Is Your HOA Prepared for their Reserve Study?
Now is the time for your HOA to prepare for their reserve study. It is essential to conduct these routine assessments and ensure there are sufficient financial reserves for unexpected expenses in their neighborhood community. Unanticipated expenses can include a giant tree falling onto the roof of one of your community’s structures, a main water pipe bursting, or any acts of nature causing severe damage making properties and surrounding areas unsafe and unsuitable for your residents. Therefore, it is important to properly plan for these reserve studies to make sure your HOA is allocating enough financial resources to maintain your HOA’s reserve fund to account for these unpredictable disasters. While reserve studies cannot predict future disastrous events, their objective is to check for any potential structural issues or repairs that will need to be fixed in the future. These reserve studies will verify that buildings are up-to-date on safety codes and materials do not lend any potential health hazard for the residents in their community. However, it is important to remember that your HOA’s operating fund is very different from the reserve fund. An HOA’s operating fund is for routine maintenance and normal upkeep of your neighborhood community. In contrast, an HOA’s reserve fund in many ways is like an emergency fund. Ideally, an HOA reserve fund should be 70% to 100% funded; however, that may not always be the case. It is crucial to conduct a reserve study to establish somewhat of a starting point on how much more needs to be financially met to maintain a healthy reserve account. It is also critical to keep these accounts separate due to accounting purposes with the IRS. If they are not kept in individual accounts, the IRS can deem the money intended in the reserve fund as taxable income. Therefore, your HOA needs to make sure they are following all the proper guidelines and protocols in setting aside these financial resources for their reserve account; this establishment of an HOA’s fund balance account assists in accounting for every dollar spent and maintaining a clear record of expenditures and deposits in case they are audited. A reserve study can be conducted by someone within your HOA Management or a third-party company who thoroughly surveys your community’s properties for any wear and tear on interior and exterior repairs and makes observations of potential structural issues that could potentially cause any kind of dangers to the residents of your community. Atlantic & Pacific Management will ensure these reserve studies are done in a timely fashion. Once these reserve studies have been completed, the HOA can take these findings based on their research to formulate a financial plan on how much should be set aside, invested, or charged to residents to create budgets that will adequately fund their HOA reserve account and ensure their residents are always safe and protected! For a Reserve Fund evaluation, contact our Director of Community Associations at Atlantic & Pacific Management, Dominic, at dcirillo@apmanagement.net or (858) 672-3100.
Preparing Your Landscaping
As summer is already upon us, it is a good idea for residents to assess their landscaping needs and determine if their landscaping meets their community’s HOA’s guidelines, while simultaneously being cognizant of water conservation. This is especially important due to California’s ongoing drought problem. Here are some helpful summer landscaping tips for residents to follow: Implementing Hardscape When it comes to the larger surface areas of your landscaping, it is wise to think about investing in more hardscape. This can be anything from utilizing pavers, stamped concrete, or merely just laying down a concrete slab. You then can accent your landscape by placing terra cotta pots with seasonal florals and greenery. Depending on your budget, it may seem expensive initially to have something such as stamped concrete placed in your yard, but through time, it will be more eco-friendly because it will obviously require less water to maintain. Another option is using more decorative stones and pebbles for ground cover. Many creative possibilities exist for attaining an aesthetically pleasing landscape. Selecting Native Plants In selecting the type of plants to go into your landscape, take the time to do your research and choose plants that are appropriate for your specific climate and soil within your property, which will allow your plants to easily thrive in their natural environment. Selecting these native plants not only requires less water maintenance, but also promotes sustainability for your property to utilize drought-resistant plants. Check Your Water Irrigation System It is essential that you check for improper leaks in your sprinkler system that may lead to excessive water usage. Work with your landscaper or make sure that your irrigation system is targeted to directly water your greenery and plants and not misdirected to areas that do not need watering. Converting to an eco-friendly irrigation system can also be beneficial for water preservation. This can include installing automated sprayhead irrigators with standard nozzles, creating a fine mist, which allows for more water coverage while utilizing less water consumption. Also, using drip irrigators such as a rotating sprayhead nozzle will be one of the most efficient options for California landscapes. A water conservation tip is to schedule your irrigation system to water during sunrise or sunset because soil absorbs the most water during lower temperatures. In summary, your HOA would be pleased for their residents to follow some of these helpful water conservation tips. In addition, following some of the other suggestions will be extremely advantageous in continuing to maintain and improve the value of your home and your neighborhood. When seeking a reputable HOA Management Company that can advise you on proper landscaping guidelines and assist in your property management needs, contact Atlantic & Pacific Management at (858) 672-3100 or visit aphoamgmt.com/sandbox/.
HOA Summer Preparations For Your Neighborhood Community
It may not feel like it yet, but summer is right around the corner and it’s the perfect time for an HOA to start preparing for their neighborhood’s community spring cleaning to gear up for the summer. Warmer weather, BBQs, family gatherings, and prolonged hours of sunlight lend many residents to enjoy more of the outdoors. This can lead to a long list of projects that an HOA will need to accomplish in order to ensure their residents are pleased with their outdoor amenities and landscaping. Here are a few ways that your HOA could prepare for your neighborhood community this spring starting with: Repairs, Maintenance, and Construction With the change of daylight savings time, spring is the perfect time of year for repairs, maintenance, and construction improvements. This could include anything from fixing and upgrading the community centers with their indoors and outside amenities, as well as pathways or walking trails. Therefore, an effective HOA is constantly working on behalf of their residents and their communities to oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the neighborhood. Included with the upkeep are the amenities such as the clubhouse, tennis courts, pools, and the neighborhood’s common spaces. It is the HOA’s job to make sure all these shared community areas are up to par and meet all the requirements to ensure that all health and safety precautions are being met for their residents. If anything is substandard and not working properly, the HOA needs to hire the appropriate contractors to fix and repair the problem in a timely fashion. Preparation of Community Pools With community pools, things may be a little different this year due to the pandemic, so you may need to revisit your community pool’s rules and guidelines, and you most likely will need to reserve a spot before any usage. Updates should be made to meet local COVID-19 requirements. Though, restrictions are being lifted and as places are beginning to open up, placing proper notices and signage to promote health and safety for residents around the pool area is essential. This would also be a good idea to check that an HOA’s community insurance has adequate accident coverage, especially around the pool area. The last thing an HOA would want is to have an accident occur and find out after the fact that their insurance policy has expired and there is no coverage. Lastly, having adequate staff and hiring a pool maintenance company to ensure everything is functioning properly and routine cleaning is being performed. In addition, if your community HOA hires a lifeguard for added safety, it is ideal for your HOA to start looking for a suitable and qualified candidate now in order to be fully staffed and prepared for those summer pool activities. Preparation of Amenities If your HOA community offers parks, playgrounds, public BBQ areas, or other amenities that are common spaces, your HOA needs to make sure they are all ready for use. This could include making sure grills are properly cleaned, pet parks are properly fenced and stocked with pick-up bags, playgrounds are safe, benches and picnic tables are clean and sturdy, and all the amenities meet the standard requirements Inspect Sprinkler Systems & Landscape Maintenance Springtime is the perfect time to conduct an annual sprinkler test and check for proper water irrigation. With warm weather approaching, having your sprinkler system fail could end up being an unforeseen and costly expense. Not just with the sprinkler system itself, but also because most of your neighborhood landscaping with all the surrounding trees, plants, and florals will be affected if not properly watered. As a result, having your HOA ensure the sprinkler system is in proper working order will give them an idea of the current condition of the neighborhood’s irrigation system and any issues they could run into in the future. The HOA could also have their landscaping staff assess the expected lifespan of the sprinklers and determine the projected expense of how much it would cost to fix or replace the sprinkler system if needed in the future. This will assist in maintaining and beautifying the landscape of the neighborhood. In the springtime while everything is in bloom, your HOA can also oversee their landscapers to plant new greenery, ground cover and flower beds where needed to maintain and improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood’s community. As one can see, a great deal goes into an HOA, preparing and planning for the needs of their residents and their neighborhood’s communities. Having to schedule all the needed inspections, contract reviews, hiring contractors, and most of all accounting and staying with the HOA’s financial budget, can be quite the arduous task. Atlantic & Pacific HOA team will review your current community HOA plan and make recommendations. Our HOA division has served in San Diego for over 40 years along with his tenured experience in community development and property management. AP is proud to announce that their Director of Community Associations, Dominic Cirillo, is celebrating his 10-Year Anniversary this month. For more information https://aphoamgmt.com/ or call Dominic at (858) 672-3100 for a property management analysis.
Five Reasons Why You Should Hire an HOA Management Company
Most communities with an HOA have residents who are overwhelmingly satisfied with where they live. An effective HOA can have a huge impact on its community. Hiring the right HOA management company to guide your board will ensure success with the residents’ quality of life. To have an effective HOA, you need to have an effective HOA board. Volunteers in the community generally make up an HOA board; some members may lack experience or feel stressed due to the responsibilities on top of their daily lives. Luckily, many resources are available to help alleviate some of this stress by providing assistance in HOA management and giving peace of mind to the HOA board and the community. Below are a few reasons why it is worth it to hire an HOA management company: 1. Governance and Legal Expertise One of the most complex issues HOAs face is staying up-to-date with CC&Rs and by-laws. With a board consisting of volunteers, it is hard to find someone who is an expert or who has the time to become an expert in HOA laws and regulations. An HOA management company will provide legal experts to assist your HOA board. The HOA management company will keep your HOA informed on current regulations and by-laws and provide any legal advice. Another benefit of hiring an HOA management company for legal matters is enforcing rules and regulations. Since board members are members of the community, it can become awkward if a board member has to notify their neighbor of a violation. Having an HOA management company to take care of this for you removes any tensions that could build in such a situation. 2. Financial and Administrative Responsibilities Being the financial officer or financial adviser for an HOA comes with the duties of a full-time job. An HOA financial officer’s role includes annual and semi-annual budgeting, accounting, bookkeeping, and reserve funding; other duties include collecting the dues/assessments, including current and past dues, paying the bills, and more. This role can be one of the most important and most stressful ones for an HOA board. It is advisable to leave the financial administration to a professional HOA association manager. An HOA management company has financial experts to take the heavy lifting of the financial duties off the HOA board. They can also assist in other financial areas such as hiring contractors and managing contracts. 3. Amenity Maintenance and Upkeep Keeping community amenities up-to-date is a year-round task. Most likely, your community will need to hire contractors for landscaping, building upkeep, pool maintenance, and other services to maintain the amenities that your community offers. Searching for contractors, managing bids, keeping contracts current, and making sure expectations are being met is a great deal of responsibility for an HOA board of volunteers to manage. An HOA management service will take on these responsibilities for you, making sure you are getting the best contractors for your budget, ensuring that community standards are being met and amenities are staying up-to-date. 4. Other Professional and Administrative Duties Volunteer HOA board members may not realize the many other administrative duties that are part of the role. These duties can include keeping meeting minutes, organizing documents, keeping track of contracts, and ensuring legal documents are on hand and up-to-date. An HOA management company will take care of these tasks for you, including all administrative duties. 5. More Free Time for HOA Board Members Remember that HOA board members are usually volunteers that want to have a positive impact on their community. However, they don’t want to spend all their time on HOA needs. Hiring an HOA management company will give time back to the people who volunteer to be a part of the HOA board. It will also give them more time to focus on the bigger issues, make plans, and keep moving forward without being tied down by the tedious duties that come with being a part of an HOA board. Atlantic & Pacific Management can Help! Working with an HOA management company can relieve some of the stress that comes with being a part of an HOA board. Companies like Atlantic & Pacific HOA Management provide over 40 years of experience in helping HOAs thrive. Dominic Cirillo leads the Pacific HOA division of Atlantic & Pacific Companies. He has served in this position for 10 years and continues to strive for excellence and the advancement of the company’s homeowner’s association department. If you are in the market for a new HOA Management Company, contact Dominic at dcirillo@apmanagement.net. For more information, visit Atlantic & Pacific HOA Management.
How To Create An HOA Newsletter
How To Create an HOA Newsletter Creating a newsletter is a fun and easy way to communicate with the residents, disseminate information, send reminders, and generate a sense of neighborliness among the community. You will want your newsletter to be engaging so that the community members take the time to read it. This will mean creating a newsletter that is interesting, fun, and informative. To do this, it would be beneficial to use a few of the following topics, tools, and design features. Brainstorm Topics First, you will want to decide what topics need to be included in the newsletter. Some things that you will want to include are any upcoming events, meetings, and anything else that will be taking place within the community in the upcoming weeks and months; this could include HOA meetings, community get-togethers, upcoming construction or maintenance, any city or town events that may affect the community, and any rules and reminders that need to be shared. Then, think of some fun and interesting topics you want to include that the community will enjoy. This can include community member highlights, DIY articles and projects, recipes, games, infographics, and images. Putting Together the Newsletter Once you have your topics and images ready to go, the next step is putting the newsletter together. Start off with something fun like a community highlight to grab the attention of the reader; such topics could include giving recognition to a community member or a group of community members, featuring a pet of the month, sharing a story of something positive that happened in the community, or recapping any community events that may have recently happened. Current Events and Community Calendar Next, include sections with your upcoming events and reminders. Including a calendar can be a helpful way to give the reader a visual look at exact dates of when things are happening. If there are events coming up that require details or information, you can make a section with a few paragraphs describing the event. For example, if there is scheduled road maintenance coming up, let the readers know the expected dates and times of the maintenance and what times they can expect possible traffic increases. Reminders, Photos, and Other Topics For the rest of the newsletter, you can include maintenance tips, other community rules and reminders, fun articles and infographics, and lots of pictures and images. Use photographs of your community or resident events to make it more engaging. This will make your residents have a personal connection to your community newsletter and will make the text separate and easier to read. If you do not have current photos, inserting graphics is another excellent tip to make your community newsletter look more professional. Keep the newsletter balanced between fun and engaging items, and need-to-know topics and reminders. Keeping the newsletter interesting with fun topics will also ensure the reader sees the important topics. Need Help Creating Your Newsletter? A lot of responsibility comes with being an HOA board member. Committing to an HOA board on top of your job, family, and personal life can be time-consuming, and adding in the creation of a weekly or monthly newsletter may seem like just another laborious task. Working with an HOA management company can relief some of the stress that comes with being a part of an HOA board. Companies like Atlantic and pacific HOA management can help with anything related to your HOA, from creating a newsletter to creating a budget. For more information, visit Atlantic and Pacific HOA Management.
Five Benefits of Living in an HOA Community
A lot of people think of an HOA as nothing more than a body that simply sets community rules and collects monthly dues from residents. However, having an HOA is beneficial to any community. Below are five reasons why living in an HOA community is beneficial. 1) Well-Maintained Common Areas and Amenities Without an HOA, you are most likely entirely responsible for the upkeep of your amenities, and you will need to source your own repairmen and vendors when issues arise, which can be extremely expensive and inconvenient. An HOA ensures amenities such as pools, gyms, and common areas are well-kept at all times. A professional community management company will source, vet, and recommend vendors to your elected Board of Directors, making finding a reliable and trusted vendor extremely easy. 2) Increased Community Engagement In a community with an HOA, there’s something for everyone to do. This may not be the case in a neighborhood without an HOA to plan events and bring people together. Community gatherings and activities such as movies in the park, holiday-themed festivals, barbecues, board meetings and committee involvement allow for neighbors to get together, meet each other, create friendships, and grow as a community. 3) Access to Amenities Most HOA communities have a variety of features and amenities for their residents to enjoy that other neighborhoods may not have. Residents can enjoy walking trails, sport courts, swimming pools, barbecue pits, and neighborhood parks. If you live in a community with a homeowner’s association, part of your HOA dues goes toward the maintenance and upkeep of these facilities, and you have access to them as a community member. 4) Architectural Controls At some point, people may want to make an upgrade or change to their home. However, no one wants a neighbor building at all hours of the night or making an addition that could damage the look of the community. In an HOA community, residents are required to submit for approval any modification projects to the exterior of their home. The Architectural Control Committee (ACC) reviews each request to ensure consistency and continuity with original community design standards, as well as sets hours that construction and noise is allowed. 5) Consistent Property Values One of the biggest reasons why residents prefer living in a community with an HOA is because homeowners’ associations are proven to stabilize home values and prevent foreclosures. An HOA is in place to help you protect your home investment—and ensure that investment maintains its value. All owners must comply with the community rules and regulations related to the upkeep of their lawns, homes, and personal property. This is not only for a homeowner’s benefit, but also for the benefit of the entire community. Having rules in place to ensure the upkeep of everyone’s homes and communities allows the entire community to maintain its property values. Managing Your HOA Managing an HOA to ensure that communities are operating smoothly can be a daunting task, even for the most effective HOA boards. For assistance with any HOA related needs, contact Atlantic & Pacific HOA management.
Creating an HOA Calendar
Being an HOA member can be a more time-consuming task than you may expect. With meetings, deadlines, elections, budgeting planning, and everything else that goes into being a part of the HOA, you can find yourself overwhelmed trying to balance the deadlines and dates of an HOA on top of living your normal life. One way to help you and everyone else that is a part of your HOA is to create an HOA annual calendar. A calendar will help everyone stay on track, know when meetings, deadlines, and events are, and allow people to plan ahead. When creating your HOA calendar, there are some things you should take into consideration. Efficiency The calendar is in place to make the year run more smoothly. When creating the calendar, delegate people to complete each task. It is important to spread the workload out as much as possible so that board volunteers are not stretched too thin or over worked. First, make a to-do list and consider the amount of volunteer time that will be involved. Distribute volunteer items over time to spread out the work. Divide up contractor tasks by committees such as maintenance, budget, and landscaping if you do not have a professional manager. Flexibility Dates may shift, and items may be added as the year progresses, but having a general overview of what homeowners can expect through the course of the year can help them plan, budget, as well as know about in upcoming activities. The calendar should be updated during each HOA board meeting to reflect any changes. Whoever is assigned to be in charge of managing the calendar should notify the rest of the HOA and the community when changes are made. What to include: HOA meetings, board meetings, and any other meetings Review of vendor contracts Review of HOA budget: this likely will occur at your board’s annual meeting, but including this on the calendar can help homeowners plan to attend and come prepared with any questions. Review of safety and security issues: noting this on a calendar can bring homeowners together to talk through any recent or ongoing concerns. Review of HOA’s disaster preparedness plan: it’s especially important that homeowners be part of this discussion so that everyone understands what to expect in the event of a disaster. Work parties: note work parties and volunteer opportunities so homeowners can plan their schedules in advance and get involved in their community. Regular maintenance work: carpet cleanings, annual fire extinguisher and alarm inspections, window washings, gutter cleanings, and other regular maintenance items should be scheduled on the annual calendar. Fun activities and events: community-wide yard/garage sales, potluck gatherings, movie nights, holiday parties, or anything else the community is planning! When to Create Your HOA Calendar It is a good idea to create the calendar when you are planning your annual budget. This will allow you to visualize where and when you will be spending throughout the year. Other Considerations You may have other items to consider when creating your HOA calendar. Using an HOA management company can help you create an effective calendar or clear up any uncertainties you may have. For additional HOA support, contact Atlantic and Pacific Management.
Tips for Virtual HOA Meetings
With local regulations on social distancing, meetings, and group gatherings, a lot of Homeowner’s Associations are going to virtual HOA meetings. This may seem like a seamless transition; however, there are many things to consider when switching your HOA meetings from in-person to virtual. Choosing a Platform The first thing to consider is on what platform you will hold your HOA meetings. There are many options out there, so before choosing one, you should take a few things into consideration. 1) Security: You will want a platform that gives you a private room and is secure from hackers. 2) Accessibility: Does everyone who is attending have the necessary means to access the platform you chose? For example, if you are using Google Meetings, it requires everyone to have a Google account. Other platforms may limit the number of people that can join a call or meeting at one time. You will need to find something that allows all eligible people access. 3) User-Friendliness: Is the platform you chose user friendly? Keep in mind virtual meetings may be new to a lot of people, so you will want to choose something that everyone can easily use. Make a Plan and Prepare Materials Similar to a normal meeting, you will want to have an agenda of what the meeting will be covering. The difference will be in how the topics are presented and communicated to the HOA board. Most platforms allow you to share your screen. An easy way to present topics is by creating a PowerPoint and sharing it with the group. This will allow everyone to see what you are presenting and keep a smooth flow throughout the meeting. Voting You have a few options when it comes to voting. One is using a virtual voting application. If you choose to use a voting application, make sure everyone has access and knows how to use the application prior to voting. A second option is to send out ballots before the meeting and have a secure drop location. A few key people, such as the president and vice-president, can collect the ballots before the meeting and present results during the meeting. Other Considerations You may have other items to consider when conducting your virtual HOA meetings. Keep in mind this is a new environment for some people, and it may take some time for them to get used to it. For additional HOA support, fill in our form or contact Dominic at (858) 672-3100.
Five Tips for New HOA Board Members
Compliments to you for your new role as an HOA board member! Give yourself a pat on the back for your new position. Being an HOA board member comes with a lot of different responsibilities and requires you to wear a lot of different hats. To help you get started on your new role, Atlantic and Pacific Management has put together five useful tips. 1) Understand Your Role and Governing Documents You will need a clear sense of everyone’s roles inside and outside of the association. Understanding the roles and responsibilities of the board, association members, and the management company will help you assimilate how each contributes to the success of the association. Reading your covenants, by-laws, and other governing documents will also help you learn how your association works. There is an abundance of legal and industry terms with which you will need to familiarize yourself as well. Knowing the governing documents and legal terms will not only help you understand your role, but also help you when explaining things to your community. 2) Understand Finances Managing an HOA budget can be similar to managing the budget of a small business. It can be overwhelming, and if you are not familiar with finances and budgeting, it can be difficult to understand. You should first review the financial statement with the HOA treasurer or the property manager. It is the responsibility of the HOA board to make sure that the budget, cash flow, and reserves are being managed effectively. Conducting a midyear budget review is always a good idea, and don’t be afraid to reach out to your HOA management company for assistance. 3) Plan and Make Decisions Efficiently Being an HOA board member is a big responsibility and can become time-consuming. It also comes with a lot of decision-making power. Keep in mind this is something you are volunteering to do, and you most likely have a job and family to tend to as well. Plan and organize the time that you are dedicating to the HOA board, and make the most of it. In the time you are allotting yourself to the board, you want to be productive, so prioritize needs such as community projects and vendor contracts. Don’t rush decisions; it is okay to wait to make final decisions to ensure the best outcome. 4) Communication is Key Communication between the HOA board and the community is essential to maintain a happy and trusting relationship. Make sure the board is being transparent with the community and listening to feedback. The community should know what’s going on with the board, in the association, and how money is being spent. At times, the information being disseminated won’t be what everyone wants to hear, but that is a part of building a trusting and informed community. 5) Ask Your Management Company for Education and Assistance The community association management company provides instruction, service, support; enforces your association’s policies; and ensures appropriate communication to all homeowners and residents. It also assists with financial management and budgeting, creating your reserve study, maintaining records, managing vendors, and connecting you to additional expertise when you need it. More Tips, Information, and Assistance Atlantic and Pacific Management offers a full spectrum of HOA management and residential support services in San Diego County. A&P can review all your HOA needs, including assistance with your budget. Reach out and see for yourself how A&P can help your HOA become more successful.
Have You Started Your 2021 HOA Budget? Here Are Three Steps to Start Your Planning
The end of the year is approaching fast, which means it is time to start your 2021 HOA budget. You should start your HOA budget process now to give your HOA enough time to create an effective budget for next years. There are some essential items, documents, and steps to take to prepare for next year’s budget. While each HOA is different and will need certain unique provisions, there are starting points to help any HOA initiate the budget process. Below are a few steps to set up your homeowner’s association for success when creating next year’s budget. Step 1: Create a Timeline The budget planning process is a complex activity that must start early so the budget can be finalized and approved prior to the beginning of the new year. Creating a timeline will help your HOA stay organized and on track. The first task on your timeline should be collecting necessary documents and materials, if you haven’t already done so. This can include your HOA’s reserve study, contracts and vendor agreements, operating expenses, and any other financial documents you have. The next item on the timeline will be the actual construction of the budget. This will require the planning of meetings, creation of a physical budget document, and finding where you can cut costs, or where you may need to have increases. Constructing the budget can be challenging. It may be worth considering finding an HOA management company to assist you with the details and structure of your HOA budget. The last part of your timeline will be reviewing your draft budget, making any necessary last-minute changes or provisions, and then finalizing and distributing the budget. Step 2: Define Community Goals Your HOA goals will largely define what must go into your budget. What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming years? For instance, if your community is planning to install a new playground, factor that into your budget. If it is an expensive undertaking, you cannot just drastically increase HOA fees. A good idea would be to dedicate a certain amount from HOA fees to the project, and allow enough time to save up for it over a period of a few years. Remember, community goals come from the community. These are not objectives your homeowner’s board alone can decide on. A good practice is to survey residents before your budget planning session to gather information. Then, assess these goals and identify which ones are worth pursuing. Step 3: Anticipate Expense Increases and Contact Vendors There will be unavoidable expense increases every year. This is something you need to anticipate and expect when planning your budget. A good way of determining what some expense increases will be is by contacting your vendors. Contact existing vendors to find out what their anticipated increases may be for the coming year. Examples of these operating items include contracts for landscaping, pest control, pool maintenance, etc. Another area to look for possible increases is within your maintenance and utility expense. You can contact local utility companies and they will tell you what their increases will be for the next year. You can also use historical information to compute the estimated annual expense. Once you have completed these three steps you should be able to begin your HOA budget. If this is your first time constructing an HOA budget, or if you would like some assistance in taking some of the stress off you and your HOA board, consider hiring an HOA management company. Atlantic and Pacific Management offers a full spectrum of HOA management and customer support services in San Diego County. A&P can review all your HOA needs including assistance with your budget. Reach out and see for yourself how A&P can help your HOA become more successful.