innovation, community engagement, and value-added services. By incorporating these 24 strategies into your management approach, you can navigate the evolving landscape and position your management company as a leader in revenue generation and community satisfaction. For more in-depth ideas on revenue generation, check out our comprehensive guide.

In the community association management landscape, we hear it all the time – where can I hire good talent? Many association management companies struggle with not just hiring managers, but hiring qualified managers. And the stakes are high – oftentimes, hiring the wrong manager will result in a lost client.

To address this major challenge within the CAM industry, it’s essential to ask the right questions and delve into the heart of the matter. So let’s explore three key questions that organizations should ask themselves when facing difficulties in hiring quality community and property managers.

Are We Prioritizing Leadership Skills in the Hiring Process?

Effective community managers are the backbone of a management company. However, identifying individuals with the right leadership skills can be challenging. When faced with difficulties in hiring good managers, it’s crucial to assess whether the hiring process emphasizes leadership qualities. Consider incorporating behavioral interviews, case studies, and situational judgment tests to evaluate a candidate’s ability to lead and make informed decisions. Consider the PCAM as well – while there may not be enough PCAMs to go around in the industry, there are certainly enough who would be eager to earn a PCAM. When interviewing a candidate, ask them about their knowledge and interest of certification, and be sure to explain the process to those who are new.

Moreover, in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, a successful manager must also be adaptable and open to embracing technological advancements. In the hiring process, assess a candidate’s willingness and capability to leverage technology to drive innovation and efficiency within the organization. Look for candidates who not only have a strong managerial skill set but also a keen interest in staying abreast of technological trends that can benefit the company.

Are We Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning and Technological Adoption?

A management company’s ability to integrate technology seamlessly is often hindered by a lack of a learning culture. Organizations that foster continuous learning create an environment where employees are encouraged to acquire new skills and adapt to technological changes. To assess your organization’s approach, ask yourself whether there are opportunities for employees, including managers, to upskill and stay current with the latest technologies.

Implementing regular training programs, workshops, and mentorship initiatives can create a culture of continuous learning. Additionally, provide resources and support for managers to explore and implement technology solutions in their respective departments. This not only enhances their managerial capabilities but also ensures that the organization stays competitive in a technologically driven business landscape. CINC clients, for instance, have access to multiple training webinars in their CINC Community portal. Ensure your team has access to that library and is regularly staying up-to-speed on all things new and evolved, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence and mobile innovation.

Is Our Technology Improving Homeowner Self Service?

CINC’s 2023 State of the Industry Report unveiled that managers’ number one ask to grow their careers is self-service tools for homeowners. This makes perfect sense when considering the common challenges or a community or property manager. When faced with answering a multitude of rather menial questions from homeowners, managers are unable to focus on providing real solutions to homeowner engagement and apathy.

Consider the tools that you are offering to your homeowners – are they able to manage all of their needs in one mobile app, or do they have to log in and out of multiple portals to handle payments and other HOA/COA tasks? Can board members access their financials through an app, or do they have to sift through PDFs and emails? Can homeowners easily look up CCRs through generative AI or other efficient forms of technology, or do they have to read through a giant PDF? Consider where the stopgaps are for your managers and how you can quickly solve for them.

Addressing challenges in hiring quality managers and incorporating technology requires a strategic and introspective approach. By asking these three fundamental questions, community association management companies can identify areas for improvement and develop a roadmap to attract top managerial talent while leveraging technology to its fullest potential. Remember, the key lies not only in finding the right people and tools but also in fostering a culture that promotes continuous learning, adaptability, and a clear alignment of technological solutions with business objectives.

“If you build it, they will come.” This strategy may have worked for Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams, but in the tech industry, we know there’s a lot more to launching a successful product. You must build it and encourage adoption, and the latter can prove challenging for association management companies rolling out new technologies like the CINC Homeowner app. While these tools enhance convenience for homeowners, getting people to change their habits and behaviors is never a small feat.

Yet, SpectrumAM, one of the most profitable businesses in the industry known for its standout service, has managed to achieve a remarkable 66% adoption after launching its white-labeled mobile app in 2020. That’s more than 130,000 homeowners in Spectrum’s portfolio who actively use the app! Spectrum shared some of the tactics behind their successful launch, which could also benefit other CAM companies as they seek to improve operations and customer satisfaction through self-service tools.

Let’s look at some of their tips and best practices for increasing the adoption of CINC’s mobile technology.

#1: Promote the app when onboarding a new association.

As you are introducing your management company to homeowners, take that opportunity to introduce your app and its benefits. For Spectrum, that means using snail mail to ensure all homeowners in the community are aware of how the new self-service features will improve convenience and efficiency.

“If we bring on a new association, we let them know in their welcome postcard that they can download the mobile app where they can do everything online,” says Terri Allen, Customer Experience Director at Spectrum.

Spectrum has also used flyers and other direct marketing materials to spread the word to homeowners.

#2: Leverage existing communication channels to get the word out.

Some of the most effective channels for increasing mobile app adoption are the ones you already use to communicate with homeowners. Plus, these are among the easiest to update!

One simple place to start is asking your association managers to include an app download link in their email signatures, as Spectrum did. You can also promote the new app on your website, social media channels, newsletters, and billing statements.

#3: Raise awareness using customer service touchpoints.

While some homeowners prefer to speak to a live person when they have questions or requests, others are likely calling because they aren’t aware of the self-service tools available. Spectrum opted to include messaging about the app in their customer service phone tree and throughout office and lobby areas.

“When you walk into our lobbies, on the TVs, we have the QR code where they can go to either the Apple Store or the Google Store to download it,” explains Terri.

Spectrum also has a live chat feature on its website, which now offers homeowners the option to download the app for convenient, 24/7 assistance and features.

#4 Use custom content to streamline homeowner tasks even more.

By using CINC’s custom content functionality to place links to association tools and forms unavailable within the app, such as pool key or payment plan requests, you can quickly turn the app into a hub for even more self-service tasks. That means even more reasons to direct homeowners to the app!

“Even though it may direct [homeowners] to a website, you can still put those links in as custom content so the homeowners can get the information or the form they need,” explains Terri.

The effort Spectrum devoted to promoting their app not only helped them achieve industry-leading adoption rates. It is driving tangible business results and growth. The company has seen a 12% reduction in calls and emails, giving managers more time to focus on community engagement. Nearly 40% of homeowner payments are now made through the app, allowing associations to collect dues more quickly. It has all amounted to highly satisfied homeowners and HOA clients — 97% of whom renew their contracts year over year.

Check out our case study to learn how SpectrumAM’s partnership with CINC has catapulted growth, opened a new revenue stream, and solidified its status as one of the industry’s most profitable companies.

As we wind down from CINCUp 2023, our annual user conference, we recognize that the end of the conference brought the dawn of a tech revolution in community association management. Our dynamic attendees return to their offices as budding tech maestros, armed with byte-sized revelations and futuristic insights to supercharge their teams in optimizing CINC.

So, what did you miss? A lot of revolutionary launches with respects to AI, along with our continued focus on the homeowner. Here are our top three takeaways from the 2023 conference:

AI is Making HOAs Sunny.

One of the major themes of CINC Up 2023 was Artificial Intelligence. We introduced Sunny AI, a game-changing chatbot available in the homeowner app.  Sunny was designed to give homeowners information that previously resulted in a call or email to their management staff.  Sunny can handle simple requests like “What are the Clubhouse hours?”, or “What’s my account balance?”, and even more complex questions such as “I would like to build a fence, what do I need to know?”  Sunny provides homeowners answers to their questions quickly and efficiently, giving the people at manage the community more time to work on other priorities.

Other improvements to the homeowner app includes a new hyperlocal news offering, also powered by AI, which personalizes community news for each homeowner. This dual approach in communication technology is transforming how homeowners stay informed and connected with their communities and encourages them to use the app first for all things homeowner.

And it’s just the beginning….

400+ Product Enhancements, Just For You.

Over the past year, we listened to our clients’ feedback and needs and implemented 420 feature enhancements of all sizes.  This approach underscores CINC’s commitment to evolving its services and products to align with the needs and suggestions of its clients and ensures that the enhancements are relevant and effective.  Managers will especially enjoy the new GPS feature in the CINC Manager Mobile app that allows them to track their position on a map while they are out on the property, with homes lighting up in various colors if they need attention with an open work order, violation, or architectural request, a huge advancement from the days of checking notes on a clipboard then realizing that one address was missed on the far end of the property.  No more backtracking to that missed address!

The Connections Matter Most.

CINCUp provided extensive learning and networking opportunities for attendees. With over 55 sessions and workshops covering various aspects of CINC, there was something for everyone, regardless of interests and educational needs. The extensive group of offerings ensured that every attendee left with valuable insights and practical knowledge to implement in their respective teams back home, providing a better user and homeowner experience for all.

If you went to CINC Up, leave a comment about the biggest takeaway you had from the conference.  If you didn’t attend, we hope to see you next year!

Millennials, the “avocado toast” generation, have caught a lot of flak in the media. Often characterized as frivolous spenders, lazy quiet quitters, or entitled participation trophy winners, Millennials are blamed for killing everything from diamonds to department stores — and even entire industries.

Today, these broad generalizations are increasingly considered dated, and Millennials aren’t so young anymore, either. The oldest Millennials today are 42 years old, and their spending power and influence is growing as they mature. In 2023, the Millennial generation finally shifted from renter-majority to homeowner-majority; when it comes to real estate, they now have skin in the game.

What will that mean for the future of homeowner associations? While it’s easy to assume HOAs will be yet another “death by Millennial” victim, we didn’t want to. Instead, we surveyed hundreds of homeowners across the U.S. to learn about their current experience in their communities, what it would take to increase their involvement, how technology plays a role in overall satisfaction, and what they’d like to see in the future.

We shared the results in our Millenniold whitepaper, and they might surprise you. Here are some of the top takeaways.

#1: Millennials favor their associations more than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts.

Given that HOA sentiment seems to be declining (another narrative perpetuated by mass media), we hypothesized Millennials would view their experiences with associations negatively. We were wrong!

81% of Millennials — more than any other generation — rated their experience living in an HOA/COA as good or very good. 64% of Millennials plan to actively look for homes within an HOA/COA for their next move.

#2: However, Millennials are more likely to hate the rules.

Our survey suggests that the younger a homeowner is, the more likely they will find HOA laws, bylaws and management regulations too restrictive. This is yet another reason for HOAs to consider reviewing and revisiting their CCRs, which often contain outdated verbiage that could lead to consequences like lawsuits or harm owners of different backgrounds.

#3: Millennials care more about community involvement than governance.

Millennials better understand the value of professionally managed communities through the lens of engagement. While they are inclined to say their HOA helps them get to know their neighbors better, Millennials aren’t as convinced that the neighborhood couldn’t execute well-planned events and functions without the HOA.

This underscores the importance of streamlining and automating menial, time-consuming tasks so property managers can focus more on community-building efforts. Our latest State of the Industry survey found that most managers also want this.

#4: Millennial homeowners want better HOA technology.

More than any other generation, Millennials feel that their associations’ technologies are very poor and clunky. The top technologies on their wish lists are online community forums, online voting systems, a mobile app for payment processing and communications, and online deliveries of financials and CCR documents. Gen Z responders trended similarly and were even more likely to request online voting systems and mobile apps.

The bottom line: Digital tools that drive engagement will be increasingly critical to keeping homeowners satisfied.

#5: They aren’t completely against joining the Board — with some caveats.

Many management company executives feel that younger homeowners are simply uninterested in joining the Board. This isn’t necessarily the case, according to our survey respondents. 45% of Millennials said they would be interested, but reported time constraints and pressure as their top deterrents. To recruit them, management companies should be transparent about the level of commitment required and establish clear expectations and responsibilities.

Check out the full whitepaper to learn more about our survey findings and how management companies can improve homeowner satisfaction and engagement.

Tailgate parties are a beloved American tradition, bringing friends, neighbors, and sports enthusiasts together to celebrate as one. Whether you’re a seasoned tailgater or a newbie, this guide will walk you and your board through the steps to create a memorable event that fosters community spirit and camaraderie among your neighbors.

Planning and Preparation

Start by selecting the game that works for most homeowners in your association. You can determine this through a quick survey that you can send out to all of your homeowners through a tool such as the one provided in our HOAst e-voting platform. Next, you’ll want to determine the best location within your community to host the tailgate party. This could your clubhouse, a cul-de-sac, or even a local restaurant close to your neighborhood. You’ll also want to collaborate with your board to make a list of all the supplies you’ll need, including tables, chairs, a grill, coolers, tents or canopies, and sports equipment.

Theme and Decorations

You need to look the part if you’re going to celebrate your team! Be sure that your party is adorned in team colors with tablecloths, balloons, banners, and more. You can also consider adding some fun games around the party area to keep conversations going. Corn hole, table football, pool, and even a few stacks of cards will keep party goers entertained while they’re watching the game.

Food and Drinks

There are a few ways to easily handle food and drink without breaking the bank, especially if your tailgate party is within your neighborhood.

• Potluck Style: Encourage neighbors to contribute to the menu by hosting a potluck-style event. This way, you’ll have a diverse range of dishes, and it eases the burden on the board. You can collect information about what everyone is bringing through your online survey tool, or through messages available in your online portal.
• Grill Master: Set up a grill station where you can cook burgers, hot dogs, and other tailgate favorites. Don’t forget to have vegetarian and vegan options available.
• Beverages: Stock up on a variety of beverages, including soda, water, and sports drinks. You can also ask neighbors to bring their favorite beverages to share.
• Desserts: Satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth with a dessert table filled with cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. Here are some fun ideas to add sporty pizzazz to your desserts!

Entertainment

Obviously, the big entertainment is the game. If possible, set up a big screen or projector to watch the game in style. Don’t forget comfortable seating arrangements for everyone to enjoy. You can also use a tailgate playlist (like this one!) to keep the energy high.

Safety and Cleanliness

This is a topic many forget when planning an event for their HOA/COA. Place ample trash and recycling bins throughout the party area to keep the space clean and organized. Have a basic first aid kit on hand in case of any minor injuries or accidents. If alcohol is allowed, make sure to encourage responsible drinking and have designated drivers or alternative transportation options available, if needed.

RSVPs and Communication

If using a clubhouse or other common area, you’ll want to reserve your location through your amenities booking tool to plan accordingly. Use email, social media, and neighborhood bulletin boards to keep everyone informed and excited about the event. You should also keep everyone in-the-know through your website portal and homeowner app so they’re aware of any updates, what to bring, and if you need any help with setup or take down.

Hosting the ultimate tailgate party for your homeowners’ association can be a fantastic way to bring your community together, celebrate your favorite sports teams, and strengthen the bonds among neighbors. With careful planning, a dash of creativity, and plenty of team spirit, your tailgate party is sure to become a cherished tradition within your community. So, grab your team jerseys, fire up the grill, and get ready for an unforgettable day of fun and camaraderie!

Welcome to HOA budget season 2024! Community association managers (CAMs) know how crucial it is to help HOAs and condo communities develop sound financial plans for the upcoming year, but in the wake of massive changes to the CAM industry, and an increasingly volatile economy, doing so is becoming more and more difficult. 

Right now, interest and inflation rates remain staggeringly high (and still look to climb), and insurance premiums increased by outrageous amounts. Last year in California, one community’s fire insurance increased by almost 900% (no, that is not a typo). In Florida, the average anticipated increase is 40% but has been as high as nearly 1000% (again, not a typo). This is going to be a challenging year for many communities, not only when attempting to plan, but when it comes time to actually collect. Some communities had this struggle going into 2023, and ended up short, requiring special assessments on top of a monthly fee increase. It will be important to prepare your boards and community residents for the reality that these increases will lead to higher regular payments, and may need additional financial support throughout the year. Here are the most important takeaways when it comes to increases in insurance premiums, interest rates, and inflation:

Interest Rates Rising: A Challenge for Financial Planning

After a prolonged period of historically low rates, experts predict that interest rates will gradually increase in 2024–something we’ve already witnessed throughout much of 2022 and 2023. These higher rates can have a significant impact on borrowing costs and financial planning for HOAs and condo communities.

When building the budget, it is essential to consider potential increases in interest rates that will affect loan payments, refinancing options, and future capital projects. Working closely with your HOAs and condo communities to identify cost-effective financing options and develop strategies to mitigate the impact of rising interest rates on long-term financial plans will be essential for unavoidable capital projects or maintenance needs. 

Insurance Premium Increases: Protecting the Community

In recent years, insurance companies have faced rising claim costs due to natural disasters, vandalism, and other unforeseen events. As a result, insurance providers have significantly increased costs, which has directly impacted HOA and condo community budgets.

To help anticipate future insurance premium increases, community association management companies must thoroughly review past claims data, assess the vulnerability of the community to potential risks, and work closely with insurance brokers to identify the most suitable coverage options. They must also look at the landscape of the state’s insurance providers (for example, if a slew of providers are pulling out of the state, as is happening throughout Florida, Louisiana, and Texas) to get an understanding of what other factors may be causing the massive spikes in insurance premiums. By being proactive in addressing insurance premium increases, community association management companies can help HOAs and condo communities allocate the necessary funds and prioritize risk management initiatives accordingly.

Inflation Rate Influence: Balancing Cost and Revenue

Inflation is a fundamental economic concern that can directly affect the budgeting process for HOAs and condo communities. Understanding the current and anticipated rates of inflation is crucial for accurately forecasting expenses and revenues.

As of this writing, the inflation rate is about 3%–a blessing considering 2022’s 9% peak–but experts predict that it may increase again in 2024. With rising prices for essential goods and services, community association management companies must help HOAs and condo communities account for potential cost increases. This may include higher utility costs, maintenance expenses, and labor costs for contracted services.

To navigate these challenges, community association management companies must consider a combination of cost-saving strategies, such as energy-efficient upgrades, negotiating vendor contracts, and exploring alternative revenue streams like community events or rental programs. By taking a proactive approach to mitigate the impact of inflation, HOAs and condo communities can maintain financial stability and avoid unexpected shortfalls.

Prepare for a Successful Budget Season and Beyond

At the end of the day, your managers play a vital role in helping HOAs and condo communities build strong budgets for 2024. Although everything looks pretty challenging financially, it’s important to encourage communities (condominiums specifically) to avoid the dangerous practices of deferring maintenance or minimally funding reserves. 

Staying ahead of the anticipated trends of rising interest rates, insurance premium increases, and the current and anticipated rates of inflation will help your communities stay informed and make sound financial decisions. If your managers and staff accountants are handling this on their own, CINC Systems can help. 

Contact us today to learn more about how CINC can support your community association management company during the budgeting process. Together, let’s build a strong financial foundation for a prosperous future!

Our 2023 State of the Industry survey revealed that underfunded reserves are a leading concern among community association managers. Between recent high-profile events such as the 2021 Surfside Condo collapse, the increasing threat of natural disasters, and inflation driving up the cost of repairs, it’s hardly a surprise that underfunded reserves — once commonly dismissed as a routine budgetary concern — would be top of mind for association management professionals today.

What might be somewhat surprising is another trend driving up costs and depleting reserves: A dramatic increase in legal claims filed against homeowner associations.

“We are seeing an uptick in litigation,” said Sandra Gottlieb, an attorney specializing in community association law. “We’re seeing a lot of discrimination cases.”

Rises in such litigation tend to track with the economy, with far more claims filed during economic downturns. Insurance providers have reacted swiftly to the “perfect storm” of increased natural disasters and lawsuits. 

Not only have premiums skyrocketed, escalating the financial burden on community associations and homeowners. Some insurers, such as State Farm, are issuing non-renewals to homeowners associations deemed risky. In fact, out of every ten carriers that may have issued proposals eight years ago, only about two now offer quotes, driving costs even further upward.

With so many pressing challenges to contend with, many HOAs are deprioritizing maintenance and reserves. But when reserves are too low, a single claim can bankrupt an association. In the short term, homeowner associations and management companies must be proactive in minimizing common mistakes that result in claims. In the long term, they can be part of the solution by actively fostering inclusive communities.

First, it helps to understand how we got here.

Understanding the Surge in Claims

According to Gottlieb, most claims against HOAs are related to injury or discrimination. On what grounds can someone sue an association for discrimination? The Fair Housing Act, initially passed in 1968, protects certain groups from discrimination when renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. Widely regarded as the last great legislative accomplishment of the Civil Rights era, it has evolved to include more groups that face housing disparities; for example, in 2012, the law extended protected rights to the LGBTQ+ community.

Not all associations have updated their bylaws, language, or business practices accordingly. In fact, Racially-restrictive covenants still appear on the books in nearly every state in the U.S. A quick Google search would reveal multiple news reports about homeowners finding discriminatory or conflicting language in covenants and bylaws. In states like California, cases of hostility or discrimination are public record, which can inspire even more claims. That was the case for one community Gottleib encountered.

“I led a town hall saying they were killing themselves because the carriers will refuse to provide coverage,” she recalled.

HOAs don’t always realize they are violating laws around protected classes, but intentional or not, these mistakes can be extremely costly to associations.

Harnessing Technology for Change

The complex task of identifying and sanitizing bylaws and documents can be daunting. However, new AI technology offers a viable solution. Tools like the CINCit AI chatbot have the potential to scan and detect conflicting language based on the latest laws and statutes so community managers and board members can revisit the language.

Of course, no current technology can replace proper legal counsel. Gottlieb also recommends bringing in multiple perspectives when looking for potential problem areas.

“If management and legal walked around together, there would be red flags everywhere,” she said. “Prevention is important.”

It’s important to note that AI technology can also complicate things legally. Gottlieb has seen instances of people using AI to digitally alter evidence and documentation, such as security camera footage. And while AI can simplify routine tasks for community managers, such as writing violation letters, it can potentially introduce factual errors or even insensitive language. Having the right guardrails and security in place is critical.

Redefining the Narrative

In addition to the financial implications, the growing discrimination claims perpetuate the negative perception surrounding HOAs. However, we have an opportunity to reshape the narrative. By embracing new tools and solutions in the short term while working toward creating welcoming and inclusive neighborhoods for all, today’s community association management professionals can redefine what it means to live in a professionally managed community.

*warning: spoilers ahead*

Unless you’ve spent the past two weeks device free (and if you have, hats off to you), you know that half the population adorned themselves in their best pink glittered attire to see the blockbuster hit movie, Barbie. The film isn’t just a trip into childhood nostalgia with one of the world’s most iconic toys. It’s also an incredible expose on the beauty one can find in humanity while finding oneself, highlighting the common struggles we face when we step outside of our comfort zone to truly understand one another.

In the movie, Barbie is forced to travel from Barbieland into the Real World after experiencing a series of setbacks that disrupt her perfectly protected world. Ken hides in her car to travel along as a helpful companion who is woefully in love with someone who simply doesn’t feel the same way. And while Barbie discovers the complexities surrounding her image as she meets the women who grew up playing with her, Ken discovers that he can break out of Barbie’s power grab through the power of real-world misogyny. This results in him running back home to transform Barbieland into Ken-dom – a place where men can sit around and party all day while the once well-established women serve them.

There’s so much more to the story of The Barbie Movie, so trust us when we say we haven’t spoiled everything. But as we are a tech company invested in the HOA space, we couldn’t help but pause at the scene in which Barbie discovers her mansion transformed into a frat house and think to ourselves, “It’s too bad Barbie didn’t live in an HOA.”

While Barbie is known for her independence and strong character, that doesn’t mean that living in a community governed by a Homeowners Association would have prevented her from showcasing her true self. In fact, an HOA would have kept her dream home a dream home, despite the Ken-dom attacks. Here’s why Barbie and all of her friends desperately needed an HOA in the movie – and why that HOA would be best suited with technology from CINC Systems:

Aesthetic Harmony

One of the primary advantages of living in an HOA community is the commitment to maintaining a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing neighborhood. HOAs typically enforce guidelines for landscaping, architectural design, and exterior upkeep, ensuring that every property in the community contributes to its overall charm. While these regulations can sometimes feel obtrusive, they upkeep the aesthetics of the neighborhood and overall property value. When Ken rampaged the neighborhood with his small refrigerators filled with beer and horse decor, Barbie’s Community Manager would have immediately stopped him in his tracks. And in less than a minute, that manager could have used their CINC Manager app to process a violation. We doubt Ken earns much as a beach buddy, so he likely doesn’t want to have to pay a violation fee. In just a few taps of an app, Ken-dom would cease to exist.

Enhanced Security and Safety

Barbie’s safety and security should always be a priority, but it certainly wasn’t when someone was able to completely take over her home and throw her infamous clothing out the window. Many HOA communities invest in security measures like gated entries, surveillance cameras, and security patrols, offering residents a peace of mind that their homes and belongings are well-protected. As Barbie is constantly on the move, knowing that her home is safe while she embarks on her various adventures into the Real World can be incredibly comforting.

Amenities and Community Engagement

HOA communities often boast a range of amenities, such as swimming pools, fitness centers, parks, and community centers. And if Barbie wanted to keep her pool parties going instead of Ken’s shenanigans, all she’d have to do is reserve her community pool online. CINC’s Reservations app would have given her to ability to book her pool parties from her custom online portal, so if Ken tried to throw a rager, he’d be swiftly turned away.

Online Voting

In the movie, Barbie and her friends have to undergo an exhaustive scheme to get the votes in their favor for Barbieland over Ken-dom. And while it was great for entertainment value, in the Real World, no one has time to listen to people play Matchbox Twenty for several hours so they can create a diversion to vote. Had Barbie lived in an HOA with a fully integrated online voting system, all the dolls could have voted on Barbieland vs. Ken-dom in under an hour. With the right technology, everyone in a community can feel represented and engaged without hassle from the board or the Community Manager.

While Barbie has always been known for her independence, there’s no denying the allure of living in an HOA community. From maintaining an attractive neighborhood to fostering a sense of community and offering enhanced security, the benefits of HOA living align seamlessly with Barbie’s dynamic lifestyle. Embracing the opportunities that come with living in an HOA, Barbie could truly make her dream home the foundation for endless possibilities and adventures. And, Ken-dom simply would have never happened.

When you hear the words “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I),” what comes to mind? Few professionals would argue against the merits of these initiatives, but debate swirls over how to cultivate diverse, inclusive cultures in the real world. When there’s a lack of clarity around why and how an organization promotes DE&I, it’s easy to reduce it to a buzzword or prioritize other things on your to-do list.

But the community association management industry plays an outsized role in fostering inclusive workplaces and communities. As the country grows more diverse and disparities in homeownership persist, the CAM industry bears responsibility for helping create more welcoming and inclusive neighborhoods for all.

We have our work cut out for us. Racially-restrictive covenants are still found on the books in nearly every state in the U.S. Discrimination cases are rising. Black and Latino homeowners are about twice as likely to receive low appraisals, and the LGBTQ+ community also faces challenges. 

These aren’t just stats. These issues are likely affecting people you know. CINC’s Manager of Talent Acquisition, Jericah Carter, shared her own challenges in finding a home as a Navy veteran.

“I served in the Navy from 2008 to 2013 and have seen some struggles with utilizing my benefits under the GI Bill,” Jericah recalled. “The lender or realtor would push different ZIP codes that were not desirable. It was very frustrating and caused me to wash my hands of it and say, ‘I’m going to do this without using the benefit.’ The GI Bill has yet to benefit me. I know fellow veterans who have experienced that as well if the color of their skin is the same as mine.”

“These stories are important to hear, especially for anyone in community association management, because it gives us further insight into understanding where our homeowners are coming from and the experience they’ve gone through just to get that house,” said Kim Pitsko, CINC’s Director of Marketing. 

(Check out CINC’s Rethink Community EQ & DEI Webinar for more first-hand stories and insights).

The good news: Understanding and implementing DE& is simpler than many believe. Ultimately, it can be summed up by a Mr. Rogers quote: “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”

Let’s look at what DE&I means in our industry and some practical ways to implement it.

What does Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mean in our industry?

Let’s start with defining these terms, adding context, and debunking common misconceptions.

Diversity refers to who is represented in a workplace or community regarding race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, and beyond. 

“Being diverse means having team members represented from all walks of life — whether it’s lifestyle, race, ethnicity, cultural background, socioeconomic background,” Jericah explained.

Equity means adopting fair and just practices and policies that acknowledge systemic privileges and disadvantages and work to ensure these are not predictive of opportunities or success. There’s a key distinction between equity and equality; these are not used interchangeably. Equity does not mean “colorblindness.”

Let’s look at a great example from the healthcare industry, where equity can literally save lives. Jen Hamilton, a labor and delivery nurse, took to TikTok to explain.

“I’ve seen nurses saying, ‘I’m colorblind. I don’t treat my patients any differently,’ meaning they don’t treat their Black patients worse than their White patients,” she says. “It’s not enough to be a colorblind nurse in 2023.”

Black women, she explains, are far more likely to be harmed than other races in pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. She believes systemic racism is to blame; as Black women’s symptoms and concerns are dismissed, they’re less likely to trust medical providers and more likely to delay seeking care. 

When treating Black patients, Jen works even harder to build trust, advocate for the patient’s voice to be heard, and ensure the patient and family understand the symptoms of pre-eclampsia (a leading cause of maternal death).

In the CAM industry, equity involves understanding homeowners’ unique circumstances when enforcing covenants. For example, first-time homeowners from different cultures or countries may need help understanding an HOA’s customs, norms, and rules.

“When it comes to equity in our industry, it’s incredibly important that we understand where our homeowners are coming from and come from a place of emotional intelligence and empathy,” says Kim. “That we take the extra time before we click ‘send’ on that violation letter.”

Then there’s Inclusion, which refers to a sense of community where all members feel respected and have a sense of belonging. It may sound utopic now, but at CINC, we believe our industry is in a position to change the narrative.

Here are some places to start.

Putting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Into Action

Promoting DEI in Your Organization

When facilitating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities, a good place to start is within your own CAM organization. First, let’s dispel the myth that DE&I is a “nice to have.” There is a strong business case.

First, companies prioritizing DE&I have stronger cultures and a leg-up in recruitment.

“Everyone wants to have a sense of belonging in an organization,” explains Jericah. “So by having that representation across the board — that diversity — you’re going to attract people who see themselves at that organization and think, ‘Okay, this could be my next home.'”

Businesses also benefit from diverse thinking and ideas. Companies with diverse leadership teams earn more in profits and tend to be more innovative.

Jericah drove home the importance of promoting DE&I culture, starting with the recruitment phase. Forming relationships with recruiting companies that specialize in diverse applicants is one tactic. Another step CINC takes is to “sanitize” job applications to remove details that could cause unintentional bias in the hiring process.

Takeaways for Boards and Homeowners

Just as it’s essential to work on DE&I in your CAM organization, HOA boards should be intentional about representing all walks of life — not just one group. But remember that “all walks of life” includes generational differences in understanding and embracing DE&I.

Remember that it’s okay not to “get it.” Respect and openness are far more important.

“If you accidentally use the wrong pronoun, they’re not going to freak out at you as long as you show respect,” says Kim. “It’s not about knowing all the right answers; it’s about respect and taking the time to understand where they’re coming from.”

Community managers, boards, and homeowners have tools to help educate the community about the importance of DE&I, and small gestures can go a long way in making everyone feel welcome and included.

For example, you can use the HOA Portal to share information about holidays like Pride Month and Juneteenth or offer sensitivity training for board members.

Other times, promoting DE&I might mean revisiting your processes to offer more support and education where it’s needed. First-time homeowner meetings, for example, are a great way to acclimate neighbors to the HOA and its covenants before their lack of knowledge results in violations and contention.

It all comes down to leading with empathy and EQ. Consider the example of the homeowners who were asked to remove their Pride flag and how the HOA could have prevented the negative attention that ensued by using EQ.

“Maybe the flag was a violation in some way, but it was handled wrong,” says Kim. “They could have said, ‘I love your flag, glad you’re part of our community. It can’t go here, but let me give you another suggestion.’”

In an increasingly digital age, where electronic transactions and online banking have become the norm, it may be easy to assume that old-fashioned check fraud has become a thing of the past. However, recent developments suggest otherwise. Check fraud, a crime that involves the unauthorized use of checks for fraudulent purposes, is experiencing a resurgence, posing a significant threat to individuals and businesses alike. For association management companies, check fraud can pose a significant threat to the health of the business and reputation with homeowners.

The Rise of Check Fraud

A recent article published by The Wall Street Journal sheds light on the alarming surge in check fraud incidents across various parts of the world. In 2022, banks filed 680,000 check-fraud reports, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, part of the Treasury Department. That’s almost double the 350,000 fraud reports filed in 2021.

There are several reasons why check fraud is on the rise. Some of these factors include:

• Technological Advancements and the Digital Divide: While digital payment methods have gained widespread popularity, there remains a segment of the population that still relies on traditional paper checks. This divide creates an opportunity for fraudsters to exploit the less secure infrastructure associated with check-based transactions.
• Sophisticated Fraud Schemes: Criminals have become increasingly adept at leveraging advanced techniques to perpetrate check fraud. This includes counterfeiting checks, altering legitimate checks, forging signatures, and exploiting vulnerabilities in remote deposit capture systems.
• Data Breaches and Identity Theft: The rise in data breaches and identity theft incidents has provided fraudsters with access to personal and financial information. Armed with these details, they can manipulate or fabricate checks with convincing accuracy, deceiving banks and individuals alike.
• International Fraud Networks: The global nature of modern criminal networks allows for the swift movement of illicit funds and resources. International gangs specializing in check fraud can operate across borders, making it difficult to track and apprehend the perpetrators.

Consequences of Check Fraud

The consequences of check fraud can be devastating for both individuals and businesses. These include:

• Financial Losses: Victims of check fraud can suffer significant financial losses, as funds are unlawfully withdrawn from their accounts. The aftermath may involve a prolonged and arduous process to recover the stolen funds and restore financial stability. For a management company, this could mean a loss of significant income for months if not years.
• Reputational Damage: Falling prey to check fraud can damage the reputation and erode homeowner trust. Homeowners and board members may lose faith in the management company’s ability to safeguard their financial information, leading to a loss of business and potential legal repercussions.
• Legal Consequences: In cases where individuals unknowingly become accomplices to check fraud schemes, they may face legal repercussions, including criminal charges and possible imprisonment. It is crucial to be vigilant and report suspicious activities promptly.

Protecting Against Check Fraud

While the resurgence of check fraud may be disconcerting, there are proactive steps individuals and businesses can take to mitigate the risks. Daily account reconciliation is one way to ensure that check fraud is caught quickly. With one button click, a mismatch in budgets can be caught easily and efficiently.

It’s also important for management companies to embrace digital alternatives. Whenever possible, opt for solutions such as CINC’s VendorPay, the first fully integrated AP solution in association management that offers end-to-end efficiency for your AP processes.​

While the rise of check fraud may seem like a step backward in the fight against financial crime, it serves as a stark reminder that criminals continuously adapt to exploit vulnerabilities in our financial systems. By staying vigilant, embracing digital alternatives, and implementing robust security measures, management companies can protect themselves from falling victim to this resurgent menace.

The lack of engagement between homeowners and their HOA boards is continuously cited as a top concern in driving meaningful change in community association management. And as Millennials grow older and Gen Zers enter homeownership, the problem seems to only get worse.

There’s a new crop of middle-aged Millennials capturing the single family home market, and management company executives are noticing a troubling trend. These middle-agers are not jumping at the chance to become a board member of their homeowners associations at the same speed that their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts did. At CINC, we’re heavily researching this topic to bring valuable insight to our clients in the fall through a refresh of our infamous Managing to the Generations report. In the meantime, though, we want to provide some ideas to you so that you can consider new ways to drive board participation among younger generations.

Think Bluey

Watch one episode of The Jetsons and one episode of Bluey and you’ll notice a remarkable difference in the traditional family. The days of the dad working and the mom staying at home tending to her kids are over. Millennial dads are spending on average 300% more time with their children than past generations, and that involvement cascades into a far greater emphasis on family values for men. This means that when community managers work with their boards to plan family functions, they shouldn’t rely on the traditional mommy-and-me approach. Consider evening and weekend events to accommodate busy work schedules, and ensure that you’re soliciting feedback from dads just as much as you are from moms. Let fathers who are expressing interest in neighborhood involvement know that being part of an association board means you can be intimately involved in family-friendly events, rulings, and digital enlightenment.

Focus on local outreach

Our Managing to the Generations report shows that Gen Z homeowners are more interested in community outreach than any past generation. This means that philanthropic ventures are incredibly important to Gen Zers, and boards should be regularly looking at ways to support their local neighbors. Whether it’s volunteering at a local homeless shelter or soliciting help for a neighbor in need, local outreach projects should be a top priority in association newsletters. Community managers can cite our research to emphasize this importance and help their current board members develop ideas to generate more outreach within their association.

Keep meetings flexible

We’re all incredibly busy, especially working parents of younger children. Because of this, a volunteer position on an association’s board likely seems impossible for many younger homeowners. That’s why flexibility and virtual engagement is key. Virtual board meetings for both the board and the association as a whole will certainly increase engagement for prospective board members, as they will understand that they don’t have to be physically present all the time to be part of the board. It’s also important to keep meetings short and sweet. Community managers can coach boards to keep meetings shorter by providing agenda templates that can be sent out prior to a meeting, creating concrete objectives for each meeting agenda item, and cutting short time for feedback and questions.

Engage digitally

Millennials invented social media, and Gen Zers haven’t lived in a world without a smartphone. So modernized digital engagement is key to driving homeowner engagement overall. Tools such as our HOAst survey capabilities are incredibly important for this reason. You can use this polling functionality to have fun with the neighbors, voting for the best holiday decor, best-looking lawn, and so forth. Community managers should encourage their boards to take advantage of this technology beyond the yearly board elections – it’s not only modern, but it’s fun, too!

Manage everything mobile first

Finally, it’s critical that all homeowners are able to complete everything through their mobile device. From amenities booking to board invoice approvals, homeowners and board members need to be able to engage in their communities with the tap of a thumb. Ensure that your boards are regularly promoting their mobile app, booking tools, e-voting tools, and more.

For a more thorough review of all the mobile tools you should be using to get younger generations engaged as a board, check out our product tour to see where you can take more advantage!

You’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time to reflect, reevaluate, and reignite your organizational goals. And if you’re fully on track to reach all your goals with respect to acquisition, profitability, and more, it’s not likely that you’re considering a change to the way you’ve been running your business. But let’s be honest; most of us are going to realize at this point that we’ve fallen short somewhere. This means we’ll have to play catchup, or we may have to revisit the numbers we put forth for our organization altogether.

Because of this, on top of competing vacation schedules, many executives feel that evaluating a software switch halfway through the year is a bad idea. Oftentimes we say to ourselves, “Now is not the right time.” But starting the software evaluation process now can actually reap the rewards for an association management company. Here are four reasons why you should review your software halfway through the year:

1.You may not be reaching your goals because of your software

Are interest rates dragging down your bottom line? Are you struggling to find new sources for revenue? Are you unable to meet the timelines expected of your clients? Many of these common concerns in HOA management can be resolved with the right software solution. So as you take your mid-year check-in to reevaluate your goals and progress, it’s vital to consider, how can these problems be resolved with a better software solution? The hard truth is that if you’re not hitting your KPIs but you’re not utilizing the most modern tech stack you could be using, you will likely never hit those KPIs.

2. You’ll know the pricing for your upcoming budget if you start now

“How much does it cost?” That’s the question every management company executive wants to know when it comes to new software – with the understandable assumption that improved software means increased price. The reality is that anyone who offers an instantaneous quote on a software solution for association management companies hasn’t taken the time to fully understand the needs of that association management company. The price of a software solution encompasses multiple aspects – from the banking partner to the organization’s current tech stack. And while it’s reasonable to believe that new software means a higher price point, that actually isn’t always the case. In fact, it’s common for the price of the software to be subsidized through banking partnerships and other factors. 

But here’s the reality – there’s no way you can wait until the fall to demo a product, understand the pricing, fit that price into your upcoming yearly budget, and get started with onboarding and implementation. The sooner you understand how new software would impact your upcoming year’s budget, the more prepared you will be to set forth with your new year goals and budget. 

3. You’ll have adequate time to try the system before a switch

Let’s face it – when it comes to a whole new software solution, one demo is never enough. You’ll need all of your key users to review the software – from the community manager to the accountant – and oftentimes, they’ll need to see the ins and outs of the solution more than once to fully appreciate how their day-to-day would look in this new technological world. So starting in the middle of the year for a new year launch provides the time needed to ensure your team is fully comfortable in the switch you are considering. It’s very important that when you’re making the switch, you have buy-in from your team. Sometimes to achieve this buy-in, you’ll need to discuss with them why this solution would improve their workload and enhance future career opportunities. This isn’t a conversation that should be rushed, especially if you want to ensure high employee retention. Because of all of these factors, starting sooner is always better in a software evaluation. 

4. You can have your new software solution launched in time for the new year

Finally, and most importantly, if you start your software evaluation halfway through a calendar year, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to launch the new year with a new software solution. The average onboarding timeframe for a software solution is 90 days, and after those 90 days, management companies can expect to have a month post-launch working with their project manager on a weekly basis to ensure all needs are met. Completing this process in the end of the year is very beneficial, because it means you’ll be able to focus on training and implementation during a period where activity is lower than average.

If you’re still on the fence as to why the middle of the year is a good time to begin a software evaluation, check out our example timeline to see how a software switch could look for your organization. And if you like what you see and you’re ready to learn more, let’s schedule your demo. 

So much community. So much fun. CAI National 2023 Recap.

Who is still catching up on their rest from CAI National this year? We don’t blame you. The national conference was TEXAS BIG and included a lot of good music, good food, good conversations, and great community. It was an honor for CINC to be able to join in on celebrating community while showcasing innovation.

Biggest CAI National Takeaways for CINC:

• The industry values self-service tools, so there was a lot of curiosity around AI tools and solutions that can help them, especially with answering homeowner questions. We heard a lot of these comments and discussions when showcasing our latest concept product in our CINC Tank, the AI chatbot, CINCit.
• There is a heightened interest in understanding the stability and financial certainty of vendors and partners, especially bank partners. Read about CINC’s bank integration end points.
• The industry shares in the concerns found in this year’s State of the Industry report from employee recruiting and retention to board and community dissatisfaction.

Here is a recap of all things CINC at CAI National 2023:

We welcomed CAI National attendees with CINC Your Pins and the CINC Espresso Station – did anyone try the lavender latte or honey bourbon latte? Delicious! The incredible baristas took pride in creating CINC lattes with flavored syrups made in-house, resulting in a one-of-a-kind latte experience!

We also kicked-off our CINC Your Pins contest to collect badge flare at each CINC activity – little did we know, our pin to honor CAI’s 50^th birthday would become a big hit! Did you get a 50^th CAI Birthday pin?

THE World’s Biggest Block Party

The weather treated us well after sundown for an epic block party full of games, music, food, and drinks – we partied our block off! What was your favorite part? It was hard to choose between the life-size games, the fun times on the dance floor, the glow in the dark tees, the VIP area with live music and cigar rolling…it was definitely an epic block party!

Big thank you to all our partners who teamed up with us to create THE biggest block party!

The Rethink Community Station

This should’ve been called the authenticity station – it was such an honor having meaningful discussions about the state of the industry and hearing stories of how so many are navigating the day to day of association management with awareness and empathy. Check out some of the stories shared on CINC’s TikTok.

The CINC Tank

At CAI, we launched The CINC Tank, an innovation hub for the association management industry to ideate, incubate, and innovate solutions to enhance the experience of living in a professionally managed community.

We showcased some of our recent innovations to come out of the Tank:

VendorPay: Pay vendors securely within CINC.

Reservations Module: Homeowners can now book amenities in their homeowner portal, and soon, in their homeowner app.

Miscellaneous Items Feature: Homeowners can now purchase ancillary community items like key fobs in their homeowner portal. Goodbye key fob emails!

Over the last year, CINC has launched over 80 product enhancements.

We also showcased our latest concept product in incubation, CINCit, the AI chatbot who can answer questions about violations, work orders, and homeowner balances.

Shuffle and Sync Customer Event

We love an opportunity to hang out with our customers and treat them to unique experiences. Who knew electric shuffleboard would be such a hit? We had a great time in community with our community – our customers. Now, we’re all waiting to see who will be first to have a shuffleboard at their office! We can’t wait to see our customers again in November as we go beyond the plateau at the Chateau for CINC Up 2023!

In closing, CAI Nationals is always such a great event, thanks to our friends at CAI! We look forward to celebrating community and innovation in Las Vegas for 2024!

Have you noticed the debate over HOA rules and enforcement tactics — sometimes over seemingly petty issues — has gone more mainstream? HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver covered homeowner associations and the “surprising power they have” in one of the latest episodes. And this AJC piece from CINC’s own backyard is yet another example of how the national sentiment seems to favor homeowners, with lobbying groups taking their side in some cases. These stories all fall into the sentiment we heard in our State of the Industry Report – that most associations are not satisfied with their management companies.

Homeowners are desperate to have their voices heard, even if it means talking to the media, getting lawyers involved, or airing their grievances on social media. This means that a “business as usual” approach to addressing homeowner mishaps won’t cut it. Improving two-way communication means the need for transparency, convenience, and empathy.

Most rules are worth it.

We know this to be true: basic HOA and COA rules, such as lawn maintenance and street parking, are not only important in maintaining community standards but effective in improving home value. Now, this isn’t true of all rules. If you’re fining homeowners for a garden gnome, don’t be surprised when you see that violation letter in your TikTok feed. But most CCRs are fair and balanced. We find that when homeowners go berserk on the violation letters they receive, it usually isn’t about the actual rule they violated. Rather, they are frustrated by the way in which it was communicated.

Applying EQ to the rules. 

Emotional intelligence is a topic we’re heavily focused on this year at CINC, because we believe that management companies training their teams on EQ will experience significantly higher customer satisfaction.

Here’s an example of applying EQ to a violation letter: Let’s say you have a homeowner who left their trash can out for two extra days, and for them, this isn’t a common occurrence. You could send out a boilerplate letter during your inspection in just a couple of clicks. But what if that homeowner left their trashcan out because they just lost their job and their mind has been obviously preoccupied? When they receive their letter on top of the true crisis happening in their life, all of the anger that they feel towards their job loss will be reflected in their reaction to your letter. And then, the virality hits.

If this isn’t a common occurrence for that homeowner, what if you add a quick note in your email that says, “Hi! I know that this isn’t a usual issue for you, so I hope everything’s okay. I appreciate having you in this association and can work with you on clearing up this real quick. Please let me know if you need anything from me.” Not only is it less likely that the homeowner will feel upset by your violation, but they may even feel appreciated by you as they are going through a hard time.

This is exactly what EQ is all about – putting yourself in the shoes of the other person, being aware of their experiences, and applying that to your communication. As Terri Allen from Spectrum Association Management puts it, “Make it easy for homeowners to do business with you – make it easy with tools and access…HOAs, in general, have a stigma so creating that love language in property notices or communication that goes out to them is important.”

How mobile technology fosters communication

Keeping homeowner hostility at bay doesn’t just happen because of strong communication tactics. Mobile technology that speeds up processes, provides easy-to-use self-service techniques, and enhances transparency is also key.

For example, the most “liked” video on TikTok about HOAs (warning: explicit language) is a homeowner sharing how her HOA issued a violation letter to her when it was meant to go to her neighbor. Unfortunately, the violation letter mishap took place while the homeowners were grieving the loss of their child. While human error happens, her HOA didn’t have technology in place to allow her to quickly address/reply to the violation with the Ring videos/photos she can easily access on her phone. Instead, she had to document and print the proof before heading to the post office to mail her response.

Consider this:

• If creating violation letters is a very manual process without templates to pull from and edit based on homeowner information, you certainly won’t have time to add an empathetic tone.
• If your boards and homeowners can’t access their CCRs from their phones, there’s room for doubt in the validity of any rule enforcement.
• If it takes several minutes to complete just one task during an inspection, managers will be too burdened with tasks to truly support homeowner needs.

Bottom line: The more tools you provide to managers and boards, the less likely you are to be the next viral anti-HOA sensation.

What steps are you taking to improve two-way communication, transparency, and convenience for homeowners (and NOT end up on the wrong side of a viral story)? Keep the conversation going by visiting our Rethink Community series, and let us know if you’d like to demo our mobile offerings.

In the association management industry, leading with empathy and awareness is essential for building strong relationships with teammates, stakeholders, and partners. As mentioned in our latest white paper on EQ, empathy involves the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, while awareness is the ability to recognize and respond to different perspectives and experiences. By combining these two skills, teammates, especially leaders, can create a more inclusive, diverse, and collaborative environment that fosters trust, engagement, and loyalty among their teams.

While all of that sounds great on paper, it’s challenging to execute in the real world. After all, owners are constantly faced with a myriad of fires to put out – from unruly board members to exhausted community managers, it’s hard to take a step back from the day-to-day and question if you’re practicing EQ in your regular communications. So we broke it down into five bite-sized tips that you can easily keep on a post-it over your laptop as a gentle reminder to lead with empathy and awareness.

1. Cultivate a culture of inclusivity.

Leaders can create a more inclusive culture by valuing and celebrating diversity, fostering a sense of belonging, and actively promoting equality and fairness. This involves being aware of the different needs, experiences, and perspectives of teammates and creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all. Let’s say, for instance, that you have one manager who is constantly sharing personal stories and asking for advice on family matters, and another who talks nothing but business. And let’s say that you find the first manager more relatable to you, and you don’t connect with the other manager as well. If you aren’t fostering inclusivity in your management style, you may inadvertently favor the first manager for career growth opportunities, even if they both perform at the same level. That’s why it’s so important to recognize different work styles and motivators, and why a leader needs to flex their communication and coaching patterns to support all employees on a level playing field.

2. Foster open and honest communication.

Effective communication is key to building trust and engagement with teammates and key stakeholders. Leaders can lead with empathy by being honest and transparent in their communication, while also being sensitive to the emotional impact of their words. This involves actively listening to feedback and concerns, providing clear and concise information, and using language that is respectful and inclusive.

3. Provide resources and support.

Teammates need to feel supported in their career growth and aspirations, and luckily for us, that’s fairly easy to provide in the community association management industry. Training and education programs, mentorship or coaching services, or access to industry experts and thought leaders are vital to effective leadership. Owners should also be supporting managers in their plans to achieve certification by helping them build out a project plan for their education, sharing valuable resources through CAI and CACM, and if possible, providing financial assistance and PTO to obtain certification. By providing employees with the tools and resources they need to succeed, leaders can demonstrate their commitment to their teams’ success.

4. Practice mindfulness and self awareness.

When owning a business, one is consistently looking ahead into the future to understand growth opportunities and pending challenges. But it’s easy to get caught up in the future and fail to focus on the present. Your employees don’t need you five years from now; they need you now. Make sure that in the midst of strategy-building, you are focusing on the current needs of your teammates and where you can better support them at this very moment. This level of mindfulness will go a long way towards building trust among your team.

5. Foster a culture of continuous learning.

We discussed the importance of providing resources and tools such as certification programs to foster learning and development, but really, development needs to happen on a continuous basis. To lead with empathy and awareness means to consistently offer coaching and education to teammates. In 1:1 meetings, leaders should set aside at least five minutes for coaching and development; whether it relates to workload management, homeowner communications, or ways in which technology can support career growth. By valuing and promoting learning, leaders can create a culture that is open to new ideas and perspectives and fosters innovation and creativity.

Leading with empathy and awareness is essential for building strong relationships and driving success in the association management industry. By cultivating a culture of inclusivity, fostering open and honest communication, providing resources and support, practicing mindfulness and self-awareness, and fostering a culture of continuous learning, leaders can create a more empathetic, diverse, and collaborative environment that benefits everyone involved. To continue the conversation, we encourage leaders to review our latest EQ white paper and our Rethink Community series.

It unfortunately happens all too often to CAM executives. After months of researching, consulting, and negotiating pricing, a new property management and accounting software solution is chosen for the organization. One thinks that all is well, and the hard work is done. But suddenly that hands-on approach experienced in the sales cycle is gone, and it’s impossible to get a hold of anyone. Suddenly there are extra onboarding and implementation fees not part of the original contract. Suddenly, what was sold as a few months of work turns into over a year, and the management team is drained to the bone.

Any time an HOA organization onboards a new software, there will be moments where staff feel overwhelmed and board members feel anxious about the switch. But there’s a difference between a few hiccups along the way and major concerns that will affect the long-term relationship between you and your software provider. Bottom line: if you don’t believe you can salvage your relationship because of the troubles happening in onboarding, you need to reconsider. A software solution is the lifeblood of your organization. It’s vital to make the right decision, and it’s never too late to change your decision.

But what is the difference between a mild concern and a red flag that should make you reconsider your software choice? Here are five red flags that should never be ignored during the software onboarding and implementation process:

There is no project plan

When you start the onboarding process with a new software solution, you should be introduced to your project manager. That person needs to be your go-to contact for every milestone related to the transition. They should begin your very first meeting with a clear set of milestones and timelines, ensuring that you and your team are aligned. If you’re never introduced to a project manager, or you aren’t aware of a project plan with time-bound milestones, you should be concerned. You as the client have the right to hold your new software provider accountable for onboarding in the timeframe agreed upon during the sales cycle, and you won’t be able to do this without a formalized plan in place.

Data migration is on you

One of the biggest red flags we see relates to data migration. Moving all the homeowner data and financials over from one system to the next can be extremely challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing, and there’s potential to disrupt business and frustrate homeowners during the process. That’s why, frankly, management companies shouldn’t transfer their own data. Data professionals should be hired within the software solution’s onboarding and implementation team; these team members should know the inner workings of multiple software providers within the CAM space and should be able to support your data transfer from end-to-end. All you should have to do is help establish access to the data, answer any clarifying questions, and check for accuracy.

You have to hire staff

This is another surprising red flag that we hear. Because complicated workflows had to be built to make the system work like the way it was presented to them during the sales cycle, executives had to hire staff to support the software switch. To be clear, there is work to be done during onboarding and implementation. It’s important for management companies to review HOA operating and governing documents, and one will need to set up essential protocol such as violations and collections. If an organization is at max capacity, there are times in which extra help is necessary for setup. But that should be a temporary, short-term project – not a long-term need. If workflows prove to be too complicated to complete on a regular basis, one may find the need to make a permanent new hire. This can drastically affect the bottom line, so executives should be wary of increased workload that seems ongoing.

The implementation team isn’t experienced in property management and accounting

Another challenge we hear in the industry with respects to onboarding and implementation is when the team at the software provider isn’t well versed in the community association management industry. When configuring accounting setup and training managers on new tools, it’s vital that the software provider is employed with true experts in the field who can explain processes and procedures that work for the real-life workload of a management company. If a software provider isn’t aware of all the industry nuances, management companies may be forced to hire consultants to provide better clarity to their teams. This is added expense that often isn’t broached in the sales cycle and can deter any potential cost savings to the organization. When reviewing software solutions, one should always ask the provider about the industry experience of their onboarding, implementations, and account management team – how many come from property management, how long have they been in the business, and who can they provide as a reference to discuss training and implementation success.

There is no strategy to communicate with boards and homeowners

Finally, one of the most challenging aspects of a software transition is the communication piece to clients. Boards and homeowners can be finnicky with change, especially if a bank change is also taking place. Software providers should be aware of the challenges management companies face in the communication process and provide supportive assets. While one should not necessarily expect a hands-on public relations team to work with you during the transition, customizable marketing assets and helpful talking points should be an expectation.

There’s always a way out

You may have reviewed these red flags and realized that you can check off 100% of these with your current transition. But you may be thinking, what’s done is done. After all, you signed a contract and are bound to your decision. Luckily, that’s not the case. If you feel like your onboarding process isn’t working out as planned and want to reconsider, talk to us at CINC Systems and we can discuss your options. But if you need a bit more convincing before you give us a shout, watch this recorded webinar of our onboarding and implementations team to see how we switch management companies to our solution without any of the above red flags.

The following is a message from our Chief Executive Officer Ryan Davis on the state of the banking industry following recent events – published March 21st, 2023.

“The past several days I have had the opportunity to speak to many of our bank partners around the country. Their resolve despite the adversity they faced was something I’ve come to expect. Most importantly, their dogged determination to ensure the confidence of our customers was paramount in their minds. I am grateful to each for their partnership and their action during a difficult time.

Through my discussions, I was continually struck by the unique nature of banking in association management. In most cases, the financial position of associations is solid. It is a source of liquidity for financial institutions. CINC Systems and our clients partner with banks on more than 30,000 associations and more than 90% are fully FDIC ensured.

While uncertainty prevailed the last several days, CINC Systems’ unique ability to provide banking as a service through our bank integration and payments platform meant continued business continuity regardless of the outcome. This gave our customers peace of mind – a sense of well being that was confirmed by our banking partners reaching out to client to ensure them their accounts were protected and safe.

While none of our customers have been impacted by the situation, we will continue to monitor events and work with our bank partners to ensure continued continuity and peace of mind for our customers.

As a company founded by a banker who wanted to better serve the community association management industry, we recognize the value of seamless banking to our clients.”

Making a decision about the software solution you use for your community association management company isn’t just about crunching numbers and pulling reports. Your software determines the workload of your management team, the customer service your homeowners receive, and the revenue opportunity your organization has to gain. That’s no business owner would take this decision lightly.

There are many questions one should be asking about software solutions as they are making their way through rounds of product demos and pricing conversations. But before you get down to the nitty gritty, there are eight questions you absolutely have to consider before moving forward with any software solution.

Question 1: How much does the software invest in ensuring your company and homeowner data is secure?

Why is this important: Your homeowners are providing you with some of the most personal data they have on themselves and their families. It’s imperative that you keep this data secure and private, and the cost of a data breach would lead to financial and legal devastation. You need to ensure that your software solution offers at the very least SOC 2 Compliance and a commitment to best practices in cybersecurity for their entire organization.

More Info: Insecurity: The Alarming Costs of Data Breaches in the Homeowner Space

Question 2: How user intuitive is the software? Will it be easy for your homeowners to use?

Why is this important: If homeowners are inundating your management team with simple questions, like how to process a payment or how to submit a work order, your managers will never have time to support the needs of their boards. Not only will your managers suffer, but their clients will be frustrated with the lack of communication. Homeowner tools provided by your software solution should be a one-stop-shop product that is extremely easy to self manage, and the only thing your managers should have to do is ensure that their boards promote the tools appropriately.

More Info: Five Ways Software Can Reduce Burnout

Question 3: What tools does the software provide to enhance the homeowner experience, such as e-voting and amenities booking?

Why is this important: Homeowner engagement is consistently cited as the top concern amongst board members, community managers, and management company executives in our State of the Industry Report. Without engaged homeowners, the community as a whole suffers and little change is implemented to uphold the neighborhood. Tools such as e-voting and amenity booking features keep homeowners involved and excited to work with their fellow residents. It’s also a great selling point for management companies when talking with prospective clients.

More Info: 22 Ways to use the HOAst E-voting Platform

Question 4: Can you reconcile your entire portfolio in one click or do you reconcile one HOA at a time?

Why is this important: Who has time to reconcile every association at a time?! Budget reconciliation should be a daily process that every management company can have completed with one button click. Not only is this a huge time saver, but it greatly reduces the chance of fraud and mismatched payments that can creep up on the accounting team at month-end.

More Info: How Integrated Accounting Helps Manage HOAs

Question 5: How does the software make it easier for your employees? How do you plan on training them?

Why is this important: Employee retention is a huge challenge in community association management, and the software you use should only make their day-to-day easier. Processes need to be intuitive and mobile-first for community managers so that they can complete the bulk of their workload while visiting their properties. What’s more, it’s extremely important that the software solution you switch to provides you with a professional trainer for your team to guide them through the transition. Your team should have the time to know all the ins and outs of the new system and be guided in every step of the way, so that once you officially go live, you’re off and running without disruption.

More Info: Let’s Talk POPS (People Operations)

Question 6: How long is the average onboarding experience? Who do I work with on a regular basis to discuss my account needs and technical questions?

Why is this important: Switching software isn’t easy, but it shouldn’t disrupt your everyday business. It also shouldn’t take a painstakingly long time. The average onboarding period in professional organizations is about 90 days, so anyone who tells you longer should be a red flag. Software providers should also ensure you have a dedicated project manager, someone who will transfer homeowner data for you, and a full team to train you on accounting and property management solutions.

More Info: Switching Software Should Never Disrupt

Question 7: How does the software ensure you are capturing all the ancillary revenue you could be receiving?

Why is this important: A strong software solution isn’t a sunk cost. It should actually be driving revenue for your company. Whether it’s through addendum billing or accounts payable processes, there are many revenue streams available to you through superior technology. When discussing your software solution options with a potential partner, they should be able to highlight for you ways in which you can generate more revenue after making the switch.

More Info: Four Reasons Why Management Companies Don’t Grow

Question 8: How has the software evolved and grown in the last decade? Can it continue to grow with you?

Why is this important: There are many CAM software solutions that haven’t updated any systems in decades. There are also many in startup mode. Neither of these solutions will be able to grow at the pace needed for a sophisticated management company. Executives need to ensure that the software solution they choose for their organization can grow with them. Companies that aren’t innovating product offerings now probably won’t innovate any time soon, and companies that are just getting started in the industry won’t have enough capital to keep up with expenses, meaning that their innovations will dry up fast.

We hope that this information will better support you in your software buying journey, and for a more detailed review of all of the considerations needed in CAM solutions, read up on our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide.

Despite the technological innovation happening in many SaaS-based companies, a key component to organizational growth seems to be missing – women. Less than five percent of women in tech companies are leaders in their field, and only 16 percent are sales managers. At CINC Systems we are honored to build an organization dedicated to bridging the gender gap in leadership. Sarah Bloomberg, CINC’s Director of Sales, is one of the women who share a seat at the table, developing key strategies and growth plans to grow our footprint across the US. In honor of International Women’s Day, we sat down with her to learn more about her meteoric rise and advice for aspiring female leaders.

It’s Never a Linear Path

“My career journey has generally always been in SaaS, particularly at the crossroads of real estate and fintech. I took a brief hiatus from tech to work as a commercial real estate broker, but that is a tale for another post. Working my way through the ranks of SaaS leadership was certainly not always a linear or an upwards path, nor do most of us experience linear career growth. But there are two things I did that I believe really helped me grow. First, I always remain humble. Humility is often a leadership skill mistaken for weakness, but it’s a mindset that builds trust between you, your clients and your colleagues. Second, I ensure I am surrounded by great teachers. I’m very lucky for the teachers I’ve worked with thus far, and I don’t take those connections for granted.

I’ve been privileged in that I haven’t had to stay in a job where I wasn’t the right fit, wasn’t appreciated or felt I wasn’t providing the value I wanted to add. Hard work and dedication are integral to success, but when they are matched with the appropriate skillset for the job, you become difficult to overlook. Once you can identify and articulate your value, you owe it to yourself and others around you to ask for the raise, promotion, next step.

The Results are the Results

“Let’s face it – women are often underestimated, and that underestimation begins the moment you walk in the room. There isn’t always a need to overpower the noise of someone underestimating you. I used to try to out-talk, out-shine, and out-prove my worth. I’ve learned many situations require quiet observation to understand the dynamics, the motivators, and the fears of those underestimating me. I have very little control over their opinion, but I can control my own productivity and responses. The results are the results.

Women Should Support Women, Period.

“There are many offices that tend to pit women against each other, causing us to tear each other down so others don’t have to. Women lifting each other up, fostering collaboration, and celebrating each other’s wins can only promote more women to own their leadership title. I think the women who are slow to adopt this ideology will burn out from constantly worrying and looking over their shoulder for someone to displace them – it’s simply not a sustainable way to operate.

The Importance of a Sponsor

“I mentioned that I am fortunate to have many great teachers in my life, many of which are men. These mentors are critical to my self-improvement and strategic career trajectory. In addition to mentors, I believe sponsors are an invaluable asset when it comes to representing voices that may not “have a seat at the table.”  Sponsors are leaders within your company of higher rank who not only believe in your ability and potential but advocate for you in your career growth. I strongly recommend that women, or anyone, who are serious about growth within their company lean on more than just their boss for their growth. Find someone with whom you have a strong connection with. Ask them to sponsor you in your progress and help keep you in check along the way.”

To learn more about Sarah and stay connected as she continues to lead the charge in growing CINC, follow her on LinkedIn. And to stay up-to-date with all of our employees’ careers, follow our company page.

For the second year in a row, CINC Systems has surveyed community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country to determine the State of the Community Association Management (CAM) Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry and highlighted a variety of interesting concepts, both familiar and new.

As the world has seen dozens of times throughout the 2020s, much can change in a single year. Egg prices skyrocketed and subsequently plummeted over the course of 4 – 8 months thanks to a particularly virulent strain of avian flu. The housing market exploded seemingly overnight, doubling or sometimes tripling the value of homes throughout the country. Reactive condo maintenance legislation passed with lightning speed in the wake of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in 2021.

All of this to say, change is all around us, and the CAM industry is seeing that first-hand. After publishing the results of the 2023 State of the Industry survey, there are some universal truths that still remain, and just as many changes that management companies and community associations should stay aware of for the future.

What Was and (Likely) Always Will Be

There are a few standard concerns and trends the CAM industry will probably always face. We saw these issues in the feedback from both the 2022 and 2023 SOTI results and firmly believe these trends will continue into the foreseeable future.

• Underfunded Reserves & Deferred Maintenance – Despite some states requiring reserve studies and funding percentages for reserve funds, most communities can barely sustain the minimum expectations. In fact, it’s predicted that 1 in 5 communities will go cash flow negative in the next five years. Funding for the future requires strong buy-in from the community, and most boards struggle against problematic homeowner apathy. Though several states are also passing new legislation requiring maintenance for certain communities, it’s likely we will see the majority of HOAs and condo associations struggle to financially support these expectations long-term.
• No Emergency Preparedness – Many community associations admit to having either an outdated plan of action for emergencies or no plan at all–more than that, even fewer have any plans to update or create those plans. As much as this is on their radar, it isn’t a high priority, and it will be important for CAM managers to impress upon their boards the real value an emergency preparedness plan can bring.
• Cost-Conscious Boards – one of the biggest concerns for management companies in both 2022 and 2023 was the fact that boards tend to laser-focus on expenses. It’s important and financially responsible, but everything comes with a cost, and when most boards seek out the cheapest solution rather than the most cost-effective and best option, there is always fallout. Management companies will need to continue to justify their costs.

Where Change is Happening or About to Happen

• Managing Manager Burnout – The shortage of CAM managers and the increasing levels of manager burnout are definitely still here, make no mistake. Every day more and more managers are leaving the industry entirely, and there is still little to no new talent filling that gap. But new solutions are cropping up. Virtual employees are taking on day-to-day tedious tasks that tend to drown managers. Answering phone calls, responding to generic emails, and general homeowner communications are all simple tasks a VE can handle, allowing managers to rebalance their workload and mitigate burnout.
• Reevaluating Retention – In both 2022 and 2023, management company growth was a high-ranking goal. But few management companies factored client retention into those goals. In 2023, it will be important to reconsider growth. Retention IS growth, and dedicating time and effort to client retention will be a new avenue of effort for many management companies.
• Embracing Self-Service Technology – In the past, community associations have been actively against adapting to new technology. But as the generational demographic of the workforce and homeowners skews further and further into the millennial bracket, that technology avoidance begins to disappear. This means that today and in the coming years, we expect to see a significant shift in communities demanding self-service tools and functionality. That said, they may not even realize that’s what they’re looking for–self-service is a catch-all aide for so many pain points, such as lack of transparency, disempowered homeowners, and even manager burnout.

Pushing For Change

Change is a very good thing, and there are several areas in the CAM industry that can and will see a massive change in the coming year. But taking steps to create the change you want to see in the industry will be just as critical to industry growth and success.

For the second year in a row, CINC Systems has surveyed community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country to determine the State of the Community Association Management (CAM) Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry and highlighted a variety of interesting issues, including the fact that homeowner apathy contributes to nearly every issue community associations and management companies face today.

If there is one universal truth known to everyone involved in the CAM industry, it’s that homeowner apathy is a serious issue. Nearly every community association faces it to some degree, and when enough of a community becomes uninvested, it causes some dangerous problems for the HOA.

After conducting the 2023 State of the Industry survey, it’s clear that a vast majority of problems plaguing not only HOAs and condo associations but the management companies supporting these communities can all be traced back to a lack of homeowner engagement.

Why Homeowners Disengage

Community engagement feels like something that should just happen organically. If someone buys a home in an HOA or condo association, realistically they should be prepared to contribute where needed. But that isn’t always a clear connection that homeowners make. Just like “Community Association Manager” isn’t ever an option you’ll find at a middle school Career Day expo, “Attentive and Involved Homeowner” isn’t a job title you’ll see either. There is a gap in awareness and understanding because the average person isn’t taught to consider what it means to live in a community. As a result, there tend to be three main reasons why homeowners don’t engage in their communities:

• • They feel they don’t have a voice or say in what happens within the community. Attending meetings can feel futile when difficult decisions are made or when costs are raised, especially if it feels like the majority of the community was not supportive of the changes or increases.
  • There isn’t a clear reason for them to be involved. If others in the community fail to show up to meetings or don’t voice opinions or ask questions, it can be difficult for a homeowner to speak up.
  • They aren’t sure how their involvement will benefit them. Despite being in a group community, there’s still a sense of personal benefit or gain that homeowners want to feel they have–this is where they live, and they want to know that their specific needs are being catered to just as much as the needs of the many.

All of these are because community associations aren’t something the average person is trained to consider.

The Ripple Effect of Apathy

When homeowners stop caring about the community they live in, everything within that community eventually feels the impact of apathy. Uninvested homeowners tend to skip meetings and sometimes even fail to pay their monthly assessments. This not only hurts the HOA’s bottom line but forces board members into a difficult situation where improving the community is nearly impossible.

But the impact doesn’t stop at the board of directors. Community managers feel the sting of apathetic homeowners, too. Management companies are hired by communities to advocate for their best interests and offer sound advice to the community regarding improvements and finances. But if there isn’t any community involvement, that advice is effectively falling on deaf ears–a manager can only do so much for a board whose hands are tied by lack of support.

3 Ways Management Companies Can Invest in Homeowners

Homeowner apathy is not just a problem for HOAs and condo associations–it’s a problem that management companies face, too. HOA management companies need to find ways to get homeowners involved in their communities. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but based on candid feedback in the 2023 SOTI survey, stronger communication is the most important service a management company can provide to homeowners. These are the three major areas where residents find that they want management companies to show improvements:

• Participation – It’s not enough to offer advice from afar or silently manage community finances. Active participation and involvement within the community is important to homeowners, so showing up for and engaging during board meetings is crucial.
• Transparency and Consistency – Homeowners expect to be able to clearly and easily access relevant community information at any given time and without hassle. Financial information specifically is in the highest demand, with another respondent stating, “Anything we pay for, we should be allowed access to the info on it.” Of course, managers are already spread thin, so using the right tools to provide this is one of the most efficient ways a community manager can provide this level of increased communication.
• Positive Attitude – One homeowner also gave the advice, “be polite,” so the quality of your communication is just as important as your consistency. The workload managers juggle is increasingly overwhelming, and it can be difficult to be kind and polite in some of the sticky situations HOAs create. But that kindness can be the difference between a mediocre interaction and a positive experience for a homeowner.

Help Your Homeowners Help You

As a community manager, your success is directly tied to the communities you serve. By investing in your homeowners, you invest in your community managers and directly back into your management company. As we spend 2023 Rethinking Community, consider the ways your managers currently handle community interactions and how you can better support the managers in their duties.

CINC Systems is heavily focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and as we continue to grow as an organization, you’ll find us spending more time celebrating our employees, educating our staff, and taking action to build a more diverse workforce.

In building our DEI program, we’re first beginning with education and celebration. And in honor of Black History Month, we’re celebrating five Black inventors who are instrumental in building the American home. Without these inventors, we wouldn’t be here to make living in a professionally managed community a great experience.

Philip B. Downing. You don’t have to worry about troubles delivering mail and bills in a timely fashion thanks to Philip B. Downing, an American inventor with five patents under his name. He created a mailbox design that featured an outer door and an inner safety door to avoid parcels being stolen, and this safety device allowed mailboxes to be set up everywhere. In addition to modernizing the mailbox, Mr. Downing is also responsible for significant developments on street-railway switches, and envelop moisturizer, and an easily accessible desktop notepad.

Frederick McKinley Jones. The early 20^th century included a wide myriad of Black inventors who used their technological expertise and ingenuity to modernize home appliances. One of the most prolific inventors was Frederick McKinley Jones, who patented more than 60 inventions in various fields between 1919 and 1945. One of his most popular inventions used by households every day was the refrigerator. Mr. Jones also heroically served in World War I in France as an electrician, and created one of the first mobile X-ray machines.

Ellen Elgin. Oftentimes technological innovation and home devices aren’t discussed as two of the same, yet this is often where the most significant inventions arise. Ellen Elgin created the first clothes wringer in 1888 that could wash and dry clothes significantly faster with two rollers. She chose to sell her invention to a white person to be patented, as she didn’t feel that the device would be used if consumers knew it was invented by a black woman. But her invention did indeed take off and became a home staple for several decades – until another Black inventor, George T Sampson, invented the modern clothes dryer.

John Albert Burr. Community managers, rejoice! You’re able to ensure that your properties have crisp, clean lawns thanks to John Albert Burr, who patented the first rotary blade lawn mower in May 1899. Mr. Burr was just a teenager during the Civil War, and after his family was freed, his incredible talent in the engineering field enabled him to gain sponsorship to attend private university. In total, Mr. Burr holds over 30 patents in lawn care and agricultural inventions.

Thomas Elkins. Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t celebrate Thomas Elkins, who invented the first toilet in November 1897. We don’t think we need to explain why this is important, but it’s also important to note Mr. Elkins’ other accomplishments. He played a vital role in supporting the Underground Railroad in Albany, New York, and served as a medical examiner during the Civil War.

We hope that this quick read gives you better visibility into the incredibly significant role Black inventors play in the creation of the neighborhoods we service. To join us in our celebrations of different backgrounds and cultures at CINC Systems, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our Newsletter to read future articles on our DEI initiatives.

New year, old problems? That seems to be the case, at least when it comes to one of the most relevant topics of the last two years: reserve funding and reserve studies. In the wake of the tragedy at Champlain Towers South came a crop of new legislation and regulations around residential building maintenance, and with it, talks about how reserve funding continues to be an afterthought for so many HOAs.

While it may be a new year facing old problems, it’s not going to be a year spent spinning wheels with the same rusty old tools. New year, old problems…new solution. In 2023, CINC Systems is integrating with a groundbreaking product revolutionizing how community associations handle aging infrastructure and reserve funding: SmartProperty’s The Living Reserve Study®.

Steering Away from Static Reserve Studies

One of the most intriguing results to come from our 2022 State of the Industry survey last year was the realization that while many communities claimed to be 100% funded or in some way adequately contributing to their reserves, not enough communities had performed a reserve study within the last five years (or ever!) to make that claim accurate. Unfortunately, without up-to-date benchmarks and metrics to check against, it’s unlikely these communities are as well-funded as they believe.
Reserve studies are static in nature. They don’t change, and they only tell you what you need to determine your budget contributions in the year they are developed. But the world around you changes constantly, so why would your funding plan remain static? If a reserve study doesn’t account for changes in the economy, community components, or HOA finances, it’s not worth much as a planning tool beyond the initial release.

Imagine if the same real-time understanding of a community’s financials that you gain with CINC were available for your reserves. This new integration provides both managers and boards with a deeper level of insight into reserve spending, future planning, and funding needs, just as you have come to expect from your CINC financials. With real-time financial data and component health histories, you can better predict expenses before they come and are more aware of the community’s financial capability to handle those costs. Knowledge of the true state of their live financials gives boards the power to plan effectively, make data-backed decisions, and fund their reserves accurately, which is exactly what The Living Reserve Study® offers to CINC customers.

Forging the Path Ahead

As more and more states begin to pass laws dictating reserve analysis timelines, funding requirements, and infrastructural health expectations, communities need to be vigilant. Relying on a single study from a decade past isn’t cutting it–for anyone. From the rising cost of living to the ever-climbing inflation rate, costs of goods going up, and insurance rates following suit, prices from even a year ago are no longer viable.

In order for community associations to better manage their reserve funds and combat aging infrastructure, they need more than just a single, unchanging reserve study once every 6+ years. Realistically, they need a tool that helps facilitate cost containment rather than the band-aid solution of increasing monthly fees when unexpected costs arise. Community management tools should also offer issue identification and resolution, including plans of action to accomplish those resolutions.

Without basics like these, HOAs and condo communities are being handed a stack of short-term suggestions that steadily become valueless and act as a detriment to community funding.

Give Your Community the Gift of the Living Reserve Study®

This new year, treat your community to something it greatly deserves: the gift of financial empowerment. Now is the time to get serious about reserve funding and combating aging infrastructure in communities. HOAs can’t afford to make mistakes when it comes to reserve funding. It is important to use the tools available to you to get serious about planning for the long term. HOA boards deserve better tools to support their long-term financial health, and CINC is proud to bring those tools to our clients with this partnership with SmartProperty.

Thinking about how to make 2023 the year your community association management (CAM) company BOOMS? You’re not alone. This time of year is all about focusing on growth and change, and it’s important you take the right steps for yourself and your business. These books come highly recommended by CAM experts, for CAM experts, each focusing on a different way to help readers think outside the box and develop the habits and mindsets that facilitate real change and growth.

Focus on Leadership

How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this staple novel is included in the list. For nearly 90 years, Dale Carnegie’s thoughts on what it takes to be a leader, a business owner, and to achieve success have resonated with millions.

Whether you’re just starting your CAM company, or you’re ready to reach new heights and grow like crazy, this book has tips and advice some of the most well-respected, influential names of today stand behind.

Focus on Your Mental Health

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before – Dr. Julie Smith

The world is collectively recognizing the importance of maintaining good mental health. When working to get a burgeoning business off the ground, especially in an industry like CAM Management, it’s important to keep your mind sharp and well-pampered.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before promises to “tackle everyday issues and offer practical solutions in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries,” making the task of taking care of your mental health simple and manageable for just about everyone.

Focus on Change Management

Think Again – Adam Grant 

Learning and adapting are important components of business management. As much as we are all experts in our fields to some degree, there is always room to add to our knowledge and change our perspectives.

Adam Grant’s Think Again embraces the concept of change and growth, and confronting the reality that there are things we simply do not know, and that’s okay. This is a great read for anyone growing their CAM business, and realizing that there’s a lot of room to grow themselves, too.

Focus on Providing High-Quality Service

Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others – Cheryl Bachelder

The CEO of Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen is probably not who you expected to see on a list for the CAM industry, right? But her story is pretty impressive. People talk all the time about how to “McDonaldize” their businesses and streamline efficiency, but the Popeye’s comeback story explores what happens when leaders dare to serve.

This book is ideal for CAMs striving to be the best they can possibly be to their clients and their staff. Serving happens at every level of a business, and understanding the ways to serve those around you is a great goal for this year.

Focus on Diversity

Authentic Diversity – Michelle Silverthorn

Change has been stirring throughout the workforce for years. With heavy, impactful discussions about race and equality happening every day across the country, it’s so important for businesses to actively tackle workplace diversity.

An expert on culture change and diversity, Michelle Silverthorn offers actionable takeaways to readers eager to enact real change in the tapestry of their industry. The CAM industry has always historically fallen behind the curve in many areas, but businesses intentionally acting for diversity can help propel the industry forward together.

Focus on Being Remarkable

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable – Seth Godin

Are you a purple cow? Do you have purple cows? In other words, are you standing out in a crowd? Sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way. At the end of the day, nearly every business has someone else doing what they do–the difference is what you make of it.

Seth Godin reframes traditional marketing by encouraging business to be remarkable, and to have a “purple cow” in everything they do. If you’re looking to stand out and stand above this year, this is the book to help make that happen.

Focus on Women’s Empowerment

Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg

Being a woman in most workforces comes with a very unique share of difficulties. And just as the world is zeroing in on undoing racial inequality, the world is just as profoundly invested in undoing gender inequality. Women everywhere are standing up and fighting for recognition and compensation equal to the value they provide.

Meta’s former COO Sherly Sandberg expertly advises women on the ways to navigate a world that all too often seems to rally against them. Her knowledge and experience provide an incredible read for women striving to ascend to new heights, and anyone else hoping to elevate women in their workforce.

The year is coming to a close, and as it does, it’s important to take a quick glance back at what we’ve had the opportunity to learn. This past year was full of great lessons thanks to the insights board members, association managers, and management company executives contributed to our State of the Industry survey. These five takeaways are ones we think are worth revisiting:

The Challenges of Investment Homeowners 

The housing market went a little crazy this year. Housing prices reached stratospheric heights for sometimes meager amenities ($400k for small, self-proclaimed ‘fixer-upper’ homes in some areas!), as property investors and investment firms scooped up real estate for a quick profit. For homeowners this was a nightmare, obviously–but HOAs and condo associations hit a snag, too. With too-high a percentage of absentee homeowners, or homes being purchased just to be rented on short-term rental sites, communities are at risk of being overrun by a sea of strangers who may not follow community rules, and who cannot make decisions or votes at meetings.

Board Members Are Techier Than Ever Before

The CAM industry has, until quite recently, always been perceived as technologically stagnant. While the world around them advanced forward with fancy new gadgetry, most communities still accomplished basic tasks (like accounting) with incorrect tools (like Quickbooks) because they’re familiar and seemingly cost-effective. But that’s been changing significantly. This survey showed just how techy board members can be, and the kind of technological support they’re seeking out for their communities. Sure, some of those wants were obvious ones like better communication tools (a trend we’re predicting will continue well into 2023), but others like Intelligent Mail Barcodes and thermal imaging cameras for leak detection made even our techiest tech-heads here at CINC nod in surprised appreciation.

Community Conflict Resolution Is a High Priority

2022 was the era of recorded shouting matches. From Twitter to TikTok, every social media outlet had recorded proof of someone being loudly, disrespectfully, flagrantly…wrong. And when HOAs are already a sore spot rife with disagreements between residents, board members, and community association managers, this sudden uptick in volatility was important to many. Finding the right way to de-escalate a confrontational situation in a community was critical, and even though this topic didn’t make our predicted top 3 trends for 2023, it will almost certainly still be a big concern for communities and management companies everywhere for many years to come.

Community Managers Are Still Very Burnt Out

Burn out is everywhere, it’s true. Regardless of industry or role, everyone is at least a little burnt out these days. But in an industry where there is an ever-growing chasm of incoming talent, a mass exodus of existing talent, and a growing need to be more things to more people, CAMs are starting to just burn. Our research indicated that the average CAM serves approximately 891 units currently, and that management company executives are often shouldering the overflow from that massive workload.

Customer Satisfaction Was a (Solvable) Mystery

In 2022, we found that CAM management companies wanted to drive their customer satisfaction numbers up, but struggled to connect some important dots when it came to maintaining or increasing that number. Many executives were using metrics like customer retention rate to gauge satisfaction, and while retained clients do tend to be satisfied in some way, retention is the least-useful indicator of a happy client. More important satisfaction metrics like client referrals or online reviews were being overlooked. Customer retention is the foundational goal of bringing on a client, not the indicator of success.

Be a Contributor

The industry is in a constant state of flux–that’s why we’re asking industry professionals just like you for your thoughts again. CINC’s 2023 State of the Industry survey is live and ready for your input. Click here to share your knowledge and make your thoughts and insights known.

The year is about to come to a close, and everyone is trying to think ahead. Board members, community association managers (CAMs), and management company executives alike are gearing up for the immediate and long-term futures.

Understanding the community association management industry can be a real challenge, though. With such a niche area of service, and an assortment of people who certainly didn’t grow up saying, “I want to be a board member or an association manager” on career day, it can be hard to pinpoint what will matter most to the professionals and volunteers throughout the space. Year over year, the landscape in the CAM industry is changing and shifting.

When CINC Systems surveyed the industry in 2022, some pretty big revelations came up–management companies felt that staff were more burnt out now than ever before and struggled to understand customer satisfaction; HOA and condo boards were very interested in community security and security technology and sought ways to stay successful even when facing turnover.

If you look back at these results and consider how the year played out for many within the industry, there are a lot of concerns that need to be addressed. But when it comes down to it, a few common trends appear to take shape and can act as a tentative guide for the coming year:

1. Supporting Managers in New Ways

The Great Resignation hit the CAM industry like a semi, and there’s no sign it will slow down in 2023. Many management companies took this as a sign to re-evaluate a few key components of how they source staff. For years, the obvious answer has been to hire certified, licensed CAM professionals–but with how few and far between those seem to be these days between resignations and a stagnant pool of new talent, changes had to be made. Many CAM management companies turned instead to virtual assistance in some capacity. Whether that’s hiring a virtual assistant to manage the multitude of schedules their managers and communities must juggle or outsourcing internal departments to HOA-specific service providers, there seems to be a new respect for non-staff staffing options, and we expect that to trend upward in the year ahead.

2. Preparedness and Maintenance Will Remain Top of the Mind

Last year’s trend prediction focused pretty heavily on the ramifications of the Champlain Towers South collapse, and the FNMA restrictions that came from the tragedy. 2022 was a year full of new legislative efforts to combat aging infrastructure in community association residential buildings as a result. In 2023, we expect those recently-passed or soon-to-be-passed HOA laws throughout the country (California, Florida, and Hawaii, just to name a few prominent states) to have a massive impact on the way the CAM industry operates and handles their finances and maintenance schedules.

3. Repositioning Community Management to Reveal Value

Tangentially related to both the ongoing manager crisis and the condo maintenance restrictions is the reality that CAM management is often misunderstood. Community board members perceive their managers much like they do their cleaners or babysitters–they’re “the help.” And given enough time and mistreatment, managers can fall into the rut of starting to believe that. But community management is significantly more than the list of operational to-dos and communications to be made. When you reconsider the job being carried out and see the big picture, that it is instead a job of asset management, you can reposition how your management company and your managers present your services and better price your services for the value being offered. This will be especially huge in the coming year, as so many managers and management companies will be responsible for managing large-scale capital improvements throughout their portfolios.

Help Us Stay Ahead of the Curve

The industry is in a constant state of flux–that’s why we’re asking industry professionals just like you for your thoughts again. CINC’s 2023 State of the Industry survey is live and ready for your input. Click here to share your knowledge and make your thoughts and insights known.

Remember the original installation wizards of early computing days? There were dozens of steps, and while most of the time you could get away with simply clicking “Next >” over and over again, many wizards required some level of real technical understanding.

Those wizards got way more complicated before they got simpler, because customization was a huge push for “personal computers” –how can something be “personal” if you can’t personalize it, right?

That got old relatively quickly.

The modern world is all about simplification. Today, everyone is walking around with a personal, pocket-sized computer everywhere they go. They can use it to pay bills, buy food, order rideshares, even track their physical health–and that isn’t even what the thing is functionally sold as! What part of “phone” is supposed to mean “all-in-one life device?”

We live in an age where that level of simplicity is not only desirable, it’s expected. HOA tools should be just as user-friendly, but the reality is that very few truly are.

Customizability is NOT Simple

For most cell phone users, core daily functions are all nearly automatic. The most popular apps on the most popular phone providers tend to be incredibly user-friendly right “out of the box.” There is no heavy lifting required to get the app onto the phone, or to get the app running the way it’s supposed to run.

Many community association management (CAM) platforms claim they operate in the same way, but when push comes to shove, that isn’t the case.

Several major providers to the CAM industry today sell the concept of customization. In theory that sounds great! Who doesn’t want to pick and choose which important tasks they prioritize in their chosen management tool?

The downside? Very few people actually have the developer or computing knowledge to customize those workflows efficiently. The setup relies on those same, outdated installation wizards of Old Tech, and expects everyday users to know the right steps of services needed to make their tasks pain-free. Completely unrealistic.

If something is going to be labeled as “efficient,” it should not require a background in computer sciences to accomplish that goal. CINC doesn’t expect you to build your own software–you are not a developer, nor should you have to be.

The CINC Difference

The originator and maintainer of bank integration combined with being the only open-source platform serving the CAM industry with 130+ APIs.

For non-techies, that probably doesn’t sound terribly impressive, or even make a lot of sense. But we promise, it’s pretty huge.

Being “open source” means that any third-party providers can connect via API with CINC without requiring additional logins. Fewer logins mean fewer clicks and an even smoother experience for every user.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are the connective tissue that allow CINC Systems to easily communicate with outside platforms. resale documents, vendor management, ticketing systems, all examples of industry-leading tools and providers who can easily and quickly plug into CINC’s platform, further allowing CINC to be a single source for community managers and their homeowners.

Additionally, auto-reconciliation specifically is a feature that CINC’s deep banking integration heavily supports. Where many platforms claim to handle daily auto-reconciliation, it tends to be less automated than a community needs. Many providers, for example, can only auto-reconcile a single community.  So a user could handle daily auto-reconciliation for a whole community, but an entire portfolio would require potentially dozens of extra button pushes or screen taps. CINC’s robust bank integrations make portfolio auto-reconciliation a standard in the system.

There’s no excuse for clunky technology today. Society has advanced far beyond the days of 15-step set-up wizards, and the CAM industry can rely on CINC Systems to continue that ingenuity for their HOA needs.

The CEO-MC Retreat from the Community Associations Institute is always one of our favorite events of the year. It’s an intimate setting where business owners connect to learn best practices, develop their leadership skills, and proactively plan for the new year.

This year’s event in La Quinta, California gave us the ability to connect one-on-one with our customers during a critical time in community management. While we connected with our colleagues, there were three key areas in which leaders were focused on improving the most: operations, talent, and overall business maturity. Here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways we heard from CEO-MC:

Companies want to learn how to improve operational practices.

Entrepreneurs in community association management can’t scale at a productive rate if they can’t manage operations in a productive manner. But in an industry fraught with urgency, executing a routine day-to-day can seem impossible. That’s why so many leaders were enthralled with the keynote from EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System. The session was focused on teaching how to get what entrepreneurs want from their business by setting the vision, holding everyone accountable, and developing team cohesion and transparency. As costs continue to rise for both supply and labor, the need to enhance productivity will be extremely important in the upcoming year. Improving operational practices often entails not just software operations, but people operations. Are you providing the right tools to help your team get their work done in the most efficient manner, and does that therefore improve continuity between your team and the organization’s vision? And operations seamlessly dovetails into the next key takeaway…

Companies are STILL struggling to find qualified talent.

We’ve heard of problems related to recruitment and retention since the dawn of the Great Resignation. And while the job market may be cooling down, the need for qualified talent continues to heat up. This becomes very challenging for those trying to hire in community management. Asking someone to be a rockstar in project management and client relationships means asking someone to be extremely skilled at two very different skillsets – this conundrum is why good talent is so hard to find! Since most companies don’t have the budget to split the job into two roles, they’ll need to take advantage of tools that streamline project management within multiple communities. It’s also vital to empower managers with technology that gives them the ability to communicate with their board members and homeowners quickly and efficiently. Finally, homeowner self-service is a necessity to improve a manager’s schedule. If a homeowner knows how to manage their payments, work orders, and communications in one location, they are far less likely to consistently call for help. The more leaders can do to reduce manager burnout, the more likely they are to find better talent for their organization.

Companies want to know how to exit strategically

There are many entrepreneurs in the space who have reached their personal peak in business development. These leaders aren’t necessarily thinking about operational efficiency and talent development – rather, they are asking themselves, “what’s next for me?” When does one know when it’s time to sell their business? Where can one turn to valuate the company, and how easy (or not easy) is it to find the right buyer? These questions can seem big and scary when a business leader doesn’t know where to turn, and that’s why our founder Bill Blanton created CINC Capital. As the only firm dedicated to the community association management industry for business acquisition, CINC Capital works one-on-one with CAM owners to understand the value of their business, create a plan for a future sale, and achieve a maximized return on investment. It’s the reason why Cyndi Sullivan of Key Community Management was able to comfortably sell her business and enter her next chapter in life.

From people to operations to business development and acquisition, we’ll continue to drive the conversation for key 2023 priorities impacting our industry. Follow our blog to stay up to date on all of the emerging trends facing community association management professionals today.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common interests amongst community association trustee boards, including acquiring highly-specialized (but potentially unnecessary) technology.

The community association management industry has traditionally focused on a few key areas for the last several decades. Topics like the cost of business, competitor tracking, and recruitment have held the attention of management companies, while concerns such as homeowner apathy and delinquency rates have typically plagued community associations.

These areas were high on the lists for both groups in CINC’s 2022 State of the Industry survey, but one other topic stood out among board members’ interests: advanced technology.

Right Motivation, Wrong Situation

Historically speaking, technology is an area where community associations have trailed far behind the curve. There are a lot of speculative reasons for why that is, from board reluctance due to limited time and budget, to cost, to just the general aversion to learning new technology we all inevitably face. So to see high-end, highly-specified technology tools listed as desires for board members was quite surprising!

It all came down to community preservation, and keeping residents safe and happy. Here were three of the answers that really stood out among the rest:

• Intelligent Mail Barcodes to ensure accurate mail delivery
• Thermal imaging cameras for leak investigations
• Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to regulate AC and save energy

These are so unique and inventive–especially considering most communities are still reluctant to adopt technology basics, let alone tools that ensures that the post office delivers more efficiently!

But while it was great to see such a strong interest in new technology, it seems that boards might be focused on the wrong areas when it comes to supporting their residents.

Building a Strong Foundation

When asked what kind of technology boards would like to use that they don’t currently have in place, 15% listed communication, a crucial component in community success, as one of those needs. Access control, another necessity, came in at nearly 20%, as did fire suppression technology. All of these have the potential to go above and beyond, but their core functions are the basics of a quality residential experience in your community.

So what’s the difference? What makes fire suppression technology more important than energy conservation or leak awareness? How is intelligent mail NOT the same as communication?

In an ideal world, all of these tools would be in every community–because it is true that they overlap in many ways. But that overlap is exactly where the issues arise.

When it comes to seeking out new technology for your community association, the most important consideration should be the result you want to achieve rather than the task you want to complete.

This is because operating on a task-oriented basis can create issues like data or communication silos, or duplicated costs/efforts. For instance, something like a leak locator could absolutely be beneficial, but the cost might not be worth the output. Ideally, your community is already doing something to seek out those leaks: routine maintenance, annual property assessments, and a reserve analysis every few years, just to name a few. Each of these tasks should warrant the same answer, or at least keep the community informed about when pipes may begin to leak.

Finding solutions designed to generate a specific result typically helps you find tools that serve multiple masters, or achieve a goal using a variety of approaches rather than a single focus.

3 Results-Driven Tools Your Community Needs

Using results as the motivation for your community, here are 3 modern technological marvels that your community should be considering for 2022 and beyond:

A Tool to Simplify Community Finances

The board’s fiduciary duty is a critical component of board membership, and financial responsibility is no easy task. Utilize a tool that offers important financial necessities like daily reconciliation, accessible financial reporting, and lockbox services. Boards should also consider a tool that offers a comprehensive banking integration to truly add simplicity to your financial awareness for your community.

A Tool to Streamline Community Maintenance

The long-term health of a community is more important now than ever before, but that doesn’t mean community maintenance tracking is suddenly a breeze. Communities still working without visibility into the community’s maintenance needs or the ability to manage work orders quickly and easily should make a tool with these features a priority.

A Tool to Increase Community Engagement

Community engagement is the clearest example of results vs tasks. Engagement with your community results from combining tasks like phone or mail communication and creating self-help options using access control. A communications tool should offer homeowner document access, multiple types of direct communication functions like email sending and tracking, platform messaging, and call logging just to name a few.

Building the Basics and Beyond

If your community already utilizes these results-oriented technology tools, you’re ahead of the game! And if you’re still thinking about bringing on more specialized technology, make sure that it’s for the right reasons. Take time to evaluate the success and general functionality of the tools you already have in place and the reasons you’re looking to take on new tech.

If you find that it’s because there are gaps in your current platform or because your current technology isn’t performing the way your community expected or needs, hold off on bringing in new players. Consider first switching providers for your core technology to find a better fit before adding on more. Building atop a bad foundation is a surefire way to create problems long-term.

Whether you’re looking to start your community’s technology journey off on the right foot, or need to find a new technology partner that better fits your needs, CINC Systems is here to help. Click here to learn more about how CINC can support communities through powerful technology.

For more information on how to reevaluate customer satisfaction, take a look at our full customer service white paper.

It’s Time to Reevaluate Customer Satisfaction

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry.The feedback and responses indicated several common interests amongst community association management company executives, including increasing customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is the core piece of a successful business. In CINC’s 2022 State of the Industry Survey, increasing customer satisfaction ranked as one of the top three goals management companies had for the coming year. But the secret sauce to creating, fostering, and ensuring customer satisfaction seems to be a mystery, as many management companies appear to be approaching customer satisfaction all wrong.

Retention Does Not Indicate Satisfaction

In the survey, it appeared that very few companies were tracking customer satisfaction, and of those that were, most were only using retention rate to do so. But retention rate doesn’t really indicate satisfaction–just a lack of drive to leave. It also doesn’t give management companies any opportunity to mitigate client loss. When using retention to measure satisfaction, there are only two positions a client can occupy: client or loss. So by the time it becomes clear that a client is unhappy (they leave), it’s too late to turn that bad experience around and encourage the retention being measured.

Turn Customer Satisfaction on its Head

It’s time to rethink the customer experience. The best way to achieve increased customer satisfaction is to completely reevaluate what satisfaction even means. Customers SHOULD be satisfied–that’s the bare minimum, not the end goal. Creating consistent satisfaction and elevating customers into company evangelists is the real goal to be met. Check out our latest guide about customer retention, customer satisfaction, and company stickiness.

For more information on how to reevaluate customer satisfaction, take a look at our full customer service white paper.

You’re thinking about customer retention all wrong.

If unfamiliar with the term, “stickiness” probably doesn’t sound all that appealing. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Basically, if a management company is “sticky” it means they have a high customer retention rate.

In 2022, CINC Systems surveyed the Community Association Management (CAM) industry to learn management executives’ goals for the coming year, and what they saw as the most significant hurdles facing not only themselves but the industry at large. It was expected that customer retention–or company “stickiness”–would be a topic high on everyone’s list–but it wasn’t. In fact, it was dead last, lower ranked than even the open-ended response option (a choice that notoriously holds the least engagement in a survey).

Despite that, management executives overwhelmingly viewed increasing customer satisfaction as one of their top three goals for the year. More concerning still was the fact that few management companies were even tracking customer satisfaction to begin with.

Even though a primary goal for many is to increase customer satisfaction:

• Less than 25% of management companies are tracking customer satisfaction
• Of the few that ARE tracking customer satisfaction, one-quarter of them are only using retention rate as their satisfaction indication
• Client churn was ranked as the lowest threat to overall company success

And seeing as client churn is one indicator (out of many, admittedly) that customers are not satisfied, it felt like there was something to be deeper explored.

What does this tell us?

Honestly, it tells us that management companies are overwhelmed. When diving deeper, the numbers showed that only 7% of small management companies (less than 1000 doors) measured customer satisfaction, and that number only reached 30% for mid-sized management companies (under 5000 doors). Smaller teams mean less bandwidth to take on tasks that don’t directly move the needle. Though this isn’t news, it is important to acknowledge the role that plays in missed connections just like this.

This information actually tells us that many management companies don’t recognize that although customer churn is indicative of low customer satisfaction, customer retention is NOT inherent proof of client happiness. It tells us that there is a disconnect between the idea of creating and maintaining happy customers, and the overall stickiness of the company.

It also means that growth and sustainability are not intentionally curated achievements, but happy accidents for many management companies. That isn’t to say success is unearned–just the opposite! It means that many management companies growing and sustaining, even without a plan to create that result actively (which is a testament to the fact that you are getting something right). That said, customer satisfaction is not a quantifiable measurement as it should be.

And what that means is that investing even slightly into measuring and curating customer satisfaction can be a massive game changer for one’s business. Actionably fostering stickiness will see immediate, long-term results that will help achieve that #3 goal of “improving customer satisfaction.”

Lastly, this reveals something that’s pretty true throughout the general workforce: people still fundamentally misunderstand customer satisfaction. This is clear because of the fact that customer turnover was ranked as the least threatening issue in the CAM industry right now.

The reality is that customer satisfaction is just a seat at the table. Management companies should be striving for a network of client evangelists: not just those who are content or happy, but those who would refer their management company to colleagues a dozen times over. These are the clients who can handle a less-than-satisfactory experience on occasion without it pushing them to leave negative reviews and discourage new business, or leave for a competitor.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction

The fact that so many management companies had absolutely no means of measuring customer satisfaction was simultaneously surprising and understandable. Especially for small and mid-sized companies (in any industry), to-do list items that do not directly or immediately contribute to growth or profit often fall to the wayside.

It was surprising because of how many management companies talked about wanting to increase customer satisfaction. How can one increase something they aren’t measuring yet?

As mentioned earlier, it’s likely because many management companies are conflating customer retention with customer satisfaction. On some level, retention may indicate a happy client, but it is not on its own proof–it’s just proof that they like their current services more than they like the idea of sourcing new providers, gathering bids, fighting their board to make a change, and so forth. That isn’t the kind of satisfaction that makes a difference long-term for one’s business.

Where Do You Start Measuring?

For those new to measuring client satisfaction, surveys are the place to get started.

The next step will be a series of internal checks owners and their staff can conduct over time. Tracking information like engagement levels and types, the general feedback from team members about those interactions, or the types of services clients utilize and show interest in can be incredibly telling about where they are in terms of satisfaction.

Conducting Surveys

There are multiple ways to measure customer satisfaction that have been proven to be effective for industries across the globe. Each of these is the industry gold standard for surveillance and tracking customer satisfaction levels long-term, and while some areas overlap, each will serve a purpose.

Customer Satisfaction Score:

CSAT is one of, if not the most, commonly used surveys when it comes to measuring customer satisfaction. Something as simple as a single question of “How would you rank your service today?” with a 1 – 5 star selector tool is a type of CSAT survey. This is a fundamental option that can be used at the conclusion of interactions like live online chats or phone calls with a customer service rep.

Customer Effort Score:

This survey is a powerful tool that can help one better understand whether their services are meeting the expectations of their clients. Asking clients about their experience in terms of the level of effort their client had to expend to accomplish their goal is incredibly important. Instead of gauging an emotion about a specific interaction, it offers a quantifiable insight into their experience.

Net Promoter Score:

NPS surveys are also one of the most commonly used surveys out there today. This type of survey works to figure out how likely a client is to refer the organization to others.

Because these surveys all cover different ground, they should be used simultaneously, rather than just choosing one and only tracking that one area. There are a variety of ways one can implement them to avoid overwhelming their clients. CSAT surveys can be built directly into an online chat function, and NPS scores can be recorded after customer service tickets have been resolved. All of them can be manually distributed via email after phone calls take place.

Behind the Scenes

Surveys are very important, but they filter all of the information through the lens of the customer. Everyone has had a singularly terrible or wonderful interaction which can, and do, influence responses provided in the heat of the moment. Those results are a great foundation, but they cannot be the only metrics used to measure customer satisfaction in order to gain a deeper reading into that ‘why’ factor that directly contributes to stickiness and client evangelism. Coupling those surveys with internal checks and metrics is key:

Level of Engagement:

This is a multi-faceted aspect of one’s business that can be used to determine where a customer lies in terms of satisfaction. Customers who call in once a day every day are probably not doing so because of how happy they are, for example. Conversely, customers who never communicate with or about the service – are one bad interaction away from walking away…or perhaps one or two very successful interactions away from becoming an evangelist for the organization’s services. Keeping tabs on customer engagement levels can even be done with some of today’s community management software, so the level of effort for a team should be very low.

Types of Engagement:

How clients choose to interact with an organization can speak volumes. The trick is to look below the surface. For example, if a client always uses email to communicate and those emails take anywhere from 24 – 72 hours before the client receives a response, one can reasonably assume that by day 3 of that waiting period, the client is probably frustrated. If another client sends an email, but then follows up with a phone call the very next day, it’s safe to assume they are looking for (and not receiving) speedy resolutions. Knowing the levels of engagement by channel for clients is the first step in resolving the negative interactions.

Staff Insight:

Just as one should be surveying clients after interactions they have with the team, the team should be asked about their opinion of the experiences. But more than that, managers should be given an opportunity to come up with solutions they think will benefit each specific client. Valuing and relying on their knowledge and input can go a long way in preserving and fostering long-term positive client relationships.

Rethinking Customer Satisfaction

Remember, satisfaction is the cost to get in the race, not the finish line to cross. So with that in mind, it’s helpful to take a quick step back.

It’s important to understand the ‘why’ that created a satisfied customer, but what about ‘why’ customer satisfaction became a priority? And why now? Why not eliminate client churn? Why not increase portfolio size? Why not add new services? And as it’s been asked before, why is client turnover not a consideration in relation to this decision?

Understanding the specifics that led to this goal for this year will not only help understand this decision, it will open the doors to a lot of deeper insight into other areas of company success as well: employee satisfaction and the role that can play in customer satisfaction, for example, or which services are generating the most ROI and happiness in your clients.

From there, the next step is to evaluate plans that generate client satisfaction.

Happy Isn’t Going to Cut It Anymore

When one reframes “satisfied customer” as the standard rather than the aspiration, it’s easier to define what it takes to achieve customer satisfaction, then nurture that into company loyalty and eventually convert each client into an evangelist.

Consider these Do’s and Don’ts when building out a plan of action for creating company evangelists:

Don’t Overpromise and Underdeliver.

Just as in any healthy relationship, a person can only take so many empty promises. These don’t even have to be big ones–simple tasks like missing meetings or phone calls, not responding to emails in the determined timeframe, or missing delivery dates even by a single day–it can all begin to add up in the eyes of the board. Those seemingly tiny friction points become a checklist of shortcomings that cannot be erased, even by major accomplishments.

Do Exceed Expectations Whenever Possible.

Going above and beyond sounds like an obvious, if not challenging objective to achieve. It doesn’t have to be (challenging, that is). Rather than overpromise and underdeliver, setting realistic, or even slightly bloated expectations that can easily be met and exceeded is the key to intentionally creating positivity among clients. Consistently overdelivering on small promises will generate lasting impressions that can be fostered into evangelism.

Don’t Expect Too Much of Managers.

Remember that community association managers are human beings with the same hours in a day as the rest of us. Remember that managers aren’t always going to get it right, and that there is no set standard for how to manage every community correctly. If managers are tasked with too much responsibility, or are not given adequate support and feedback, they are more likely to fail and in turn fail their communities.

Do Create a Manager Training Program and Communication Matrix.

Offering managers a set of hard-and-fast rules and expectations for their responsibilities is a great way to ensure consistent delivery from all managers for all communities. That level of consistency is going to create and enforce portfolio-wide stability and satisfaction. When building these programs for managers, be sure to include information on how managers respond to public negative reviews and the language managers should use when speaking with board members.

Knowing the Real Role of the Management Team

When measuring and addressing customer satisfaction in the year 2022 and beyond, take the time to reevaluate the role managers play in the long-term customer journey. With the sheer number of managers leaving the industry, and the continuing drought of incoming talent, many management companies are shuffling their teams around and reallocate properties as necessary. This is a pretty standard practice that can lead to catastrophic fallout for the exact reasons mentioned just above: expecting too much of managers, and lack of consistency.

Managers are the most significant part of your business: more than any advertising, more than any quality of phone or online chat representation, more than even the executives, because they are the face of the company. At least, they’re the face clients see. If that face is constantly changing, and if the treatment received from face to face, as it were, varies dramatically, it’s easier for small missteps to feel like major setbacks.

This communication template is a great first step in creating consistency amongst the management team:

Empowering Managers

This matrix is only the beginning of a larger plan. To put it into effect and see the full impact of how consistency creates customer evangelism and company stickiness, it’s up to the executive team to appropriately distribute responsibilities for managers. With adequate time in their day to dedicate to client experience, managers can ensure consistent quality of service.

Admins should do admin tasks.

• Instead of adding homeowner administrative tasks to the growing workloads of managers, redistributing that work to dedicated administrative personnel allows managers to focus on the tasks they are really there to do.

Maintain healthy portfolio sizes.

• Though this is a difficult ask for many community association management companies today, ensuring that managers are not overwhelmed with too many communities will give them more bandwidth to focus on their clients.

Give managers the right tools for the job.

• Project management systems are a great way to complete a bulk of the maintenance projects for the manager so they can stay focused on tasks that directly impact customer experience.

  Customer Evangelism: the New Benchmark to Meet

  When it comes down to it, happy customers are the most important part of any business. Recognizing that happiness should be an expectation, not a lofty goal, is the key to unlocking true customer satisfaction and company stickiness. Creating evangelists who support and espouse a management company’s quality of service and dedication will ensure long-term success for customer retention and minimize client churn.

  For more information on how to reevaluate customer satisfaction, take a look at our full customer service white paper.

For many parents, it’s the most wonderful time of the year (remember that commercial from the 90s?!) Kids are heading back to school and schedules are returning back to normal. While January is usually the epitome of the “new year, new you” model, back-to-school means back-to-work for many. Within a community, this is also the prime time for your homeowners association to get ready for the upcoming 2023 year.

Why Prepare Now?

At the end of the summer season, budgeting begins for most boards. This means reviewing your previous year’s expenses, vendors you’d like to pursue, and major projects your community should be planning for the upcoming year. In addition to preparing your next year’s budget, it’s also time to think about who will be on the HOA/COA board for the upcoming year. These are volunteer positions that can take up a lot of time outside of work and family, so oftentimes, boards turn on a yearly basis.

What To Consider for your Next Board Election

While one may think that homeowners are consistently engaged in the election process, it can actually be quite challenging for communities to achieve quorum. Quorum means that there is a proper majority of homeowners who have participated in the HOA/COA board election for the vote to be considered valid. This can be challenging to achieve for a multitude of reasons, including:

• Homeowners being unavailable during the election timeframe, especially if a community is fraught with short term rentals and investment properties
• Tracking down homeowners for in-person elections that they may not be able to attend
• Managing a paper trail of votes that can tie up expenses and time for the boards

That’s why it’s so important to consider all of the facets related to your board election process, and completing this evaluation now will have you up and ready for a new year. Questions you may consider include:

• Did we achieve quorum last year? Is there anything we can do to better engage our homeowners in the election process?
• Does my state offer e-voting options for HOA/COA board elections, and if so, is my board taking advantage of the opportunity?
• How much did it cost to process the previous election, and is there any way to reduce spend?
• What communication tools are available to us to engage homeowners in the election process – highlighting the importance of elections and their involvement?

Let Us HOAst Your Next Election

If you’re dreading your upcoming board election because of the manual, time-consuming processes and the inability to engage homeowners, consider HOAst. It’s the only e-voting platform in the community association management industry fully integrated into a software solution, enabling your homeowners to vote directly from their custom branded website. In addition, your boards and management company can assist in spreading the word about your election through real-time tracking of votes, setting up reminders to those who haven’t cast their vote and keeping you informed of the process. To learn more about all that HOAst has to offer, review our product tour and offering here.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common goals shared by community association trustees.

When the survey was initially conducted, top concerns and priorities from management company owners included recruitment, the rising cost of business, employee turnover, and staff burnout. In total, it was clear that management companies needed to focus on discovering new ways to reduce the burden on their employees.

But that was then, and this is now. The past six months have been remarkably different and, in some cases, quite unpredictable. We went from stressing about a Great Resignation to debating when we’d announce the next recession. Tech-based companies have frozen hiring and conducted mass layoffs, and on top of that, inflation has yet to cool down to a level that provides comfort to consumers. We were interested in seeing how the environmental shifts have, if at all, changed the way management company owners prioritized their goals for the remainder of the year. Here’s what we heard from our surveyed owners.

Economic Uncertainty Hinders Growth Goals

“The market has not returned as fast as we were hoping. Employees have not been turning over, which is good, but new business is also very slow in coming.”

As inflation has remained  high, resulting in forced interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, many are worried about an upcoming recession. As a result, management company owners are focusing on tightening the purse strings with their budget while seeking out new ways to drive growth. As one survey respondent put it, “Our goals have not been realized and the threats seem to be increasing with every media cycle.”

The uncertain path of the economy is certainly causing stress for management company owners, who have been struggling to hit their revenue and portfolio growth goals. What’s more, the effects of inflation have move the rising cost of business higher as a top threat in 2022 than when we first surveyed the C-suite in early 2022.

While it’s not impossible to grow a business in a downturn economy, it does take some ingenuity. A focus on monitoring and maintaining budget goals is key, and owners should still be focused on adding homeowners associations to their portfolio. Focusing on the ways in which an association management company’s technology improves costs for an HOA/COA would be a strong selling point for prospective clients, as well as showing ways in which reporting can increase financial transparency and budget controls for the boards.

Recruitment and Retention is Still a Top Concern

“Well trained staff is difficult to find.”

The odd part about this upcoming economic downturn is, unlike past trends, employment is still at an all-time high. The community association management industry hasn’t seen the need for layoffs and hiring freezes that tech companies have posed for this year, though some surveyed have noted that they are slowing down their hiring plans. Yet management company owners are still struggling to find experienced, engaged, and empathetic staff.

The role of a community manager can be extremely daunting and stressful – from handling homeowner expectations, to maintaining project management calendars, to finding ways to improve overall homeowner apathy (which continues to be the top goal within the industry.) Management company owners need to continue their focus in supporting the growing responsibilities of their management team while ensuring that their employees don’t burn out. And if there aren’t enough perfectly trained prospective employees in the market, perhaps it’s time to reconsider the laundry list of expectations you have for your candidates. For instance, it’s usually not possible to find someone who is a rock star at project management and customer service. Perhaps that means that your customer service should be reallocated to administrative staff, or you should make a small investment in tools like CINC’s Portfolio Manager to handle project management needs.

The Goals Stay In Tact

Despite the doom and gloom heard on the news regarding inflation and economic woes, the top priorities for owners in community association management hasn’t budged. In an industry that is relatively recession proof, management company owners still have their eyes on the prize when it comes to growing their revenue, productivity, and portfolio. Based on the survey results provided, the most important thing that owners can do right now is revisit and refocus their efforts on the business plans they laid out in the beginning of 2022. Some of these key takeaways include:

• Add quality training and recognition for your management staff. Find new ways to build engagement for your more stressful positions through training and recognition programs. You can discover new ideas in our spotlight of Spectrum Association Management.
• Focus on communication to drive customer service and homeowner apathy. Quick, efficient, and transparent communication is key to improving homeowner engagement and morale. Use technology to your advantage to push communication, and keep managers focused on supporting the goals and needs of their boards over day-to-day tasks that can eat up their schedules.
• Keep and maintain a budget. As noted in our State of the Industry report, a surprising number of association management companies do not have a formal budget for their actual business. If you’re in this bucket, start tracking your expenses now and prepare to build a financial plan for 2023. As business costs continue to rise, you will need to stay focused on ways to maintain control over your costs.

For more on top priorities and threats facing the industry in 2022, take a look at our full State of the Industry report.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common goals shared by management companies, including increasing revenue and productivity.

Regardless of company or industry, almost everyone would agree that they would be more productive if they were paid more money. Unfortunately, that’s pretty hard to deliver on if you’re only focused on the dollars, and it can create a vicious cycle because of how interconnected the two goals are.

If you take a step back and look at the kind of changes that tend to buff revenue, you often find that they do double duty, as they’re also boosting productivity in staff. That correlation is the smartest way management companies can start attaining their 2022 goals. Here are some ways to increase productivity, and in turn increase revenue:

Improve Employee Morale

This is a task that has a lot of steps to execute correctly, but it’s the most holistic and effective step in driving productivity through the roof. The Great Resignation has shown us that not only is low morale and poor work/life balance causing staff to leave careers and industries in droves, but it’s also proving that they’re leaving because they’ve found better elsewhere, and feel that they are thriving.

When talking about morale boosters, we don’t mean adding in-office goodies like free snacks or beer taps. Though those are fun in the moment, they’re being identified and called out as superficial replacements for real impact. Instead, consider taking actions that have will have a longer-lasting influence in someone’s life, like more comprehensive benefits packages, flexible paid time off, as well as compassion and understanding for everyday life situations. How a business handles employees dealing with emergencies or common situations related to parenthood is a huge indicator on employee satisfaction.

It’s also worthwhile to note that a very newly popularized approach to paid time off can be interpreted as a negative: unlimited PTO. On the surface, it sounds great, and there are plenty of companies that permit it and execute it unsuccessfully, but many say that it creates a different kind of hostile work environment where they feel pressured into taking no time off just the same as if they had limited hours to work within. If you’re considering this option, be sure you take in all perspectives and include your own staff in the decision.

Minimize Staff Workload

This is another action item that does double duty–less work means happier staff, so this really contributes in a lot of ways. It’s not easy to accomplish though and might take some experimentation to find what works best for your management company.

One solution might be redistributing staff internally. Although many companies look first to increasing the staff on hand (which we will also touch on), reallocating functions in such a way that the workload is more balanced is a great option for companies that don’t have the funds to introduce new people to the team. So instead of having one or two supporting teams, plus a team of managers who are effectively jacks of all trades, consolidating responsibilities by task instead of by role could be an effective productivity jump starter.

If you do have the capacity to add on staff, making the most out of those resources could be a critical decision. So instead of seeking out expensive, resource-heavy hires like certified community managers, look instead to qualified, full- or part-time virtual assistants. Someone who can shoulder the burden of lengthy tasks so that your high-qualified team of managers can devote their attention purely to the managerial community tasks.

One survey respondent mentioned that in their efforts to increase revenue, they would be, “taking on better clients and dropping bad ones.” This is such a great tactic. While not all management companies have the luxury of being able to turn away business, those that do should consider the dual benefits this kind of decision can bring. Selectively taking on the right kind of clientele does often pad the revenue a bit, but by removing problematic, difficult, or underfunded clients, you’re removing stress for your management team, thereby again, helping to resolve their diminishing morale.

Create Better Vendor Relationships

This is another great suggestion from our survey. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this is just one more way to contribute to employee satisfaction and morale. Vendor relationships are a critical component of the workload managers handle every day for each of their communities, and MANY condo and HOA residents often conflate mistakes made by vendors with mistakes made by a manager.

Selecting vendors who are timely in their payment collection, reasonably priced, and consistent on delivery of service is pretty standard. Finding vendors who truly excel in these departments, or who find ways to compensate, is the best way to curate those vendor relationships. Whether that’s through transparent and consistent communication or through general customer service performance, there are plenty of ways community association providers can give fire-star service and be a true partner to the community and your management company.

Choosing the correct partner for the job is a similar perk. This same respondent listed “looking into new banking options and software” as part of their vendor evaluation. With the right technology to support a community, your managers are guaranteed to handle fewer tasks and deal with fewer issues relating to daily needs. Especially if the software provider has a comprehensive banking integration, this could put precious time back into managers’ days.

Focus on your Staff

Increasing revenue and increasing productivity go hand in hand. Management companies have many options when it comes to achieving both of those goals in 2022, and nearly all of them focus on the impact satisfied staff can have in your organization.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common goals shared by community association trustees, such as rising concerns about maintaining business continuity throughout board member turnover.

Few, if any, homeowners who join their community’s board of directors expect to remain on that board forever. Whether they’re intending to sell their home in a few years or plan to spend their upcoming retirement traveling the world, board members anticipate the conclusion of their volunteering days.

What even fewer board members plan for is how their absence will impact the remaining board and future board members, let alone the community as a whole. Business continuity is not the first thing on their mind.

Same Song, Different Verse

Similar to the sweeping deferred maintenance problems hitting condo associations across the country, deferred decisions are impacting those same communities in a different way. The mentality of, “the next board can handle this instead” creates a cycle where “the next board” is always left holding the bag, and at a certain point, they don’t even know what that bag they’ve taken hold of contains.

Responsibilities and objectives are relatively straightforward (hire vendors, don’t blow all the money, don’t let the community go bankrupt, easy peasy), but the execution of those objectives loses a lot of clarity the longer information is passed down without intention or direction. Verbal directions handed down from Treasurer to Treasurer, passwords scribbled down on coffee-stained napkins, digital copies of insurance information buried in obscure, indeterminate file folders–all of it adds up to a massive amount of confusion and misunderstanding somewhere not so far down the line. And it’s always “the next board” who has been tasked with righting the wrong.

Actionable Preparation for Board Member Turnover

Taking just a few necessary steps and building a business continuity plan for your community can be the biggest difference between streamlined success and mad scrambling in the face of a crisis. Here are some key objectives to consider when starting your that planning process:

• Strategize for the unexpected loss of knowledge. Term limitations and elections are all well and good, but not all situations are predictable. Volunteer-based work means that at any time, someone can simply decide to vacate the post. Maybe they suddenly choose to sell their home and travel the country in an RV, or they snag a fancy new job ten states away. And of course, there’s always the possibility of more tragic, health-related situations. In any event, it’s important to be aware of siloed information, aka the kind of knowledge that someone has because they were either the only person trained, or they’ve simply been around so long they know the right tricks. This exists everywhere–in every business, in every industry, in every home, even. And really, the first step in this process is recognizing that. Once you’ve started to peel back the layers of knowledge and determine what information lives where, you can begin the process of allocating all of it and getting it into the hands of the board as a whole rather than the board member at the time.
• Document everything, then document it again.This isn’t an exaggeration, or a task designed to shock you. It’s just a reality for many associations that they need to be documenting and appropriately saving those documents as much as possible. And it is this way in large part because of the previous recommendation: siloed information. But that info isn’t all you need to worry about. From generic responsibility matrices for board members and funds, to “steps of service” as it were for tasks like elections, vendor bid aggregation, payment schedules, and more. Then once all of that has been documented and saved, ensuring that it is correctly saved somewhere accessible to all board members, and can be found with little hassle (which of course, means more documentation) will make all the difference. Using a community association management tool to help organize and maintain those documents, and help keep them available to everyone, is a great way to simplify this step without compromising on functionality.
• Create a plan for the interim. Awareness of the problems caused by board member turnover is half of the battle in addressing those problems. Even though it will seem insurmountable at first (especially if you’re new to the board and thus far, no planning or organizing has been started or well-maintained), it is completely achievable to want to fix those problems in your term as a community trustee. Part of that plan is establishing a different plan–one that kicks in in the event of a sudden, unexpected absence. Beyond accounting for their siloed knowledge, it’s important to have a plan of action for any of their ongoing responsibilities, and potentially have a curated list of residents who have expressed interest in joining the board, just to have a pool of people to approach when talks of replacement begin. While many governing documents will have some of this information, ensuring that it exists is important, and enhancing it as needed might be necessary.

Bottom Line: Planning is Key.

At the end of it all, the common thread is simply to have a plan. Any plan–any decisions made in advance, any knowledge stored with intention, any kind of structure in place. There is a lot riding on a board of directors in a community association, and staying aware and informed can make all the difference.

With the inception of The Boardroom podcast, the CINC team looks to shed light on the HOA industry, its key players, how associations impact communities, and how to bridge the gap between homeowners, board members, and management companies. On this series, they’ll chat about everything from alligators and flower control to fee increases and the great misunderstandings about HOA in general, and have some fun along the way.

Shedding a Positive Light on the HOA

In the wake of COVID, pandemic related economic uncertainty has rather strained homeowner relationships with the HOA, and The Boardroom podcast hopes to correct just that. Chatting with CINC teammates, Billy and Kim,  Shea taps into both their experiences and their fresh perspective on the home management industry to help homeowners, board members and management companies unite in a common goal of successful homeownership.

After all, home management associations do so much more than what many people realize. They help homeowners increase their property value, fend off unwanted rodents and animals, and protect their investments. More often than not, their duties pertain to 24/7 service and emergency care. Not only are they a regulatory agency, but they’re also a very helpful resource.

Creating a Stronger Sense of Solidarity

Rarely and sadly, however, does that side of the industry get seen. Going forward, the CINC team will shed light on the more positive side of the home management industry that goes ignored, and correct myths about the side that doesn’t. In doing so, this podcast hopes to create a stronger sense of solidarity between homeowners and their management team.

The CINC team and The Boardroom are here to clarify the narrative, shine a light on the positive, and bring the various stakeholders closer – all while enjoying some laughs in the process . So get yourself in ‘CINC’ with this noble initiative and listen in to this and all future episodes of The Boardroom to help get the ball rolling.

Until next time, enjoy the show!

Full Transcript:

Shea Dittrich: Hey, homeowners! Welcome to The Boardroom, a podcast by CINC Systems focused on how homeowner associations impact your community. From unwanted alligators to flower-type arguments to fee increases, we not only bring these stories to life, but we will provide you with industry best practices on how to tackle and relieve all that stress. Let’s jump in.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to The Boardroom. This is Episode Number One, but it will always be the first episode you should listen to because what I wanted to do is I’ve got a few colleagues in here: Kim, our Director of Marketing at CINC Systems, Billy King, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at CINC Systems, and myself, Head of Sales at Sync Systems. We have no idea what we’re doing, right, guys?

Kim: No.

Shea Dittrich: Everybody in this room knows podcasts are cool.

Kim: We know that.

Shea Dittrich: But what do we do, right? That’s kind of the way we’ve thought about this. But the reason this episode will be the most important episode that you will listen to is because you’re going to end up listening to these all the time because you’re gonna be captivated by the humor involved in this industry.

But we wanted to share with you the reason that we’re doing this and we wanted it to be unscripted and raw this first time around so you can see how much we’ve learned. But at the end of the day, we did kind of want to share our vision. So, Billy, introduce yourself, tell them how long you’ve been here because I think how long you’ve been here actually matters because all of this came from outside of the space and it’s telling in why we’re doing this?

Billy King: So, I’m Billy King. I’m Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at CINC. I joined CINC two years ago today, June 1st. I’ve got my CINC birthday today.

Kim: My name is Kim. I’m the Director of Marketing here. I thought I joined two years ago as of August, but I joined before you, so now I’m actually not sure when I joined.

Shea Dittrich: When is your birthday?

Kim: My actual birthday?

Shea Dittrich: No, your CINC birthday.

Kim: I’ve had two CINC birthdays.

Shea Dittrich: Well, good. Well, I think that, as I said, I’m Shea Dittrich, Head of Sales and Marketing here and I joined just over two years ago as well. So, collectively, in this room, we don’t have HOA veterans.

The goal of this podcast is to bring you people that had been in this business for a really long time and share with you best practices and things like that. But I think that the three of us, we’re able to come at this as it’s been our life for two years and we can bring an outsider’s perspective into it. And I think the biggest thing for me, and curious and for the two of you as well, I’ve noticed that there seems to be somewhat of a disconnect.

I remember the first thought I had when someone brought up this opportunity to come work here was, ‘It’s the association management industry.’ And I literally said, ‘What?’

I understood what an HOA is, I live in an HOA, but I didn’t realize that this was an entire industry, where there were legislative issues, there were, obviously, you know of the stories and you hear about HOAs. But it’s like, ‘Where does this industry really live?’

In the two years, what I’ve learned is that this is such a stressful job for not only HOA board members, but management companies that are involved.

It’s like the amount of work that goes into ensuring that somebody’s investment in their home is protected and worthwhile becomes very personal. And when it becomes very personal, there are no set hours in this industry.

So, that’s what my biggest realization was: this is an entire industry that unfortunately people can’t appreciate and respect because they don’t see it every day. They don’t see the behind-the-scenes of it. That’s my takeaway. What’s yours? What about you?

Billy King: I think early on the impression that I got about the industry in having conversations with prospects was hearing management companies talk about being really a 24/7 business and they have to be on call for whatever emergency pops up and for day-to-day activities that are there.

I noticed that it’s extremely manual and that the industry was really underserved by tech, and now it seems that it’s not a secret anymore and many, many technology companies have come into the fold. But I think it’s how you approach the business from the management company and board members, and homeowners’ point-of-view.

Shea Dittrich: And how they all connect, right? Like, I’m talking about technology, what about communication, right?

Kim: Right.

Shea Dittrich: The ability to actually communicate helps us understand and appreciate what everyone else is going through. And I think we all realized, man, there’s a lack of communication channels available. And so, you don’t understand what your treasurer is doing. You have no idea what goes into – you’re like, ‘I just write him a check for a grand’, and you think that that’s all that’s involved until you start to really understand everything. Like, what about collection dues? What about collections? What about amenity reservations and things where you have to pay for these amenities and usage?

You’re like, ‘Wait a second’, and then you start to realize, it’s a daunting job my treasure has, and you might gain a little bit of respect and appreciation for what they do. What about you?

Kim: I think one of the most interesting things right now is as you take a look at the way the industry is going – we just did this state of the industry report – and one of the biggest takeaways that is a big concern across board members is that homeowners have gone through this huge shift between the pandemic and economic uncertainty, and all that, and now they’re becoming a lot more hostile, if you will, than normal.

There are a lot of conflicts, and people aren’t sure how to resolve this new conflict and anxiety and tension. So, I think having an open forum like The Boardroom, where we can talk about openly and candidly how we can work with our homeowners better, to really be focused on building community, not just having back and forth arguments. That’s really one of the big goals of this.

Shea Dittrich: Yeah, exactly. As you were saying that, I was thinking about the pandemic induced – and I don’t want to over-talk about the pandemic – however, you look at the things that have happened and still, as so many people do work from home, you think about the number of hours spent at home versus before.

And we’re talking about Homeowners Associations, and my brother-in-law and sister were just in a situation in their condo where they’ve got their condo, and they put their office in this extra third room type of thing, and on the other side of the wall, are the storage units that you can also buy, depending on however that works within the condo association. And one of their neighbors took, behind that wall they took this almost like a closet for your storage and set up their home office because they didn’t have room in theirs. And so, he’s doing his work and, on the phone, on the other side of their wall, I mean, it’s turned into this big thing.

So, I guess that’s the point, right? These are the stories that we actually think can be fun. It would be really easy to listen to an association and an HOA and be like, ‘Oh, that’s boring’. It is not boring. And I think over the last two years, the three of us have collectively learned that.

And so, our goal – and that’s what we wanted to share, our goal in doing this is actually to help homeowners, to help board members, and help management companies all kind of unite against one common cause, which is improving the experience for a homeowner because, at the end of the day, it’s all of our own investments.

So how do we do that? We do that through – obviously, people want to live in a tighter community, people want to know that the value is increasing because there’s protection around certain things. Like, how do we make sure those things are fostered? And if they are, then we’re all better for it as there are 70 million Americans that own homes within an association like this.

So, it’s not a small industry. It’s a big industry, and we’ve got to quit talking about it like it’s small. I think that’s really what our goal is. We spent all that time talking about, like, what we were going to do, but we didn’t really tell you who CINC Systems was. We’re the largest provider of software in this space. That’s what we do. That’s what we’re good at. But we’ve got good people that have provided our clients and homeowners visibility into this whole process and we just want to take this to another level, and be able to share what those experiences are. And I think this is going to be a lot of fun.

We’ll talk alligators as we said, we’ll talk flowers as we said, but then we’ll talk about some serious issues too and the best way to resolve them where people really are in a pinch. We hope that our customers and ourselves can help you come to answers that obviously make this whole community experience an improvement.

So, Billy, thank you. Kim, thank you. They’ll jump back in, I’m sure periodically and be involved in this. Otherwise, it’d be my crazy self just picking up the phone and calling some folks and talking about some subjects – it’d be a lot of fun.

So, until next time, Episode Two.

Kim: Thank you.

Billy King: Thank you

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry, and highlighted a variety of interesting issues including the desire for more comprehensive personal property security technology in HOAs and condo associations, and the lack of understanding surrounding other important types of community security.

These days, just about everyone has some kind of personal security technology. A digital password saver & encryption service, a doorbell camera, security cameras in their homes–they’re everywhere. So it makes sense that when it comes to the greater scope of protection (beefing up community security), many turn to these same tried-and-true technology-focused solutions. But at the end of the day, a doorbell camera just isn’t going to cut it.

In a recent webinar, “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” CINC Systems and VIVE Vendor Management Services had the opportunity to speak about the real threats community associations are facing today, and VIVE’s recommendations on what security options are actually going to make a difference in the CAM industry.

Mitigating Liability & Insurance Risks

Every time someone sets foot in your community, you’re assuming a level of risk. When it comes to hired service providers, like landscapers or pool maintenance technicians, the community is assuming a level of risk related to the vendor’s professional accreditation. Verifying that the vendor is properly insured and licensed to do the work legally of course, and guaranteeing that if something goes wrong, the association (and management company!) isn’t going to face a loss.

Similarly, having your own up-to-date insurance is the key to avoiding liability in the event a non-vendor who enters the community encounters some kind of accident or harm.

What’s the Solution? Generating and implementing a vendor compliance program (and hiring a team to maintain it). With a vendor compliance program in place, your vendors are all expected to meet a certain threshold of requirements before ever setting foot in the community. This can include maintaining good standing with local government and certification boards, ensuring their licenses and insurance meet a certain amount of coverage, or taking the time to go through local reviews and verify their success and professionalism. Whatever the steps of vetting look like, creating that framework for vendors to match with is going to be crucial in ensuring long-term success for future vendor relationships in the community.

Garnering the correct insurance will also be an important step.

Protecting Homeowner Information

The amount of data HOAs and condo associations handle can be a little unsettling. Everything from bank and credit card information to PI like phone numbers, emails, and alternative addresses–all of it has the potential to live in a homeowner’s community data repository. And all of it can be so incredibly vulnerable. Without a dedicated technology partner assisting in locking that data down, the information is often one phishing email away from being stolen by hackers. And with how pervasive (and convincing!) phishing emails have become in recent years, it’s now fairly common for even tech-savvy board members to accidentally click the wrong kind of link.

What’s the Solution? Training, training, training! It always comes down to education at the end of the day. Ensuring that board members and community managers are not only knowledgeable about what kinds of cybersecurity threats are out there, but how to spot and avoid them, is a critical component of keeping homeowner data safe. So is partnering with the right technology solution. Taking some of that responsibility out of the hands of the board and giving it to trained professionals who have a stronger grasp on protecting data can make a massive difference.

So, Do You Have $10,000 to Spare?

This was the big question posed to viewers of “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” And admittedly, that $10,000 is small potatoes compared to the real monetary losses a community can face. But the powerful question still stands: Can your community afford to skimp on the protective services they need to keep homeowners and their information safe? If all you want to add to your condo building or cul-de-sac are more cameras or a gate, there’s a good chance you’re trying to solve the wrong problem. Reach out today to have a conversation about the best security options available to your community.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry, and highlighted a variety of interesting issues including a myriad of staffing problems.

Adequate staffing in an industry as niche as community association management has always been a challenge. In the midst of what many are calling The Great Resignation, it’s more clear than ever before that this problem is here to stay. This is on full display in this year’s State of the Industry survey, in which respondents listed staffing concerns as the second, third, and fourth largest issues facing management companies today. From the growing cost of business (such as increasing staff salaries) to employee turnover, to staff burnout, employment and staffing is on everyone’s mind.

Are We In Another Recession?

Among all of these fears the survey explored, there’s a greater concern rising to the surface: another recession. While many experts have come out and declared that recession fears are largely unsupported, at least as many more are voicing concerns that if the recession hasn’t already arrived, it’s swiftly on the way. That anxiety and worry is weighing heavily on everyone. Many have lived through some kind of economical downturn in recent decades, and these staffing issues are a shared sign of yet another negative shift in the economy. With that in mind, it’s clear why top issues facing the industry seem to relate back to employee retention.

Interestingly enough, the survey also showed that on average, managers are managing a staggering portfolio of 891 doors, and nearly 40% of management company executives are actively managing at least one community association. With such a concentrated workload on a thinning workforce, it’s no surprise that the staffing issues being seen are at the forefront of the industry’s concerns. But the right way to address them seems to be unclear, or taking a low priority, which is only going to exacerbate the problems.

3 Ways to Support Your Management Company Staff

Improving Employee Morale: While many respondents cited staffing concerns as three of the four top issues facing the industry, and even highlighted the problem of high employee turnover, improving employee morale only came in at number four when asked about top goals for management companies. The reality is that the two are tied. Management companies today are finding more and more overworked and underpaid staff. As experienced professionals leave their jobs, or the industry entirely, there are almost no new managers to fill the gaps left behind. And many are being shown to leave in search of happier worklife–whether that’s higher wages, better hours, or general flexibility in their work, the burnout managers face is directly contributing to the high turnover rate management companies are struggling to handle.

Virtual Assistance: Over the last few years, the surge of remote staffing has grown exponentially. The threat of covid gave way to an option many traditional companies had hesitated to embrace: allowing employees to work from home, or enhancing their staff with virtual team members. Both options are now seen as a ‘new normal’ for many. In the same way that improving employee morale will alleviate employee turnover, so could the addition of virtual team support for your staff. Finding full-time, dedicated virtual assistants who can help shoulder the weight managers face in their daily work life will make that 891-door portfolio less of a burden (although let’s face it, that number is still a little outrageous). Instead of worrying about menial tasks like responding to emails or answering phone calls, managers can tackle the parts of the job that their expertise and training directly empower them to do, and leave the generalized workload to a more cost-effective support system.

Adopting Powerful Technology: It all comes back down to alleviating your employee burnout. Because at the end of the day, that’s what’s caused every other problem relating to staffing struggles. Both increasing wages (paying more for the increased workload and longer hours) and employee turnover can be traced back to a feeling of being overworked or undervalued. Providing staff and clients with industry-specific technology designed to reduce time spent on tedious tasks and streamline day-to-day expectations is one of the most effective ways to start solving staffing problems. Fewer managers bogged down by growing workloads means fewer managers leaving the jobs or industry altogether, and reduces the need for management executives to step in and shoulder some of that burden by taking on a portfolio of their own.

A Holistic Remedy

At the end of the day, everything is connected. Supporting your staff and concentrating on their bandwidth and ballooning workload is the key to stopping them from leaving altogether. If you’re looking to introduce new technology for your clients, CINC Systems is ready to step up and help. Call us today for a consultation, or contact us here.

Running a community association management company in 2022 seems like a tale of fire and ice. On the one hand, you have a desperate need to keep your organization fully staffed with expert community managers. These managers, who have faced immense burnout over the past 18 months, are also the main culprit of your turnover numbers, and as a result, you’re finding that you need to raise their salary higher than the average cost of living. On the other hand, inflation and the overall rising cost of business is eating away at your budget, and like every small business owner, you’re probably concerned with hitting your bottom line this year. So how do you manage both needs simultaneously in such a chaotic market?

Keep focus on culture

Even with higher salary expectations, a poor company culture is still the main driver of turnover. One of the best things you can do right now for your employees is to focus your efforts on the values you’ve set within your company. Ensure that your employees are part of the business planning for your company, with a full understanding of your goals and expectations for the year. Even if it isn’t time for a formal annual employee review, now would also be a great time to reconnect with your employees on their overall growth for the year thus far. Are they on track with achieving the career goals they’ve developed for themselves earlier in the year? Who within your employee pool has promotional and leadership opportunity, and are there any opportunities to enhance leadership skills right now for someone with a special project or initiative? Team alignment and individual growth is a winning combination to drive any culture – just ask the experts at Priestley Management Company.

Consider virtual assistance

Are there any mundane tasks eating away at productivity for your employees? Probably so, but you may not have financial bandwidth to hire a whole other person. Enter the rise of the virtual assistant, who has become a bit of a hidden secret for many small business and large corporations over the past year. Virtual assistants are contract-based employees who, in their own free time, manage tasks for companies that are simple yet time consuming. This may include completing spreadsheets, getting paper mailouts ready, updating address books, and so forth. Some organizations even hire virtual assistants to manage their own expense reports and budgets. You can easily find a virtual assistant to tackle a project on the fly through services like Fiverr, and if you’re happy with the results, you may find someone that you can pay on an at-project basis. Our only suggestion here is to make sure that you are not starting a virtual assistant off with a confidential project, and to ensure that you’re still keeping homeowner financials and data in the hands of your core staff.

Double down on operational efficiency

Rising material costs, overhead expenses, and overall inflationary pressures have made 2022 extremely challenging for management companies. We are starting to see the pressure cool off as the Fed has been raising interest rates, but it’s still incredibly challenging right now to keep costs down. The effects are hitting homeowners hard too, with mortgage expenses now adding up to 31 percent of the median American’s household income.

So what exactly can you do to keep costs down? Focus on operational efficiency. Consider this: what can you and your employees do in your day-to-day that will cut time and costs? For instance, are there ways you can increase paperless efficiency within your office? Perhaps you’re still printing out monthly financial reports instead of sending them to your boards within a mobile app. Another operational blunder we see often in community association management pertains to time spent reconciling mismatched payments, which can add hours (if not days) to the workload of your accounting team. Could there be an easier way to keep mismatched payments at bay? Finally, consider how you’re managing your own budgets and projects. Are you using multiple spreadsheets and calendar reminders to stay on track, or are you taking advantage of modules through your software provider to stay on track with projects and budgets in real time? Take a moment to reexamine the time and cost-consuming tasks that you can improve upon now, and be sure to connect with your software provider’s account manager to learn how you can drive better efficiencies through the technologies you have on hand.

As we continue to navigate the challenges management companies are facing right now, continue staying connected with us at CINC Systems. We regularly offer tips and tricks to drive employee morale, operational efficiency, technological advancements, and more. Stay tuned as we make it through 2022 together!

Summer is not just prime time to book long awaited family vacations. It’s also a time when friends and families come together to enjoy one another – whether it’s a neighborhood pool party, cookout, or sports tournament. While it’s an incredibly enjoyable time for residents, it’s also a hectic time for community and property managers. Between keeping up with routine maintenance to managing the influx of noise and parking violations, it’s easy to grow increasingly overwhelmed while everyone else seems to be having a good time.

So how do you prevent the Cruel Summer blues? By staying focused, prepared, and remembering what matters most – that you can use this season to better engage your homeowners. Here are five ways to spruce up your Summer within your HOAs and COAs.

Keep track of maintenance needs

By now you have probably inspected and cleaned your pool for the summer season, but that doesn’t mean your work is done. Regular pool skimming during the summer months is extremely important, as well as keeping track of landscaping needs, regular cleanup of communal areas, and other seasonal repair and construction projects.

Be sure that you are preparing your full maintenance schedule now so you don’t have a chance of missing any non-negotiable task. And while your community and property managers may not have an assistant, they can use technology in their best interests to serve as their virtual assistant. Tools like CINC’s Portfolio Manager keep project management needs seamlessly organized so that managers can stay on top of all of their routine and seasonal projects.

Communicate protocol now

Let’s face it – homeowners don’t remember every rule in the handbook when it comes to noise, parking, and other facets that can lead to a violation. That’s why violations spike in the Summer season; from holidays like the 4th of July to family reunions, it’s easy for a homeowner to accidently “break the rules.” So why plan for an uptick when you can communicate protocol ahead of time? Ensure that your boards are sending out reminders about rules and regulations that are often violated around this time of year, through their Newsletters and communication portals. Doing so now will prevent friction in the future.

Involve the neighborhood with new projects

Are you looking for ways to drive homeowner involvement within your community? Use digital interactive tools such as HOAst’s e-voting and survey products to solicit feedback on the look and feel for entryways and communal areas this season. It’s not only a way to involve others in a manner that will drive conversation and comradery now; if your homeowners are trying out the tool now, they’ll be more inclined to participate in elections that happen later in the year (hello, quorum!)

Have a little bit of competitive fun

Another way you can use a tool such as HOAst this season is to drive the competitive nature of the average suburbanite. Try a fun game such as the lawn of the month this season, where residents can vote for the best-looking lawn, or vote for your favorite 4th of July home décor. By involving the community through fun games digitally, they’ll be more excited to come together in person for your communal events.

Focus on what matters – the community

Finally, keep in mind that despite the summer stresses, the most important thing one can do is drive community within the association. Calendars should be chock full of pool parties, food trucks, ice cream socials, and anything else that will excite and delight the neighbors. Be sure that your boards have social plans set for everyone. Summer is the ultimate season to remind everyone that living in a homeowner’s association isn’t just about paying monthly fees and writing rules and regulations. An HOA/COA is there to help neighbors get to know one another, support one another, and transform their house into a home.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry, and highlighted a variety of interesting issues including concerns about increased volatility in homeowners, and dealing with difficult confrontations.

Though homeowner apathy is on the rise, and homeowner engagement was ranked the top concern in the industry in the 2022 State of the Industry survey, not all homeowner engagement is created equal. Whether you’ve witnessed them in person, or just seen one of the thousands of videos across the internet, you’re probably aware of the latest scourge to daily life: the frustrated customer.

While a lot of the videos online show these strangers getting heated in grocery stores, airports, and restaurants, there seem to be just as many showing people screaming at someone on the street in their own neighborhood.

If you’re scrolling through Instagram videos or TikTok, maybe you’ve seen screen recordings of vitriolic emails, or heard recordings of angry phone calls or voicemails. When it comes to confrontation, some people have found a lot of creative ways to make themselves heard. Sometimes this is directed at a complete stranger; other times it’s at another community member. Regardless, homeowners have shouted many an obscenity at board members or community managers simply trying to do their jobs.

Whether it’s a nasty email, an angry phone call, or an in-person shouting match, angry homeowners exist and can create conflict in any community. If it happens in your HOA or condo association, knowing how to safely and efficiently mitigate the situation is crucial.

3 Tips to De-Escalate Community Conflict

Dealing with conflict is a universal skill, but it can take a lot of effort to be good at it. These three de-escalation tactics will help board members and community managers deal with difficult conversations and confrontational homeowners.

1. Avoid getting emotional, and always look for a solution. This can be really difficult, especially if the person you’re dealing with is being verbally abusive, or asking for something the manager or board member can’t offer (like no more monthly payments, or some kind of financial compensation for their frustration). It’s easy to want to match their energy, but in the end, that will only make things worse. Instead, focus on your own calm demeanor to show that you’re open to hearing what they have to say and that you’re willing to find some kind of resolution for them, even if it might not be what they came looking for.
2. Communicate transparently, and only deal in facts. Most times, these interactions occur because the aggressor is upset about something, and is seeking some kind of validation for their anger. But even if they have a valid frustration (like a bad vendor interaction or a maintenance impacting water or power is taking longer than anticipated) there is no excuse for disrespect. In these conversations, it’s important to acknowledge any friction point that exists, and calmly state (and sometimes restate) the facts of the situation, especially if you can’t offer an immediate resolution.
3. Keep yourself safe, and document the interactions as much as you can. This might sound dramatic, but if the array of videos online prove anything, it’s that you cannot predict what someone will do when agitated. We trust our neighbors and homeowners, but everyone can reach a breaking point. If ever you are in a situation that looks to be getting out of control, simply walking away is always an option, and so is calling 9-1-1 if you feel that your are in physical danger. When dealing with homeowners who have a history of aggression, use the buddy system!

Documenting incidents like these (and less explosive ones as well) can be very important. This is easy for emails or voicemails, but documenting the dates and times physical interactions or angry phone calls occur is a good practice to get into in the event you need to take some kind of legal action. Recordings are also an option, but remember to check your state’s local laws pertaining to consent if you’re collecting the recording for legal purposes.

The rise of customer tensions has left many people, across many different career paths, at a loss. It can feel like basic interactions now have to be monitored or recorded, and like every outburst can lead to something worse.

So as a bonus tip, just remember to give people the benefit of the doubt. We’ve all had really awful days where all we want to do is be heard, but all we can seem to do is shout and be angry. We are human, each and every one of us, and extending a little grace in a conversation can go a very long way to de-escalating a potentially explosive situation.

When reviewing the right software solution for your community association management company, you may be wondering why choosing a solution specific to the CAM space is so important. It may seem alluring to purchase cost-effective off-the-shelf software, especially if you’re a smaller company. Or, some owners who manage rental properties may opt for one simple package understand the impact CAM-specific software can make.

The CAM Industry is Always Changing

HOA and COA laws are consistently changing across the country, and these changes affect regions differently. For instance, California-based management companies need to be highly considerate of GDPR laws when asking homeowners to opt into communications, and EDD reporting requirements mean that many software providers cannot adhere to the needs of the state. HOA e-voting laws are also in flux, and it can be challenging for company owners to keep track of what’s happening within their state. When a company is using a software solution dedicated to the CAM industry, they are equipped with a team of professionals who are well aware of changing rules and regulations, and these professionals ensure that the software they offer comply with the ever-changing rules.

HOA Management and Property Management are Drastically Different

The skills and experience needed in HOA management versus rental property management are quite different. Community managers, who service their respective HOAs and COAs, are responsible for carrying out the needs of their boards, while managers over rental properties are directly working with tenants. Property managers for rentals focus individual responsibilities and tasks, such as house/apartment maintenance and urgent repair needs. The responsibilities of a community manager are far more extensive, as they are supporting community needs through vendor management, board requests, and the enforcement of tasks from the HOA boards. That’s why there is extensive education and certification needed in community management versus general property management.

As one can imagine, when a software provider offers broader service, their level of expertise decreases. So when one is utilizing software from a provider that focuses on rental and HOA management, they aren’t receiving the same expert-level service other providers can offer. This may result in product offerings that aren’t specifically geared towards community management, such as homeowner mobile apps.

Getting the Best Service in SAAS

Finally, the service offered through software providers dedicated to the community association management space is truly second to none. Not to toot our own horns (but we will for a moment!), the Account Management team at CINC Systems is comprised of former community managers and management company owners who are true experts in the field. They offer one-on-one support to their clients not only to resolve technical questions, but to brainstorm ways they can support business growth plans for the company. All of this is wrapped into the cost of CINC’s solution – not as an add-on sale. And this type of dedicated service is what one misses out on when they buy software that just gets part of the job done.

To learn more about the benefits of CAM-specific software – and to get a full rundown of everything to consider when choosing the right software for your management company – check out our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide for community association management.

In early 2022, CINC conducted a survey of community managers, management company executives, and board members throughout the country, with the goal of determining the State of the Community Association Management Industry. The feedback and responses indicated several common concerns for the future of the CAM industry, and highlighted a variety of interesting issues including the desire for more comprehensive personal property security in HOAs and condo associations.

Stress levels have hit an all-time high in recent years. The pandemic has recently been directly linked to trauma responses, housing markets and climbing interest rates are growing out of control, the gap between income and rising inflation continues to grow, and on top of it all, communities across the country are facing challenges related to decades of deferred maintenance.

These are only a fraction of the problems individuals and communities are facing every day, and many are seeking new ways to curb their stress and anxiety. The accessibility of digital mental health wellness options has increased dramatically. Businesses everywhere are growing more and more cognizant of the benefits of remote flexibility for the workforce.

But people are changing, too. Since the start of the pandemic, smart home purchases have been on the rise. For some it’s because their travel and entertainment budgets suddenly had nowhere to go. For others, it’s because that extra sense of security was a welcome addition to the home they were suddenly confined within.

In our State of the Industry survey responses, we saw this trend continue. Board members seem interested in advancing their community’s physical security systems with higher tech solutions. As a technology provider, we are thrilled to hear that tech is on the rise on the historically technically-challenged CAM industry. However, from what we’re seeing from the State of the Industry survey, we can reasonably conclude that protective security systems are not the technology solutions communities need most.

The Right Tech for Your Community

When analyzing the responses to our State of the Industry survey, we reached a few key conclusions (all of which are highlighted in our report) that told us some universal truths about what issues the industry is truly facing today.

First and foremost, while a sizeable percentage of board members mentioned interest in adding security features like gate security or building security cameras, the biggest request pertained to technology that supports communication. Better communication and transparency between the association management company, HOA/COA boards, and the homeowners themselves would greatly improve the sense of security felt within a community. Any form of mass communication provided to the community would greatly destress homeowners, including a custom-branded web portal and mobile app that is regularly updated with news and features.

With respects to boards, technology that provides greater financial transparency is key. This will support them in creating better plans to support their reserves fund and prep for emergencies, which is especially important in seasons known for inclement weather. The faster a management company can provide monthly reports to their boards, the better the boards are equipped to make sound financial decisions.

Preparing for the Worst

When considering the threats posed in the community association management space, understanding the risks and preparing accordingly is key. To learn more about what you can do to better assess threats within your community, we invite you to attend our upcoming webinar with VIVE Vendor Management Software.

2022’s CAI National Conference was certainly one of the most eventful moments we had in 2022. We had an incredible time reconnecting with colleagues, showcasing our solution to new clients, and giving away prizes at our Speakeasy party with a cameo from Lance Bass of *NSYNC!

As we recollect from the week of CAM-focused insights and festivities, we consider the key learnings we had while in Orlando. These takeaways are important for any community association management company to consider in the remainder of 2022 and beyond, as we believe that a thorough understanding of these topics are paramount to growth.

IRL is back…

The conversations we had this year were incredible, and we believe everyone would agree that our community was much more excited about engaging in thoughtful conversation this year versus the previous year. Our Speakeasy was an incredible evening of comradery and celebration, and it’s a true indicator of where the world is going: business travel is now at 80% of pre-pandemic levels, proving that many are ready to turn in their virtual cameras for some true person-to-person connection.

What does this mean for you? It means that now is a great time for your communities to revisit their social calendars, ensuring they have some in-person activities for the summer season (so long as it’s deemed safe within your location). It also means that in-person meetings with prospective boards may go a long way for you as you work to build your portfolio – so dust off those in-person brand activation skills and get to it!

…but virtual convenience is here to stay.

The convenience of virtual meetings and hybrid workspaces are lessons learned in 2020 that should not be forgotten. Even with a desire to meet up again in real life, communities and employees value the flexibility of choosing to meet in person or virtually. Virtual board meetings are certainly here to stay, and hybrid/remote work options will help you if you’re struggling with hiring in what continues to be a tight labor market. Online tools that drive engagement within communities should not go unused as well – for instance, the polling features offered through our HOAst e-voting tool are great ways to bring the community together through a few quick emails. Ask your community to vote for the best looking lawn this season and watch the (friendly) competition grow!

Community Manager burnout is still top-of-mind.

As we’ve been reporting for over a year now, the burnout that community managers are experiencing as a result of an ever-growing workload and increased homeowner tensions is driving two week notices left and right. Many management company owners asked us not just how our technology drives profit, but how it alleviates workload for their teams. Mobile-first technology is key, and we spent loads of time on our phones showing everyone how they can complete a 9-5 workday with the tap of a thumb. It’s this mobile-first approach that will continue to curb burnout and re-engage community and property managers in their careers – which will in turn reduce turnout among association management companies.

Customer support is an essential component to technology.

As business owners and community managers approached our booth this year and enjoyed the tours of our mobile capabilities, we were consistently approached with the same question: How will you support us on a regular basis? This isn’t a question we regularly heard in years prior, so to us it means one thing: many software providers and vendors are reducing their investments in account success and customer service.

This couldn’t be a worse time for vendors to reduce the level of service they provide to their clients, as our State of the Industry Report shows the growing concern of customer issues arisen through Pandemic-induced trauma and anxiety. Vendors should be offering to their clients the same level of service that they received during the sales process, through personnel such as a dedicated Account Success Manager and highly regarded support team. To learn how CINC provides support for day-to-day association management and long term business growth, check out our upcoming webinar about putting the Service back in SAAS.

What was something you learned from CAI National 2022 that we didn’t cover? Connect with us to let us know your thoughts and what’s driving your growth for the remainder of the year.

Tax time is over, and for those of us who have been crunching numbers and supporting the treasurers of our HOA/COA boards, now may feel like the perfect time to kick back and relax. You absolutely should, because you deserved it! However, let’s not forget our learning lessons from this season. What caused troubles for you and your community association management company, and what can you do for the next season to make processes more efficient? Before you spend too much time moving on from the grueling tax season, here are five things you should do right now to prepare for the upcoming year:

1. Re-evaluate task overload

Sure, tax season can be tough on accounting teams. But there’s no reason to experience burnout because of a busier-than-usual time at work! Take a moment to assess the times in which you were completely overwhelmed, and see how you can better delegate in the future. Perhaps you can pass on administrative duties to fellow co-workers, or perhaps you need to find a way to automate bank reconciliation. By evaluating pain points while they are still fresh on your mind, you’ll be in a much better position to discuss your needs with your boss.

2. Brush off your to-do list

During the last-minute needs that approach at the looming tax deadlines, there are bound to be some projects you had to complete haphazardly, if you even had the chance to complete them at all. Rather than leaving this mounting to-do list on the back burner, only to amplify anxiety and stress in the near future, take time now to prioritize what you need to adjust and accomplish now. Find ways to move these tasks to the top of your list each day so that feel more organized and accomplished.

3. Consider your bank integration relationship

How strong is the integration between your association management software and your bank? If the programs don’t speak well with one another, tax season was likely brutal. Traditional accounting techniques with fragmented systems make budget reconciliation a very daunting task every month, especially when filing taxes for HOA/COA clients.

Knowing the integration points that are helping and hurting you during tax season is extremely important, as there’s a chance you may not be taking full advantage of the relationship. Understand, for instance, your current payment match rates and review the number of exceptions you have to match. You can read more about what to expect with your banking relationship in our simple banking integration guide.

4. Optimize your use of technology

Having the right digital tools is paramount to accounting productivity. Yet oftentimes when we’re wrapped up in completing our to-do lists, we forget all of the advantages our tech stack has to offer to our company. Take time to review what features are available for accounting within your association management software, and any other integrations your company has to simplify your day-to-day. Now would also be a great time to reach out to your Account Success Manager to discuss your challenges during the season; they would be able to set you and your team up with training and refresher courses to improve the way you work within the system for the new year.

5. Take a break

Finally, do take time for you! Tax season is hectic regardless of the level of preparation, organization, and technological efficiencies you have available to you. Unwind a bit with your teams, spend some valuable time with friends and family, and find ways you can boost your motivation for the remainder of the year.

The tax season rush is over, but that doesn’t mean that opportunities to contribute to business growth for your association management company are long gone. Now is a crucial time for you to help your company have a prosperous financial year. To learn more about ways in which you can improve financial health in your role, check out our Complete Guide to HOA Financial Management.

Imagine this: You’re gearing up for your upcoming HOA board election, hoping to engage your community and improve the relationship your board has with fellow homeowners. But as you work to collect votes, you can’t achieve quorum. It’s not because of your lack of trying, either. The homeowners you’ve spoken to were certainly engaged and voted. But there were a ton of homeowners that you couldn’t speak to – because they don’t actually live there.

One of the biggest surprises that we had when reviewing our 2022 State of the Industry Report was the level of concern pertaining to short term rentals and investment homes. The concern was higher among boards than community association management executives, which could mean that the problem may be growing in intensity just now. This isn’t a problem that’s going to go away, either: the average number of unique listings on popular short term rental sites is expected to increase by 20.5% in 2022, and investors purchased a record of one in five homes last year.

We can’t change trends in the way consumers wish to vacation or the types of investments others wish to make, especially in a healthy housing market. But the primary goal of a homeowners association is to build community, and this isn’t possible if there are is no community to build. So how can we protect the very mission of our HOAs and COAs without assuming that we can stop an ever-growing trend?

Are investment homeowners invested in your community?

An investment property can be best described as real estate purchased to generate income through either rental income or appreciation. Oftentimes they are purchased by a single investor looking to improve the value of their cash offering; sometimes these purchases will be from investors who don’t even live in the United States, but want to increase the value of their cash equivalent.

Real estate is absolutely an investment, and it’s a smart investment for many. But what happens when a community is fraught with homeowners who never truly live there? Many HOAs are noting that the upkeep of the home isn’t as carefully mannered as others, which in turn brings down the value of the whole neighborhood. Other frustrations relate to homeowner apathy – a huge concern across the community association management industry. Investment homeowners are significantly less likely to vote for board members, participate in neighborhood polls, or communicate and interact with other neighbors. And while there are prospective homeowners ready and able to be active members of a community, their offers often can’t compare with those of investors who are able to pay in full cash.

Short term rentals leading to a surge in violations

As vacationers enjoy the experience of the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, many homeowners are recognizing the extra income they can enjoy by renting out their units, especially in destination locations. While this is a natural change in travel over the past decade that isn’t likely to wane in popularity, many associations are left perplexed on what they should and shouldn’t allow.

The main concern that most HOAs and COAs have pertaining to short term rentals is that they have less control over the renters’ actions. Excessive noise, parking violations, and disregard for rules such as trash pickup time are just a few concerns cited from residencies that are regularly rented.

One of the most common misconceptions of a homeowners association – and the reason why many believe that they don’t want to live in an HOA – is that all an association does is issue one violation after another. As boards work to debunk this myth through community-building activities, they may be dismayed if they also have to increase the number of violations added to their roster. And this also, of course, hurts the workload of the community manager, who is already in burnout mode.

Should you actively stop rentals and investment homes, or would that only make things worse?

There are rules and regulations that can be put into place within an HOA and COA that can limit, or even eliminate, the allowance of investment and rentals within the community. But while this may alleviate the added stresses for the board and association management company, it may not be the right solution. Some housing analysts are concerned that blocking investors would harm renters in the long run, who may face a crisis in attempting to find affordable housing. Others are concerned with the level of power that HOA and COA boards are attempting to impose on the community – after all, why should the board have the right to determine whether or not you can earn extra income by renting out a residency that you own?

So, what can be done?

Every association is different, and there is no way to create a uniform procedure for all HOAs and COAs when it comes to investment homes and short term rentals. At the end of the day, it’s important for the board and association management company to determine what works best to build community and improve homeowner apathy. Here are a few things that can be done:

• Add to your CCR that homeowners must live in their home for a certain period of time within a give year – six months is a popular timeframe. This will curtail investors who plan to leave the home completely empty, but allow for flexibility for more engaged investment homeowners.
• Restrict vacation rentals to a certain number per homeowner per year. This will allow for short term rentals without having short term rentals encompass the vast majority of the community.
• Require homeowners to notify the board of each rental. This will ensure that the board can monitor any issues with violations from renters, and it can give them the ability to further review violations management with the owner. Such a measure would also force homeowners to be more mindful of the types of renters they approve – they may choose, for instance, to decline a potential renter with a low rating on a short term rental website.
• Keep homeowners abreast of the rules and regulations that are determined by the board through your digital communications. Upfront, transparent communication is key when working with homeowners wishing to tap into more investment opportunity.
• Finally, focus on what you can control the most: homeowner apathy. Community-driven events, digital polling and survey features, and maintenance updates to communal areas are all ways to drive engagement for everyone – even for a homeowner who may not live there all the time.

A lot has changed in the past two years, especially in the housing industry. While the rental industry has received much of the attention, homeowners’ associations have also been deeply impacted by the pandemic. In this article, we will cover the emerging HOA trends every board member and management company should know for 2022 and beyond.

HOA technology leads the way

Homeowners’ association software has made running a community association easier for many years, but the adoption of HOA technology is on the rise more than ever. Overall, consumers want faster, more convenient service – and homeowners are no different. They are consumers after all. During the height of the pandemic, everyone was concerned about safety. The use of technology, such as an online portal for paying dues and communicating with HOA staff, provided the safety homeowners and HOA and property management staff needed. HOA software gives you the tools to simplify administrative tasks like processing payments and repair requests from homeowners. It also alleviates some of the burden of handling violations and reviewing HOA documents, while providing homeowners a way to manage their account wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.

Budgeting is paramount

Homeowners’ associations aren’t designed to generate profit. They exist to pay the association’s bills – like insurance premiums and utility bills for common areas such as hallways and courtyards. The good news is that the expenses are usually consistent. The bad news is that if there aren’t sufficient funds to cover them, things can go south.

While budgeting has always been one of the key tasks of HOA boards, it’s now even more important. With delinquencies in fees and assessments, HOAs must get creative to shore up their reserves. Here are some strategies that might work for your association, if you have the need to make some cuts:

• Consider cancelling or delaying non-essential repairs or improvements.
• When contracts are up for renewal, shop around for better pricing.
• Cut back on services and expenses that aren’t critical to maintaining the property, at least temporarily.
• If you have emergency reserves, consider using them if allowable in your covenant.
• Consider investing in an HOA app or property management software that provides a live snapshot of your financial health with daily reconciliations.

HOA recordkeeping is more important than ever

Keeping good HOA records goes hand-in-hand with the heightened importance of budgeting. Homeowners expect faster communication, so that means HOA staff need immediate access to HOA records and documents, as well as be well-versed in HOA policies, CC&R’s and state and local laws so that they can quickly answer homeowners’ questions and concerns.

And in a time when many HOAs are experiencing delinquencies, establishing a “paper trail” of communications is critical. Good record keeping is also important in the event there is staff turnover or an HOA board member resigns.

Homeowner engagement grows in necessity

With greater access to HOA staff – and vice versa – the lines of communication have improved and will continue to improve. Everyone’s way of life was impacted in the past two years, and in some ways, it brought communities together. Residents became more involved and invested, and some communities, like the boards at RISE Association Management, worked together to make masks and help immunocompromised residents get their groceries. Now is the perfect time to build on this foundation and set the tone for the years ahead, especially as homeowner engagement becomes more and more of a necessity. HOA boards and their respective management companies should be focused on reviewing ways they can improve engagement and apathy among residents – whether it be through community driven events, technological enhancements such as HOAst, or even as simple as adding recognition in the monthly newsletter.

Safety is still a concern

As we are still living in uncertain times, homeowners are more concerned about safety. They want heightened security of buildings, as well as their personal property and information. Homeowners’ associations now must consider what measures are right for their community, as there are many options – from keyless entry to biometrics. Open communication with homeowners is essential to choosing the appropriate security strategies for your properties. The right homeowners’ association software partner can help ensure residents’ online data is secure.

There’s no doubt that the HOA trends for 2022 involve technology in some way. We believe that technology is the key to overcoming the challenges HOAs have faced through the pandemic and meeting homeowners’ increased expectations for faster communication and resolution of issues. For more intel on ways to improve relations within your associations, hear from the communities themselves in our 2022 State of the Industry Report.

HOA violations: It’s the number one reason why some homeowners have an unspoken (or rather loudly spoken) disdain for homeowners associations. And the people who feel the brunt end of violations woes are the employees of community association management companies who face the highest level of stress and burnout in recent years: the property and community managers, of course.

As Spring and Summer approach, violations are bound to increase within communities. Why is this? Because the most common HOA violations relate to core Spring/Summer activities:

• Landscaping: As homeowners begin planting new trees, plants and shrubbery, they may fail to recognize if there are certain types allowed within the community.
• Noise: Outdoor events such as the 4th of July commonly provoke increased noise complaints from neighbors, which can escalate into a violations notice.
• Exterior Storage: Kayaking, bike riding, and other outdoor activities are common weekend excursions, but oftentimes homeowners forget to properly store their outdoor gear out of view.
• Design Changes: Some HOAs have strict rules about paint colors and exterior décor, and Spring/Summer is a time when many homeowners begin their outdoor projects.

How can you prevent increased violations this season, and what can you do to alleviate the situation when you do have to issue a violation? Here’s a rundown of ways you can keep community living positive without the influx of violation letters:

Be proactive

If you haven’t yet, ensure your HOA boards are sending out reminders of regulations that lead to violations and common violations they see in the Spring/Summer season. This communication can be part of their regular newsletters and sent through their web portal and app. A proactive approach will ensure that your homeowners are aware of the rules before they plan large outdoor parties or get started with their outdoor projects. Communication should be simple, straightforward and friendly. There’s no reason to lead off the messaging with the monetary costs associated with violations – just a simple reminder will do!

Schedule periodic broadcasts

Use your mass communication tools to send periodic communication to homeowners reminding them of the HOA rules, offering tips to adhere to the regulations and mentioning any violations that commonly increase over a specific period of time. For instance, a broadcast message offering parking suggestions for house guests prior to the July 4th weekend can be extremely helpful to the community while also enforcing noise and parking rules.

Keep homeowners engaged and enthusiastic

Focus on homeowner engagement over HOA rules through contests that bring the community together. For instance, you can use your HOAst platform to send a poll on who in the neighborhood has the best lawn, or to vote on the best barbecue at a summer community event. If your homeowners are seeing more communication pertaining to fun activities that drive community and less communication pertaining to rules, they’ll be more reminiscent of the positive experiences they’ve had within their association.

Use mobile tools for violations management

Finally, in the event that you do have to submit a violation, keep communication as transparent and quick as possible through tools offered via apps such as CINC Manager. Submitting a violation should take under one minute, and it should provide you the ability to do the following:

• Communicate the violation with the tap of a thumb, offering communication to the homeowner via email and their mobile app.
• Timestamp photos as they are uploaded and attached to the violation. The timestamp is crucial as it alleviates any situation in which the homeowner can claim that they were not violating HOA rules.
• Change the levels of violations through the phone and escalate where needed.
• Regenerate past violations when they have not been addressed.

By proactively communicating, focusing efforts on driving engagement, and taking advantage of mobile tools, violations can be significantly less dreadful for community and property managers. To learn more about ways you can reduce and manage HOA violations within your community, check out our core tips for violations management in our Definitive Guide to Association Management.

The second quarter of the year is always the time for reflection, rejuvenation, and a thorough review of the goals you put into place when you first completed your business plans back in the fourth quarter. Regardless of how successful of a business owner you are, every entrepreneur misses the mark on at least one goal they had set forth for themselves. The big question one must answer is, “why?”

As you consider your progress in the past quarter, you’ll be left wondering what held you back from the achievements that seemed all too doable less than six months ago. Perhaps you weren’t able to fill a community manager role that’s been left open for far too long, or perhaps your customer service doesn’t seem to be improving. What are the reasons these goals aren’t being achieved, and how can you make changes to your yearly plan to accomplish what you’ve set forth for yourself?

Technology may be the key

Many goals set forth for a business, on the surface, seem like a strategy in which your tech stack is irrelevant. But after a careful review, a technology enhancement may be the key to unlocking these achievements. Take the two examples above: hiring an important role and improving customer service. New hires values companies who embrace innovative technologies that put people at the forefront. They want to know that the software being used at their community association management company will be one that will reduce their task-heavy workload and provide self-service tools for homeowners. If you weren’t able to snag that awesome hire for your company, and you’re using fragmented software that hinders their day-to-day, perhaps that’s the reason.

Another example is improving customer service, which is a hot topic in community management nowadays. Perhaps your homeowners were reeling with complaints last quarter because they couldn’t figure out how to process a payment, or their payment was misapplied to another account. Are these types of complaints actually service issues, or are they issues related to the technology you’re offering to your homeowners and board members?

Why your technology decisions matter most right now

Oftentimes we speak to management company executives who know that their software is on the outs, and that eventually they will need to make an upgrade. Yet they continue to put off this decision because they are concerned with the disruption a switch will cause to their business and personnel.

If you’re in this boat and have yet to choose the right software provider for your company, now is the time to make the decision. Making a software change is a significant change process, regardless of how seamless the onboarding and implementation experience can be. If you decide on a software provider for your accounting and community management experiences now, your team will have the remainder of the year to become fully acclimated to new processes that will help your business soar for 2023. So if you make the right decision this quarter, you won’t be left reconsidering your options at this same time next year.

That isn’t to say, of course, that a software change won’t positively impact your current year. Making the change while incorporating feedback from your team will improve employee morale and support you in your hiring and retention goals. Having a dedicated training and project management team supporting your employees every step of the way through the change will also provide new processes and efficiencies that you may have not considered before that will greatly impact productivity. Implementing a fully integrated banking experience will reduce your chances for mismatched payments and fraud, which will greatly improve customer service and position your company with strong selling points for prospective HOAs and COAs. And utilizing tools that create seamless reporting experiences for board members will significantly impact client relations and homeowner engagement.

All in all, making the right decisions now for your technology will create a lasting impact for your company’s bottom line. To support you in making the right decisions for your company when reviewing software options, we’ve laid out all the steps you need to take and the questions you need answered in our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide.

It’s that time of year when your team is gearing up for the growing season. Common areas need to look pristine and some of the best amenities within your community are about to open. While this is an exciting time for homeowners and board members alike, it can be quite stressful for community and property managers. There’s so much to do to get ready!

Today’s Portfolio Managers use a variety of tools such as email, Word, Excel, and maybe even paper to manage the tasks of their communities and their contracted responsibilities. Using these tools can be cumbersome for the manager and add significant work when trying to keep Boards updated on the progress of association business and projects. What’s more, they do not provide a way for Senior Management to maintain oversite of their team or develop standardized business processes.

A little bit of help goes a long way.

Knowing this struggle, CINC Systems has created a solution through the Portfolio Management System. The Portfolio Management System is an effective tool for managers, helping them to be more efficient and stay up to date on their tasks. The module also provides easy oversite for Senior Management, giving them the ability to efficiently review the status of the communities in the management company’s portfolio. The system centralizes data and creates management reports to the Board members.

Here’s what you can do with the Portfolio Management System:

• Weekly and Monthly Board Management/Status Reports
• Automated Email Reminder Options
• Management Plan Creation
  • Action Items/Tasks automatically created from the Management Plan
• Maintenance Calendar Creation
  • Schedule Maintenance Requirements
  • Action Items/Tasks automatically created from the Maintenance Calendar
• Action Items/Task Management
  • Created by Management Plan, Maintenance Calendars, or by Users
  • Management and Board Items
  • Ability to add notes and attachments
  • Ability to assign tasks to other users
  • Auto Generated Reminders
  • Status included on Weekly and/or Monthly Reports
  • Ability for Senior Management to have oversite on all clients

Would you like to gain a better understanding on how this powerful tool can positively impact you, your team and your clients? Please contact your account manager to schedule a demo and learn more about the Portfolio Management System. After all, a little bit of help goes a long way.

It’s hard to believe that we’re just about a quarter of the way through 2022. If you’re anything like us, you felt like January lasted a whole year, but February and March are flying by! Before we let the last few weeks of the quarter run past us, it’s time to reflect. When you take a look at the goals you set out for you community association management company for the new year, how are you tracking? Perhaps you’re reviewing goals you scratched out for your business during the holidays last year and are asking yourself, “What was I thinking?!” Perhaps you’re frustrated that you haven’t hit the metrics you thought you’d hit by now. Or perhaps you’re right on track and everything is going as planned (and if this is you, you are quite the lucky anomaly!) Regardless of where you stand, it’s important to know where you’re tracking and what to do next. How do you keep momentum for your business, or how do you get back the momentum you initially had for the 2022 year?

It’s time to set new quarterly goals

No matter how well you planned for the new year, no one is able to plan perfectly. There are so many extenuating circumstances in community management that will cause business disruption – from a blizzard, to a malfunctioned water valve, to a board leaving for another management company. One of the best meetings you can hold in the next two weeks is a quarterly review with your team. Take note of where you are tracking towards your goals with respects to your budget, revenue, portfolio count, and other important milestones for you. What’s working for everyone, and what roadblocks are keeping you from achieving your potential?

After your team has had a moment to reflect, it’s time to set new quarterly goals. Keep track of where you want to be by the end of 2022 and what you’ll have to do in the second quarter to get there. Perhaps you need to have a heightened focus on staff recruitment, or perhaps you need to increase your portfolio count projections. Regardless of the plan, get the whole team involved and stick with it.

Spring clean your business

You’ve likely seen a friend on social media post a daily home cleaning challenge in the month of April, or perhaps it’s a challenge you complete for yourself. Spring cleaning has a multitude of benefits that go beyond a well organized physical atmosphere – it’s a process that improves mental health and motivation. In the same way that you conduct a spring clean for your house, spring clean you business as well for the second quarter. Clean up your workspace, segment your email lists, and analyze the ways in which your team uses the technology you have available to them. If there tools that would greatly improve productivity that you haven’t used to its fullest potential, now is the time to reach out to your account manager and take better advantage!

Get ready for summer

As you’re planning for the second quarter, it’s also important to be fully prepared for the upcoming summer season. As many are ready to have a season free of pandemic woes, homeowners and board members will likely be eager to indulge in refreshed entryways and regular pool parties. Be sure that your community managers feel confident in their ability to manage their summer prep and that they have all of their routine maintenance plans ready to go, and offer a helping hand if they are feeling overwhelmed. Make sure you are also using digital communications to keep boards ready for the season, sharing helpful messages for their newsletters and important guidelines to review for safety and local regulations.

Are you still feeling uneasy about your upcoming Q2, and need some more guidance for better prep? Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar with us and our friends at AvidXchange, where we will be discussing some of the key industry trends that shocked our Q1 and provide helpful ways to manage your budget and goals for Q2. Our Q1 Rewind will be on Tuesday, March 22nd, at 2:00 PM EST!

One of the most challenging aspects to running a management company is keeping relationships in tact with vendor partners. As you have built up your tech stack to meet your growing business needs, you likely have far more vendors than you could list off the top of your head. After all, every department – from accounting to administrative services – has their own set of unique needs, and therefore has their own set of suppliers to fulfill those needs. And as your organization grows, so will your vendor network – it’s the nature of the business.

One of the biggest problems that one can face with a vendor partner is service that doesn’t meet their expectations – and when your service expectations aren’t met, it’s hard to meet your customers’ expectations. When you’re struggling to have your needs met with your vendor partner, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the partner is a bad fit. Oftentimes there are communication gaps that can be easily resolved when each party understands the goals, projects at hand, and ways in which one can be fully aligned.

Creating accountability with your vendor relationship

Many companies spend money without tracking value, and this certainly is true when working with a vendor partner. In order to better manage your vendor network and your bottom line, you need to create a mutual action plan to hold one another accountable for the achievement of your desired outcome. These outcomes should be at the center of the vendor-supplier relationship.

Let’s say, for instance, you have recently added CINC’s HOAst e-voting platform to your solution. Clearly you are using this service for a purpose – perhaps you want to improve homeowner engagement through survey and polling features, or you need electronic support in achieving quorum. Your Account Success Manager at CINC Systems should know what your goals are with HOAst so that the two of you can strive towards those goals together.

In developing your mutual action plan, the following steps should support you and your vendor partner in achieving your desired outcome:

• First, work together to define and document partnership expectations.
• Next, document your action plan to ensure everyone is working towards a common goal.
• Set clear expectations from the beginning by analyzing previous data related to use cases, adoption, and effectiveness of the vendor’s services; be sure that your vendor partner is providing you with the information you need based on clients of a similar size to your business.
• Track progress towards your goal over time and communicate with your vendor partner on a regular basis so that everyone is aligned on progress.
• Work regularly with your vendor to show proof of performance. Each of you should be able to provide metrics related to project scope, productivity, win rates, or any other metric that supports the desired outcome.

Using this basic mutual action plan outline with each of your vendor relationships will be a win-win across the board. You’re able to have a full picture into the effectiveness of the service you’re being provided, and your vendor partner is able to ensure your success. Your vendor partner should be most excited about working with you on this plan, because if done right, they’ll have a great testimony to add to their website (and who doesn’t love a good customer review!)

It may seem cumbersome and time consuming to work on a documented plan with each and every vendor within your association management company. However, if you’re going to invest in a service, you need to get the most out of that service. An outcome-based approach will result in deliverables that your customers can see, experience, and enjoy for themselves. The result on your end will be an increase in customer satisfaction, more efficient use of resources, improved productivity, and higher retention rates.

In the SaaS world, the term ‘tech stack’ is thrown around on a regular basis. In community association management, it may seem like a bit of a foreign concept. Yet anyone who is working in community management is using one of the most important tech stacks across any industry.

To put it simply, a tech stack is a combination of technologies that run a business. From accounting to communication to project management, every piece of technology you use to manage your organizational needs is a part of your tech stack. Let’s say you were asked to list out your tech stack. At first you might think you only have a few tools in your arsenal. But once you consider every aspect of your business – from email to direct mail to social media – the list adds up. That’s why it is so essential to fully understand the investment you have made within your stack, how your team is using each tool, and the levels of integration within each tool that offers a seamless experience for your employees and your homeowners.

When a tech stack is built right for a company, business owners should see a streamlined process that builds efficiency which in turn builds sales. But when built wrong, clunky process can lead to a waste of time and money. To know if you have the tools stacked in your favor, follow this quick guide to see how you can improve the ways in which you and your team uses your tech stack.

Understand the goals behind each tool

Review the tools you have within your tech. Why did you initially make this investment? How did it align with your business goals? Has this tool effectively supported you in achieving said goals? If you find that something within your stack is no longer supporting your business needs, ask yourself why. Perhaps you were never fully trained on how to use it efficiently, or perhaps the software is no longer in line with modern technologies. Take this time to evaluate what should stay, what should go, and what should be replaced.

Once you complete the above exercise, you may find that you need to replace some of your technology with a more modern approach. As you evaluate new tools, ensure that you are laying out concrete goals for the technology. Perhaps you want to provide month-end reports by the first week of the month to your boards, or perhaps you feel that updating your software will provide a competitive edge that will add a certain number of new clients to your portfolio. When it comes to a tech stack, it’s easy to get excited about shiny new objects and purchase products you end up never needing. That’s why it’s so important to have concrete goals for every tool in your arsenal, and it’s important to hold yourself and your technology accountable in achieving those goals.

Know what you’re getting into

Any time you add something to your tech stack, you’re not just turning on a button and calling it a day. You are changing a process for yourself and your team. One of the biggest mistakes that companies in every industry makes when it comes to a tech stack is adding a new tool without allotting enough time for training, implementation, and routine management. It’s important that your team is aligned with your goals behind your technology and is also aware of the reasons why you are making the investments you have chosen for your business, so be sure to communicate your goals with them. Allot enough time for training for your team so that they feel fully comfortable using the new tool in their daily routine. If you are switching software providers, your new provider should be managing this transition process for you with one-on-one detail and a dedicated project manager. After the technology has been implemented, regularly check in with your team to see if they are using it to their fullest potential. It’s easy to forget that you have a tool under your belt when you’re immersed in business as usual; that’s why it’s so important that everything within your stack IS considered business as usual to your team.

Be sure you have the support you need

You’re a small business. You cannot and should not be sold into a new piece of technology without a person behind that technology supporting you every step of the way. As you’re evaluating new technology, ask probing questions to your salesperson regarding the level of support you would receive during and after implementation. Be sure you understand the training process, the handoff between onboarding and account success, and how you’ll be able to reach a support agent when you have a question or urgent need. After all, at the end of the day, a piece of technology is only as good as the people behind that technology.

While evaluating and adding to your tech stack may feel overwhelming, when done right, the results are incredible. If you’d like tips from the experts on how to manage a tech stack in your favor, read up on the case study from our client, Community Management Associates, Inc.

Last week we had the pleasure of attending the CACM 2022 Norcal Law Seminar, where we celebrated their 30 years of serving community association management companies in California. We had a blast connecting with industry partners, getting to know new professionals, and building our TikTok presence! Best of all, we teamed up with AvidXchange to give away a hot air balloon ride across Sonoma Valley!

In addition to giving away free excursions and becoming social celebrities (okay, not yet, but we’ll get there!), we also learned a lot about what community managers need from their property management software in 2022 and beyond that, in some cases, are unique to California. Here are our key takeaways from the Norcal Seminar:

Homeowners need to see innovation in their HOAs and COAs

While all homeowners across the country are vying for better technology through their homeowners associations, California residents have a tendency to have higher expectations in the tools provided to them. Mobile apps, multiple ways to pay, and real-time communication are must-haves, and many community managers were excited to see our custom-branded homeowner and board member app. Software that isn’t built mobile-first for the homeowner and board member, as far as we’re concerned, simply won’t stand the test of time for the rest of the 2020s.

California homeowners need to opt in

GDPR rules and regulations upended the digital world in 2018, and these laws lead to very strict communication guidelines in Europe. While the United States is a bit more lax in regulation, California residents are more acclimated to GDPR than other states. This is likely because they are living in the global tech hub, which has to address privacy laws across all countries.

So what does this mean to you? In California it’s important that homeowners are able to determine their method of correspondence (digital or physical mail) and have the ability to opt in and out of communications. If you are sending homeowners communications via email, you need to be sure that they have consented to receive such communication – this may be completed, for instance, through a flagged notification on your website. It’s important to discuss with your software provider opt in and opt out capabilities and ensure that your homeowners are able to determine for themselves whether they’d like to receive electronic or physical communications.

Flexibility in address delivery is key

Many homeowners in California utilize secondary addresses for different types of correspondence, and these secondary addresses need to be utilized by the association management company. This is especially true for collection letters, in which mailed correspondence must be sent to multiple addresses when requested. Not every software provider has a secondary address option, which can be very cumbersome for community managers. Be sure you’re working with your software provider to improve flexibility for your homeowners in a manner that’s easy and efficient for your teams to manage.

EDD reports are a must

EDD reporting is extremely important in California, as businesses and government entities are required to report to the Employee Development Department (EDD) on all independent contractors. Independent contractors must be reported if: 1) You’re required to file a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC for the services performed; 2) You pay the independent contractor $600 or more or enter into a contract for $600 or more; 3) The independent contractor is an individual or sole proprietorship. We suggest connecting with your lawyer and your software provider to ensure your EDD reporting is being completed appropriately.

Time management continues to be a hot topic

This isn’t unique to California, however it’s still very important to keep at the forefront of our minds. We had the pleasure of hosting the educational series “Do More, Stress Less,” where professionals openly discussed their challenges in managing their to-do list on top of all the other urgent needs that occur at a moment’s notice. A solid scheduling management system is key within your organization – one that automates reminders for routine maintenance, provides owners a big picture glimpse into their teams’ workload, and makes it easy to schedule time on and off the clock. CINC’s Portfolio Manager is one tool that we’d definitely recommend. It serves as your virtual assistant, managing your tasks, ensuring essential manners are handled, and helping you alleviate yours or your teammate’s workload.

We’d love to know what you learned at the CACM Norcal Law Seminar! Reach out to us to share your insight, and if you’d like to learn more about our product wows that support California management companies and the whole U.S., check out our Top Wows of CINC.

Customer service comes from everywhere nowadays. It’s not just over the phone – it’s a Facebook post, or a question on Nextdoor, or a DM from Instagram. And the customers? Well, let’s just say they’ve been a bit more dramatic lately. Long separations and grueling uncertainty resulted in an uptick in poor customer behavior across nearly every service industry. So between the need to check multiple platforms and the knowledge that your homeowners and boards are more on edge than usual, how is it possible to keep service up to par?

The answer is technology. Your software doesn’t just serve as a tool that improves the workload of your employees from a functional point of view. When homeowners have access to self serve, boards have full transparency into community needs, and community managers are able to spend more time in person, customer service quickly elevates. And when service improves, customer questions decline.

There are many ways to improve service while cutting time spent with customers through technology. Through our experience, these three tricks serve as the biggest relief for association management companies:

1. Teach homeowners how to use their web portals and mobile apps

Custom-branded web portals and mobile apps are imperative to the workings of an association. These tools empower homeowners to track  payments, manage violations, input work orders and communicate with the management team when needed. But the old saying, “If you build it, they will come,” is simply not true – especially when it comes to technology.

Take time to showcase how and why one should use the web portal and mobile app to your boards, and provide tools to your boards that they can send to their homeowners on the technology. Perhaps you can video a self-guided tour of the app, showcasing ways to use it in five minutes or less. Or perhaps your newsletter can have a monthly “did you know?” section that features a portion of your web portal that greatly improves efficiency. When a homeowner calls asking for help on something they can do on their own through a web portal or app, be sure to spend extra time on the phone showing them how to manage the need on their own for future purposes. The key to technological adoption is overcommunication, and while it may feel redundant at times to constantly discuss homeowner tools, you’ll always catch the eye of at least one person. And that one person who learns something new about the technology you provide is one less phone call your team will receive at the beginning of the month to process a payment.

2. Use mobile technology to improve board transparency

Board members often feel frustrated when they don’t feel like they have access to the information they need. Perhaps they have to reach out to someone on your team every time they need to view an invoice, or perhaps financial reports are getting lost in a sea of emails. Because of these common communication mishaps, invoices may be delayed in approval, projects may get pushed back, and client satisfaction may take a quick downswing.

That’s why we are so passionate about our homeowner and board mobile app. By providing board member tools to view all documentation and complete everything necessary through the tap of the thumb, management companies are able to instantly reach their boards through the one communication piece that never leaves their side. Not only does mobile technology enhance communication, but it speeds up the time it takes to complete vital community initiatives. This in turn improves the board members’ reputation among their fellow homeowners, which only further improves client satisfaction.

3. Provide tools that community managers can use anywhere and everywhere

The secret sauce to superior customer service is showing that you are always there for them. In community management, that means being out in your properties as often as possible. When homeowners put a face to the name, a management company isn’t just some conglomerate who writes violation letters; it’s an organization that builds community.

To support community managers in their efforts to work one-on-one with their clients, they need the right tools to be in the field as much as possible. Mobile apps such as CINC Manager should be used to complete the bulk of their day-to-day tasks and should have capabilities to complete anything from anywhere – whether it’s processing a work order in a parking garage or viewing an ACC request while on a site inspection. The more proactive your employees are in communicating with their boards and homeowners, the less reactive you’ll have to be with incoming client calls.

These are just a few examples of ways in which technology improves service while cutting time spent with customers, but there are so many more innovations that can drastically improve service within your organization. To learn how one company cut their customer calls by over 50% through technology – all while building better communities for their homeowners – take time to read about the incredible story from Gulf Coast Community Management.

The association management industry if fraught with competition, and because of the healthy growth of homeowners and condominium associations, opportunity is seemingly endless. That’s why so many budding entrepreneurs enter the market every year. At CINC Systems, we’ve helped many businesses grow from one-association startups to multi-association empires. We’ve also helped tried and true brands continue to build revenue as a result of their software investment. We’ve seen a lot of strategies that have catapulted growth, and we’ve seen a few reasons why growth may be stunted. As you’re evaluating the ways in which you plan to build your business for 2022 and beyond, consider these common mistakes that business owners make:

1. Not knowing your audience

Jason Delgado of Rise Association Management says it best: you should know who your ideal customer is, and who your ideal customer isn’t. Oftentimes when one is breaking into the association management industry, they will want to be something for everyone, and will be willing to take on any client that comes their way. While building a healthy portfolio is certainly important, what’s more important is the service you provide after the sale. After all, churn is a huge concern in the industry.

So, who can you service best? Perhaps it’s luxury condominiums in urban areas, or starter homes in single family neighborhoods. By understanding who your brand represents and your dream client, you’ll be able to hone in on messaging that captivates your dream client and builds your portfolio with quality associations that you know you can service to your best potential.

If you’re not sure how to define your dream client, take a look into our Brand Affinity E-book from our Ultimate Guide to Marketing Your Management Company. You’ll build out your company’s mission and vision, your WHY statement, and your ideal customer profile.

2. Not focusing on the homeowner

At the end of the day, what are we here to do? It’s not to send off violation letters or dictate the color paint one can use on their homes. We’re here to build community and make living in an HOA a great experience. That means that the homeowner is at the center of our universe and everything we do.

This can be challenging to remember, of course. From managing month-end financials to keeping employees motivated during difficult client conversations, it’s easy to take focus off the homeowner and onto other tasks. But when management companies focus on providing services and tools that take the burden off of the homeowner, business prospers. This includes mass communication tools that give homeowners quick access to the answers they need, and self-service tools that makes HOA living seamless. When homeowners are satisfied with your services, they’ll be sure that the board members know, and those board members will gladly inform other prospective clients of everything you have to offer.

3. Keeping a budget for everything but your own business

Management companies certainly have budgets for each of their associations. But what about the actual community association management company? Oftentimes owners become so engulfed with the budgets of their clients, they forget to create a budget for themselves. Without a proper budget in place, profit may not grow even if revenue does. And if you’re at all concerned about rising inflation rates, you definitely need to keep track of your spending.

Luckily, managing the budget of an association management company is a bit simpler than HOAs and COAs, as the plan is similar to other small businesses. In addition to keeping control of everyday expenses, you should also consider where you can afford to grow, where you should be cutting back, software upgrades you’ll need to drive efficiency and service, and if your prices fall in line with rising expenses.

If you did not plan out your budget for the upcoming year yet, all is not lost. Go ahead and start planning with the basics so you are at least keeping track of spend. Then, begin to evaluate where your spend may be hindering your growth and where you may be investing too little.

4. Not using your software to your advantage

Of course we can’t not mention the importance of a software solution to growth in association management! Anyone running a business with plans to grow needs a scalable software solution that improves employee workload, provides self-service tools to board members and homeowners, and empowers management companies to market their business professionally. Consider, for instance, the top three core needs in software:

• Automation:  Replacing time-consuming manual tasks with sophisticated software increases the speed and accuracy of your team.
• Centralization:  An all-in-one solution that addresses both the financial and property-related responsibilities of your management company saves time and money by eliminating the need to log-in to multiple platforms a day, manually move data from one place to another, and manage multiple vendors.
• Integration: Software that seamlessly integrates with your bank (as well as other strategic partners) closes the gap between finance and accounting, enabling daily reconciliation, faster payments, and a more streamlined month end process.

By using software designed for scalability, your existing team will have the bandwidth able to take on more.  In fact, some teams are actually able to manage double the associations with the power of an industry-leading solution.

By knowing some of the common pitfalls that can stunt growth in community association management, you’ll be able to avoid behaviors that lead to these mistakes. And if you’re looking to see how software can take your growth plans to the next level, read up on our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide to association management software.

With over 8,000 homeowners associations formed every year, the market is ripe with new clients for your association management company. But that also means that the market is ripe with competition from other management companies wanting the same business. To stand out from the crowd in today’s world, digital driven marketing initiatives are key.

But how can you even consider digital marketing tactics when you’re slammed supporting customer needs and driving business? Here’s the good news: just a few digital techniques can go a long way, and you don’t have to be an agency with decades of experiences to have success.

For a quick rundown of what you can do to stand out in a digital world, take note of these five simple tactics you can add to your overall marketing strategy:

1. Build your personal brand.

You may be wondering why the first idea presented here is about you, not your company. Thanks to the rise of social media apps like TikTok and the overall appeal of raw, personalized communication, the person behind the brand has become more powerful than ever. This means that your online presence should be something you invest time and energy in this year – even if you only have 15 minutes a day to do so.

So, google yourself. What are the first results you see? We’re guessing one of the first results is your LinkedIn: would you be pleased if a prospective board member clicked through to see your profile, or could it use a refresh? Do the rest of the results have anything to do with your professional life, or is it completely unrelatable? You may think it’s odd to google yourself, but that’s exactly what your prospects do when they first hear from you.

To build your personal brand online, determine first how you’d like to appear to others and what your “dream google result” would look like. Then, build it out. Adding yourself to your website, continuously posting on social, contributing to group commentary in industry publications, and regularly attending industry events are simple ways you can build yourself (and therefore your company) online.

2. Listen and respond to reviews.

One of the most important elements to digital marketing is the way you communicate with your clients online. This includes those pesky reviews, whether they are good or bad. 97% of consumers read reviews of local businesses and 77% would write a review if asked by a business – this means that the opportunity for you to build your reputation and presence while promoting your customer service initiatives is instrumental in brand attraction.

Through Google, Nextdoor, and social media platforms, be sure you are monitoring reviews and responding in appropriate timeframes. Thank your clients for positive reviews and respond appropriately to negative reviews. The way you communicate online will be extremely important to prospective HOAs and COAs, as they will check on these reviews to see not just how you are rated, but how you collaborate with others.

Beyond the quality of the response, the quantity of the reviews and ratings is also important in developing a brand reputation online. Don’t be shy to ask for a review online from a client who is over the moon with service from one of your employees, and consider an incentivized campaign for your clients to write a review through a gift drawing.

3. Hyper-localize your content.

Hyperlocal marketing is a tactic often employed by brick and mortar retail locations and restaurants. It’s especially effective for them because their business hinges on customers finding them, not the other way around. The goal is to use language that specifically talks about the area being served.

Hyperlocal marketing works great for management companies because your service area is typically fixed to a geographic location. With hyperlocal marketing you can zero in on specific towns, districts, neighborhoods, or even single communities within your service area who you want to bring on as your client.

To go hyper-local, consider the content. Write blogs and social media posts very specific to HOA-related topics in your area, such as reserves funds needed for pending natural disasters or changes to e-voting laws. Promote customer success stories to showcase the localized and personalized nature of your business, and keep Google My Business up-to-date.

4. Do a little bit of SEO.

If you want to grab the attention of self-managed community associations or associations looking for new management, you need to make it easy for them to find you. This means investing some time and energy into a keyword strategy that will improve and enhance your search results. Create a keyword list based on the common search terms that your ideal client would conduct online and build those keywords into your website’s core content.

For an impressive SEO strategy, hyperlocal tactics play an important role here as well. Consider long tail keywords such as “Charlotte best condo management company” to rank high among your most ideal client. It’s also important to plan out your keyword strategy to ensure you’ll be at the top of search results.

All of this might seem quite cumbersome, but have no fear: we have a keyword planning tool that you can use for free here!

5. Keep your website fresh.

Last but certainly not least, look at your website. Does it have up-to-date content? Does it work on all mobile devices? Is it easy to navigate, and does the content make sense for your average prospective client? Most importantly, if a prospect decides they’d like to connect with you, can they easily fill out a form or book time on your calendar?

Oftentimes, owners will spend loads of time building out the best social media handles and influencer campaigns to drive buzz for their business. But if that buzz takes prospects to an ill-performing site, none of that hard work matters.

Be sure you’re updating and reviewing your site on a consistent basis, and if your site is completely out of date, it may be time to consider a developer and designer to support you in an upgrade. You should also lean on your software provider to keep your content looking fresh through the latest custom-branded web portals and mobile apps for your boards and homeowners to use and enjoy.

If you’re looking for a deeper dive into these digital marketing tactics and other ideas to build into your overall brand growth strategy, you’re in the right place. We have a whole e-book on Brand Attraction to guide you through building your online brand step-by-step. You can download the guide here.

The last couple of years has been a bit of a roller coaster. It feels as though every time we start to creep forward, something finds a way to drag us back just a few feet back. It’s taxing, and it’s impacting a lot of our day to day lives. While many of the problems we faced last year are going strong this year, we’ve come up with some new ways to handle them and steer into the anticipated trends of the year ahead. Here are the 4 trends we think the community association management industry can count on for 2022:

Staff Burnout: Rethinking Work/Life Balance

I think it’s safe to say we’re all a little bit tired. Tired of talking about, thinking about, and reliving the pandemic every time a new variant sweeps the population. Tired of the impact it’s having on friends, family, coworkers, neighbors. And that means that the amount of work we used to easily pile onto our plate can feel like a triple serving that we just can’t handle.

This year, with so many of us in the deep end of feeling burnt out, the conversation will start revolving around new approaches to a work/life balance. Incorporating new plans to stave off burnout may not pull us out of the deep end, but it will certainly stop us from sinking any further.

Here are two ways your management company can give burnt out community managers the tools they need to keep their heads above water:

• Calendar Contortion: schedule flexibility has been a savior for many in recent times, but it might be time to step up that game. Shutdowns, quarantines, and hyper-contagious variants are all brewing up the perfect storm of chaos for staff with tight schedules to maintain, like school or extra-curricular activities for kids, doctors appointments for ill loved ones, or shared transportation in a family. Laying out clear guidelines that give your staff the freedom to juggle their busy lives on the fly, and clear support and engagement from executive management will be a crucial step in helping your teams feel like their needs are being met and exceeded without having to go through red tape or guilting to handle their personal lives.
• Rapid Recognition: There’s a ton of science to prove the benefits positive reinforcement has to offer. Who knew that celebrating and praising people would make them want to do even more? The happiness that people feel when being commended for their achievements can also be a powerful way to counterbalance burnout. The more unsung successes people have, especially when they’ve sacrificed countless sleepless nights, missed moments with loved ones, or just a general feeling of stability and sanity, the deeper they fall into that pit of burn-out despair. Consider implementing structured, achievable goals for your staff to work toward, and consistently and publicly reward the effort.

Continued Reliance on Technology

Microsoft founder Bill Gates believes that meetings across the world will be hosted on Facebook’s newest endeavor, Metaverse, in the next two to three years. While I personally hope the internet isn’t about to be monopolized by a social media platform, I (and many other technology experts) can say with certainty that much of our time will be spent using some kind of internet-tethered tech.

As closures and shut downs have been repeatedly enforced and lifted throughout the last two years, technology giants have been hard at work developing new ways computers can fill the gaps we’re starting to see. Here’s what you should consider when it comes to software not only for your management company, but for your communities as well:

• Reinforced Remote Work: The time has come for communities and community management companies alike to embrace the wealth of technological support our industry has to offer. Social distancing will come back in striking force with the contagious nature of the COVID-19 variants cropping up recently. Technology that can support your boards’ day-to-day task management without forcing them to share an office will once again be an important theme in 2022.
• Technical Training: As beneficial as new technology is for everyone, it always comes with some kind of learning curve. Even Milennials, who grew up learning new technology as it came into being, are struggling to keep up with the rapidly-evolving technological landscape of today. So your boards are almost certainly going to have a hard time. Building out some kind of “Intro to Community Association Management Software” cheat sheet could be the key to coaxing your boards into accepting the fancy new toys you can bring them to make their lives easier.

Massive Repairs to Condominium and Co-op Buildings

Interestingly enough, this trend is arguably one that has not been directly impacted by the global events of the last two years. Community associations of all shapes and sizes have a long history of deferred maintenance. Unfortunately, this past year we saw the worst-case scenario of what can happen to large multi-family buildings that forgo important maintenance for too long.

The collapse of Champlain Towers South was an eye-opening tragedy for the industry, and as a result, Fannie Mae issued temporary guidance for all condos and co-ops until further notice: units in buildings in need of repairs for what FNMA deemed as “significant deferred maintenance” would be ineligible for FNMA loans until necessary repairs have been made and correctly documented. The letter goes on to define exactly what they will classify as “significantly deferred maintenance” and any other unmet requirements that would also make a building ineligible.

Here are some of the ways that will impact your communities:

• Proactive Planning: This year, some of your communities may fall into this group of buildings. Hopefully that number is low, but if not, one of the best things you can do is create an outline to help each board plan. Their specific financial planning can come later, but providing them with a set of suggested steps to take, like tips to create a timeline for repairs, will take some of the weight off of the project they have ahead of them.
• Commitment to Community: Something your boards in this situation will need to seriously consider is the impact this will have on their community at large. Especially in buildings where there is enough deferred maintenance that completing it all will take a lot of time. This will mean that some of your unit owners looking to sell and move elsewhere could face difficulties, which could create negativity toward the board. Encouraging your board to approach the community with honesty and a clearly defined plan of action to fix the situation will be crucial to maintaining the trust of the community.

A New Perspective on Reserve Funding

Thanks to those new regulations from Fannie Mae, condo and co-op buildings across the country are about to face a reckoning. One that will extract a heavy toll from any existing reserves they might have in place. 2022 is going to be a difficult year, spent juggling finite dollars across a series of expensive projects, and still somehow being used to keep a reserve fund from going empty.

We’re fully anticipating a strong focus on reserve funds, but whether that focus is positive or negative will depend entirely on the state a community is in–if they have no maintenances impacting FNMA loan eligibility, they will probably be eager to continue funding their reserves. But if they’re standing face to face with an ever-growing pile of bills to resolve maintenance issues throughout the community, they’re probably eyeing those reserve funds as their only saving grace.

Here’s how to approach each type of community:

• Balancing Budgets: For communities not about to pay through the nose for building repairs, there’s likely some sense of relief. But that relief needs to be kept in check. It isn’t enough to just remain business as usual. Staying on top of reserve funding will still be important, as will staying on top of their maintenance schedule–FNMA can determine a building to be in need of “significant deferred maintenance” at any time while their restrictions are in place. So creating a budget that supports future needs, while handling current maintenances, and keeping residents happy (which is, of course, the whole job description) will likely feel like a new burden to bear. Compiling time-tested tips and tricks for budget building that include ways to prioritize maintenance needs and manage the perspective of community members will offer a great deal of support to your boards.
• Trading Troubles: Communities facing a laundry list of repairs are likely thinking about depleting their reserves without adequately adding to them to solve the problem right in front of them as quickly as possible. This is a trap. All this will do is take the problem at hand and mold it into the same problem in the future. Impress upon your boards the importance of replacing the money they’re spending to complete repairs. It doesn’t need to be an exact dollar for dollar match, but there should be a serious effort to maintain healthy (if not lean) reserves even in the midst of heavy spend on maintenance. Work with your boards to prep them for the conversation they will inevitably have to have with the community about increased assessments and the importance of contributing to the community.

“This is going to be my year!” is the rallying cry for many at the start of January. But after everything we’ve been through in the past couple years, we’re likely going to cautiously tiptoe into 2022 and hope for the best. And while we can’t do much to impact grocery prices and COVID variants, a lot can be done to impact homeowner apathy and community involvement, which in turn drives profit for association management companies. That impact comes as a result of the latest addition to CINC’s portfolio, the HOAst e-voting platform.

You may be thinking that e-voting is something that is done only once a year, so what’s the point in looking into HOAst until your upcoming annual election? In fact, the features within HOAst are so interactive that it can be used year-round to ensure that your homeowners have their voices heard. Here are 22 ways your boards can use HOAst this ‘22 year – some of these may be available in Pro or MultiPro, but you can ask your account representative about the differences to see which one is right for you:

1. Send a poll to pick your spring social theme. Drive connectivity now by sending a quick poll to homeowners to see what they want to do for a spring get-together. The options are endless, from a food truck party to a kickball tournament.
2. Create a board member voting group. Sometimes even achieving a quorum on the board can be tricky, considering how busy everyone gets. Create a voting group just for boards to gather results for topics discussed at the last meeting.
3. Bid management and selection. When completing a project in the neighborhood, oftentimes you’ll have several vendors submit their proposal. Keep everything organized and have board members participate in the selection of the best vendor for your project.
4. Create a board vote for ARC Guidelines. Determine the planning, construction, and renovation of your homes in a formalized manner.
5. Revise ARC Guidelines. Perhaps you already have ARC Guidelines, but they could use a refresh. Use HOAst to have your board vote on revisions to create a more modern, fresh neighborhood appeal.
6. Vote on the entryway design. Have your homeowners choose the look and feel of the florals and foliage for your entryway in Spring and Summer. It’s a fun way to involve the whole neighborhood and gain excitement for a new season.
7. Ask for feedback on an event. Did you just complete an HOA meeting, or did you just have a Spring Social? Ask homeowners if they were satisfied with the occasion and how likely they’d attend future events similar to the one previously held.
8. Determine capital projects. Find out what capital projects are of interest to your homeowners so you can include the ones with the most interest in your budget and calendar. Then, share the results with everyone and how you will be acting on the plans.
9. Event RSVP. For your upcoming event, send out an RSVP through HOAst to get a good headcount of who from your association will be attending. This also serves as a great reminder for the event!
10. Board vote on Bylaw Amendments. Bylaw Amendments within an association can be time consuming, and it’s important that the changes are done in the appropriate manner according to state. Use HOAst to cross the Ts and dot the Is when you’re making a change to this document.
11. Homeowner vote for the removal of board members. This sounds awful, but it does happen. If a board member is acting in an unfair or inappropriate manner, you can use HOAst to have them voted off the board.
12. Determine pool construction or enhancements. The pool area is one of the most important areas within an association. See if your homeowners want to invest in new enhancements to the pool area, and what enhancements spark curiosity.
13. Vote on firework usage. The 4th of July is a great time of year, but things can get out of control. Gain consensus from your homeowners on how fireworks will be allowed this season, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
14. Check in owners at an annual meeting. Keep meeting protocols running smoothly and efficiently by electronically checking in your homeowners in attendance.
15. CCR Amendment Voting. Gauge interest from homeowners on making changes to the covenants based on the board’s recommendations.
16. Choose a charitable contribution. Vote on a charity that your community would like to donate to for an annual fundraiser, or as part of an upcoming event. This is a great way to give back to your local community and involve the whole neighborhood.
17. Yard of the Month. We know how excited and competitive suburbanites get about their lawn. Make it into a fun and friendly competition by celebrating the yard of the month!
18. Halloween costume contest. Hold a Halloween trunk or treat right before trick or treat begins this year, and have everyone vote for their favorite adult costume afterwards.
19. Holiday lights contest. Vote on the house that went the most all out for the holiday season this year, while also reminding neighbors of any rules you may have about festive decor.
20. Annual elections. HOAst is an incredible tool to use to achieve a quorum for your annual election without the hassle. Gather results in real time, share progress, and communicate with homeowners on their voting record.
21. Use it in your pitch to other associations. As your management company shares your value to potential clients, showcase HOAst from CINC Systems as one of the many innovative tools you have to drive homeowner participation and improve board relations.
22. Revenue stream. Finally, management companies have the ability to use HOAst as a revenue stream for themselves.

If you’re ready to dive into this list for your communities, ask us for a demo on HOAst and let us know what other CINC tools you’d like to see!

After two years of pandemic-induced uncertainty, community managers are feeling the brunt end of homeowner anxiety. That anxiety comes in the form of angry phone calls, emails, and texts circulating day and night. It’s crucial that leaders in association management are responding to this added stress and creating a culture that supports the mental health of their employees. Few organizations have been able to accomplish this quite like Spectrum Association Management in San Antonio, Texas.

“So much is put on the plate of a manager that burnout almost seems inevitable,” said Cameron Lange, who serves as the Vice President of Spectrum and the VP of Brand Development at their parent company, Orangebox Enterprises. “The structure that we’ve built of smaller portfolios and departmentalized services ensures that managers are only responsible for what is reasonable.”

“Our culture keeps our team here,” said Nicole Obiedo, President of Spectrum AM. “It’s easy for community and property management positions to feel like a thankless job, so we make sure we celebrate the wins.”

Spectrum Association Management has been a valued customer of CINC Systems since 2007, and their executive team serves as tremendous inspiration for organizations who wish to improve their people operations. Here’s how they deliver service to their employees in a manner that drives engagement, retention, and in turn, revenue.

Hybrid Schedules (Before ‘Hybrid’ was a Thing)

No one had heard a hybrid work schedule before the Pandemic, yet Spectrum had been implementing it all along. “We call it an Empowerment Plan, where we allot for a hybrid remote environment with flexibility based on the employees’ needs,” said Cameron. “A typical workday for an employee may be two hours at home in the morning, take the kids to school, come for the office for a bit, pick up the kids and have family time, and then head over to a board meeting in the evening. By offering this flexibility, we’ve seen less burnout and a better work-life balance.”

A hybrid and flex hour approach to work has practically become the norm across all industries. Allowing for this level of flexibility within community management may soon become an expectation amongst all managers.

MAD Hours

Driving culture within an organization comes from more than just a flexible work environment. When employees feel they are part of a mission that serves both the company and the community at large, it’s a win-win all around.

“We institute 40 MAD hours per employee on an annual basis,” said Nicole. “Whether they complete as a team or individually, this time is allotted to perform philanthropic actions across our community.” Every quarter, one of the teams at Spectrum visits a nursing home to coordinate fun social activities and simply serve as a person to talk to. “One of our internal values is to create good and bringing this value into our workspace is so important.”

Searching for the Best ODD Balls Out There

One may think it’s an insult to call someone an oddball at work, but the sentiment is the exact opposite at Spectrum. “We call each other ODD balls because it takes odd people to live in the industry and do the work we do,” said Nicole. Community management also requires hours outside of a traditional 9-5 setting, so implementing ODD hours is important to promote a healthy work life balance at Spectrum. “Our ODD hours offer flexible capabilities so that you can take time off when you’re working, say, three hours at night to manage a board meeting.”

The ODD ball energy is something that the team at Spectrum capitalizes on for recognition. “We provide the team the ability to offer ODD bucks. These are in $1 to $50 increments and can be given peer to peer or manager to co-worker. Once a month, employees can redeem their ODD bucks for gift cards or, once they have up to $100, they can redeem for an extra paid day off.”

The ODD balls at Spectrum know just how rough the average day in the industry can be, so they have ODD outlets to blow off steam and encourage one another. “We use a Facebook Group called the OI ODD Ball Insider, where we can post pics, highlight wins, showcase new team members and more.” While that sounds like a blast, we’d be remiss to mention that there is some rivalry within the group – football rivalry, that is.

Avoiding Burden and Burnout

At the end of the day, it’s employer policy that can make or break burnout levels. At Spectrum, the executive team ensures that employees have an appropriate set of properties in their portfolio that is reasonable to manage. “We’ve found that 5-8 communities per manager is appropriate for our people,” Cameron said. “We actually sold off our condo and townhome business because we were finding that the space created too much burnout on top of our single-family units.”

The average workday isn’t just about managing the day-to-day at Spectrum, either. “We have a SEED hour every day – Stop Everything Except Development. This hour features training time for employees to learn something that betters them in their career.” The education comes from a tool called Boardline Academy, which focuses on streamlined education based on job function and career path desires.

The Result Speaks for Itself

Employee engagement is one of the metrics measured at Spectrum. In 2015 their engagement rate was 46%; as of today, the number is now at 92%. Through continuing education, a flexible work schedule, and activities designed to improve morale, it’s no wonder that Spectrum is one of the most successful companies in the industry.

If you’re interested in learning more about how burnout can arise within community management and how to reduce burnout through a People Operations model, take our assessment and review our E-book here.

It feels like whenever we’re about to see precedented times, something brings us back to the unprecedented. From a new COVID variant to yet another natural disaster, there’s plenty of reason to have extra anxiety this season – and that anxiety leads to rising homeowner and board member tensions that are sure to affect those working in community association management companies.

You can’t control the outside world that increases homeowner tension, but you can control how it affects your level of burnout. How? By using technology to your greatest advantage. Here are five ways software can help you go from volcano-level burnout to feeling cool as a cucumber.

1. Mobile-first management tools

If you’re a community manager, you know that you’re able to better serve your clients when you’re out in the properties with them. Creating a workload that forces you to run back and forth from the office increases time traveling and administrative workload. Homeowners and boards also feel less connected with their management companies when they can’t put a face to the name. That’s why it’s so important to utilize mobile apps to complete home inspections, architectural requests, and more – you get to focus on building community and client relations, not day-to-day tasks.

2. Reduction of busy work

Automate, automate, automate. Software should be automating as much busy work as possible, such as payment matching and budget reconciliation. If you find that more than half of your day is spent completing tasks that a computer should be able to do for you, take a look at what technology you haven’t used to its fullest potential and ask your software provider for some additional training.

3. Automated project management

There are some maintenance projects that have to be done on a regular basis, such as pool cleaning and entryway upkeep. But with so much chaos that happens in a given day, it’s easy to forget essential to-dos. Software tools like CINC’s Portfolio Management Module basically serve as the assistant to the community manager. Weekly status reports, open task reports, and an ongoing maintenance calendar is automated so that you can stay on track without feeling overwhelmed and panicked. A monthly status report is also auto-generated to the HOA board, so they are always in-the-know and don’t have to ask about open action items.

4. Self-Service for board members and homeowners

One element to association management that can easily eat up time is calls and emails from board members and homeowners trying to make payments, review invoices, and look up other financial information. A strong software solution should empower the boards and homeowners to manage the bulk of their needs without having to reach out to the management company. Tools such as CINC’s homeowner and board app are designed to do just that. In CINC’s app, a board member can approve invoices, review financials, schedule meetings and send communication all through the tap of a button. Because of self-service tools like these, some CINC clients have been able to reduce call volume by over 70 hours or more in a month.

5. See the big picture

Finally – and most importantly – a software solution that gives your executive team a 360-degree view of the workload for all employees is instrumental in preventing burnout. CINC’s Management Module gives executives the ability to see all workloads, upcoming projects, and areas where employees are overburdened. Through these project management tools, better decisions can be made with respects to hiring and training new staff, trying more automation tools, and providing valuable coaching and feedback to the team.

Does your software have the ability to curb burnout, or are you feeling the heat? Our latest e-book on People Operations is a great read for you and your whole team, as you’ll learn more about ways to improve employee morale and take a quick assessment on the effectiveness of your software in empowering your team.

The conversation around mental health has picked up a lot lately. In the aftermath of a global pandemic, with long stretches of near-isolation and a new norm of remote work, many are facing a lot of challenges with their mental health.

The community association management industry is being hit especially hard. Managers aren’t just responsible for the business success of a community; they’re heavily involved with the boards they serve and the residents of those communities, many of whom are dealing with their own mental health struggles. Shouldering that much burden weighs on a person! It’s important to remember to take a step back and care for your own needs, too.

Spotting the Signs of Burnout

When you think about the signs of burnout that you see in others, they can feel a little obvious. Someone who’s irritable or overly tired probably isn’t sleeping enough from the long hours they’re working. Inability to focus or stay committed to a single task can be a sign that someone’s mind is stretched too thin and has too much on their plate. Tasks being missed or delivered late consistently shows that they’re overburdened in their work.

But when it comes to looking inward at ourselves, we’re not so great at seeing where we need help. We wake up tired and grab an extra cup of coffee to get us through the day. We miss a deadline but know it’s because five other emergencies came up that took priority, so it’s okay in the big picture.

Seeing the problems as a whole instead of as individual bumps in the road that can be temporarily fixed with caffeine or focus music is an important first step in seeing the signs of burnout in yourself.

You Feel Like You’re Overly Tired?

It’s safe to say that most of the world is a little burnt out at all times nowadays. That’s probably not the best thing, but we can’t solve the whole problem all at once. All we can do is take inventory of our own struggles. So if you find yourself reaching for more caffeine than normal on a routine basis, or dozing off mid-task, take note of it. Start keeping track of every extra cup of coffee or can of soda you’re having, or when you feel like you can’t keep your eyes open to finish the task at hand. Set boundaries and goals for yourself dictating what acceptable numbers look like so you know when you’re reaching (or have already reached) your limit.

Are You Easily Distracted or Struggling to Stay Focused?

Another reason why tasks don’t get finished is excessive distractedness. Now it’s totally normal to stop what you’re doing and watch your cat bask in a sunray for five or fifty minutes (kidding!) but if you find that you can’t keep a train of thought going long enough to finish a project, it’s worth taking a step back to reevaluate. Make a note of every time your mind has wandered away while you were in the middle of a task, not just the times something shiny or interesting actually took your attention away. The more frequently this happens, the more likely you are in serious need of a mental break.

Are You Having Trouble with Consistent Task Completion?

Putting a project to bed is always satisfying, but sometimes the steps to get there can get a little overwhelming. On our great days, or even on our good days, we can steel ourselves long enough to push through everything that needs to be handled and take care of business. But when your mind is overworked and you’re running on fumes, even the smallest tasks can feel like an uphill battle.

Take a few moments to gauge your current limits. If you find yourself saying, “I’m usually so good at this, I can get this done in five minutes most days, why am I struggling so hard?” You’re probably already burnt out. Being burnt out isn’t just about the physical limitations like exhaustion. Your brain is a muscle and also needs rest and nutrition. The more you put off necessities like adequate sleep or proper eating, the more likely your overload of work will take a harder toll, and the vicious cycle will drive you into the ground.

Confronting and Resolving Burnout

If you take away nothing else from this article – even if you’re just skimming to get the gold nugget of truth so you can switch back over to one of your 1,001 things on your to-do list – remember this: confronting your own burnout is one of the hardest things to do as a human being. It means admitting you have limitations that will impede your ability to deliver the tip-top highest quality of work at every possible moment, and it means admitting you can’t do it all on your own. And that is okay, and that is critical in being the best manager you can possibly be.

We live in a culture that praises and romanticizes “the hustle.” This is the idea that grinding out as many hours of work as you physically can without dying makes you superior or in some way a more successful person.

Don’t fall for it.

Especially as a community manager, the most important thing you can be for your boards, for your company, and for yourself, is healthy. Pushing yourself to and beyond your limitations is admirable once or twice. But when it’s the baseline for how you live your work life, eventually your body will rebel and shut down. Staying well-rested, staying healthy, and being able to consistently show up is the key to success. The grind is not.

So instead of skipping lunch again to check off another item or two on your list, or working three hours past your office hours to wrap up that project you could reasonably finish tomorrow, stop. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and take the break you’re owed. Take a lunch. Actually eat! Something more than a few bites of whatever you ordered so you could say you ate while you worked through the meal. When the office is closed, so are you! Fine, check the email that comes in at 9:55PM on a Friday. But when that feeling of anxiety tells you that you NEED to answer it immediately or all heck will break loose, tell it to shut up. Go to bed. Unless there is a real emergency (the kind that involve emergency services), don’t get sucked back into work mode. Your body deserves the time it needs to be you as a person, not you as a manager.

Something else the hashtag-grind-life crew won’t tell you is this: don’t be afraid to ask for help. There’s this idea that using tools or people that help you excel is taking a shortcut or in some way diminishes your success. But the most important part of your job is providing stellar service to your communities, and finding the tools to make that happen is jut as important as showing up and putting in the work.

The holidays are supposed to bring joy and togetherness, but for many employees, it’s simply added pressure. From trying to complete month-end reports before Thanksgiving to managing added homeowner stress, the shortened November and December months can put any employee into burnout mode fast. Plus, let’s not forget that everyone is dealing with their own personal family and financial obligations on top of the extra pressure at work. It’s something you as a leader need to be prepared for, too, as 66% of employees report additional stress during the holiday season.

When leading an association management company, it’s important to recognize when members of your team experience stress and burnout and to be proactive in creating a positive work environment. Here are five ways you can easily boost morale in the holiday season:

• Prioritize now.

There are about three working weeks in November and two in December – that can make regular day-to-day management feel impossible. Meet with your team to discuss the top priorities for the next two months and collaborate on pending deadlines that may be creating additional stress. Work one-on-one with your managers to ensure they are able to meet their deadlines and offer your support where needed.

• Give back together.

By now, you’ve likely scheduled community activities within your associations that give back to those in need. This is especially important in the holiday season, when everyday financial pressures surmount to overwhelming guilt. Generous community giving and social responsibility programs are known to drive employee engagement (and in turn, retention.) Taking time as a team to bring gifts to a local children’s hospital or sponsor a family for holiday presents are great ways to give back while alleviating stress.

• Enforce sick day policies.

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but a surprising number of employees will continue to report to work despite a desperate need to stay in bed. As colder weather leads to an influx of new colds – on top of the pandemic – it’s important to ensure that employees are taking the time off they need in the event they get ill. Remind your employees that if they burn out physically over the holidays, they’ll surely burn out mentally and emotionally.

• Let technology do the work for you.

Some of the best ways to alleviate stress come from technology. From web portals and apps that promote self-service for homeowners to project management solutions like CINC’s Management Module, there are plenty of tools that can help employees stay on top of their priorities while relieving them from tedious tasks. Take time now to communicate with your homeowners the self-service tools they have on hand to make payments, manage work orders, and more – that way they’ll have a friendly reminder of what’s available to them before they reach out to your management team. Take time to review with your teams their tools as well, and ensure they know how to utilize your technology to the best of their capability. Who knows – you may find a noticeable gap that requires training for the new year.

• Invest in new technology.

Finally, if you realize that your software solution is causing more harm than good for your employees, reconsider what you plan to use for the 2022 year. Perhaps it will be impossible for your accounting team to complete month-end reports before Thanksgiving, or perhaps your homeowners don’t have a mobile app that gives them the ability to quickly make a payment. Changing software systems may seem daunting, but remember: if you’re not giving your employees a toolkit that empowers them, another company will.

We hope that these quick tips will help you keep your company in a festive mood this holiday season. For more tips on how to build employee morale for the entire year, check out how Priestley Management Company keeps employees engaged in their company mission and vision.

It’s officially that time of year again! Budget season has arrived, and you’re probably getting on your boards right now about their budgets. But they aren’t the only ones who should be planning out next year’s expenses–you should be, too! If you haven’t started considering your own budgeting needs, consider this your own reminder: it’s time to get started on your management company’s annual budget.

Budgeting Built for You

Working with community associations, you know that your clients are all special and unique in their own ways, and you’ve probably spent a good deal of time making sure they know that. Because that’s how they look after their needs best–understanding what those needs are and how specific they are to each and every community. But as a management company, you’re not in the same boat. You cater to uniqueness, but your business model is not all that different from other businesses out there today. So planning your budget is going to be a little simpler in that regard.

Start with the Basics

Budgeting isn’t quite an exact science, but it does have some pretty standard processes. For example, taking a look at your previous year’s revenue is often the first step to creating a business budget, and one you’ll have in common with your boards. Examining how much your company made from incoming payments and comparing that number to last year’s projection will be very telling. It will show how well you followed your own expectations, and where adjustments need to be made in the coming year’s planning.

Take a Deeper Look

Budgeting is more than just the money coming in, though. It’s the projection of potential expenses you’ll be making and how they impact your company in the long run. You should be taking a serious look at how much you’re paying versus how much you’re getting from things like service providers, software solutions, and your marketing efforts (which you’re paying for, even if you don’t think so). Keep in mind that these expenses are all areas where the money you’re spending should be saving you at least as much in what would have been time spent on those tasks.

Questions Your Budget Should Be Answering

Your budget isn’t just a guide to survive the next year–it should be your map to success, to seeing your business thrive. With that in mind, there are a few big questions your budgeting process should be answering:

Where Can I Afford to Grow, and Where Should I Cut Back?

This is a multi-step process if you really think about it. One of those steps is assessing the value of your service providers and their own price changes could have a moderate impact on your expectations in the coming year. Looking to those numbers and determining the value being provided is where you will start to see where cutbacks can be made if needed. Taking a look at your staff and the work burdening your teams is where you’ll be able to determine how much growth you can and should be considering as well.

Can I Afford to Upgrade My Software?

Similarly, you should be assessing the cost of your current software partner. And more often than not, this question will actually be, “can I afford NOT to upgrade?” Because even if that cost says $0 spent on your expense line, unless your software is built for a community or property management company, you’re likely wasting money via time spent on daily, weekly, and monthly management and accounting tasks. This is an area where budget management can get a little tricky, because the way to save the most money could actually be spending more than whatever you’re currently paying out. Start by assessing the time your team