Are you cut out for living in a Homeowners Association?

As you can see in this infographic from HOATown, the prevalence of community associations has been on the rise for the last few decades. Living in an association has definite benefits, but there are also some drawbacks.

Benefits

1. Sense of Community - The feeling of "belonging" is strong in a community association. According to property manager Jessica Ogle, one great benefit is "the friendships... and bonds that could last a lifetime, not only for the owner, but for the children in the community."
2. Rules and Structure - For people who prefer to have a strong set of guidelines to go by, the structure of a community association can be very attractive.
3. Uniformity in the Community - Living in an association, you can be relatively certain you won't have to deal with your neighbors painting their house magenta or deciding to build a moat in the front yard.
4. Amenities - Homeowners associations charge an assessment to their residents that makes it possible for them to maintain the shared areas and responsibilities of the association (perhaps a swimming pool, or the landscaping in a common area). This allows residents to enjoy benefits and amenities they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Drawbacks

1. Too Much Closeness - Because a formal community is more "connected" by nature, some people might find that there's a little too much "togetherness." Sometimes the lines between Association business and personal business can be blurred and that may not be ideal for all residents.
2. Rules, Structure, and Uniformity - As much as this is a benefit, it can be a drawback for those who prefer to have full autonomy when making decisions about their properties.
3. Cost - The cost of the association assessment may be too much of a financial burden for some.

Ultimately, the choice of whether or not to buy a home in an association will depend largely on your own disposition and personal preference. When you're looking at association homes, be sure to ask about the association's rules and policies to help gauge whether or not the community is a good fit for you.

Rent vs. Buy: Which should you choose?

Should you rent a home or buy one?

Many people struggle with this decision. To be sure, both options have advantages and disadvantages. For example, renting is more flexible and comes with fewer maintenance worries, but paying rent doesn’t build equity or amount to a long-term investment the way paying a mortgage does. Homeownership, a critical component of “the American dream,” provides a sense of permanence and security, but can be expensive if the home requires more maintenance or repairs than expected.

The decision is can have a big impact on your future, and it often comes down to personal preference and financial considerations. Luckily, there are resources available to help you weigh your options and come to the best choice based on your individual needs.

• This New York Times interactive calculator takes customized inputs and produces an easy-to-understand graph illustrating when it’s best to rent or buy: Is It Better to Buy or Rent?
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research provides current and historical information on housing market conditions: U.S. Housing Market Conditions
• The Khan Academy features an extensive selection of information on housing, including a discussion on renting vs. buying: Housing
• These three resources all provide a nice breakdown of the issue:
• The Chicago Tribune: Renting vs. owning: Which path is right for you?
• Zillow.com: Owning vs. Renting a Home
• Catherine Hawley (from SaveUp, writing for the Huffington Post): When to Rent vs. Buy a Home

Of course, before making any life-changing decisions, it’s always best to consult a financial advisor who can assess your individual situation and help you determine the best course of action based on that assessment.

Tidewater Property is Built to Last

Strong Foundations and Customer Service

Founded in 1989, Tidewater Property Management began as a company solely focused on association management for condominiums and homeowners associations (HOAs). In our early days, we were a small mom-and-pop shop with one product to offer and one way to provide it. Regardless, we put our heart and soul into what we did - we didn’t have all of the technology and resources available at that time, but we certainly provided what we could: personal customer service.

We have since grown and expanded, now offering different association management packages tailored to each community's needs. We provide today's most advanced technological innovations and feature a stable of the most well-trained and experienced management professionals in our specific industry. Our Corporate Headquarters thrives in Owings Mills, Maryland, servicing over 250 clients with over 18,000 individual units throughout the Baltimore Metro area. Last year, we opened our second office located in Calverton, Maryland, primed to serve the DC Metro region. Tidewater Property Management is now also part of The Tidewater Companies, providing property management for community associations and rentals; property repairs and maintenance; and real estate brokerage services.

Now more than ever, we maintain the same level of attentiveness and care with which we began. The highest of professional standards and our dedication to personal customer service have remained at the core of our corporate culture – it is why we manage communities today that have been with us since we opened our doors a quarter of a century ago. It is why we are an Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC®), why we are A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau, and why Tidewater is built to last.

We still may not be as old as most of our competitors; after all, the community association management industry boomed in the late 70s/early 80s, and Tidewater came almost a decade later. That hasn't stopped us from catching up to and, in many cases, surpassing the competition. Our footprint reaches all the way from southern Prince George's County through Maryland and even includes some parts of Pennsylvania. 

Leadership

The backbone of a company is its leadership. Tidewater would not exist or be the company it is without Stanley Greenberg. With degrees in both Accounting and Engineering, Stanley brings the best of both worlds to the property management industry. More importantly, he has created a company with a quality environment for employees, which helps us to attract the best talent for the job. The importance of this can’t be underestimated; a company is nothing without its employees. Stanley recognizes this, and Tidewater is renowned in the industry for its team of dedicated professionals that sought employment with this family-oriented corporation. The property management industry in general has a disappointingly high turnover rate; it can be a tough business, and not everyone is cut out to be a career community manager.

Stanley’s and Tidewater’s approach helps to weed out the weak and retain the strong.  While each and every employee is held to the highest standards and expectations, employees want to take care of Tidewater’s clients because they are happy, and happy employees want to give back to Stanley and the company. Employee benefits include competitive salaries, generous company matches on retirement contributions, company-paid premiums and deductibles for individual and family medical insurance, voluntary short and long-term disability, life insurance, and ample paid-time-off, not to mention a fully-stocked kitchen, monthly barbeques, year-round holiday celebrations, and much, much more. Who wouldn’t want to work for Tidewater and do their best to stay? The client notices and benefits from this the most.

Because of his business acumen, his ability to assemble the right team for a client, and his passion for the industry, Stanley’s leadership is another reason Tidewater is built to last.

Why Choose Tidewater?

We are often asked “Why choose Tidewater?” After all, we have a lot of great, respectable competition in the industry. But when talking to people who are looking to switch property management companies, they usually say that they are looking for more. They may be happy with some things about their current management company, but want more or better service in other areas. Tidewater not only fills in the gaps in the areas that were lacking, we enhance the services they were already receiving.

Our updated logo speaks to this juxtaposition of the new and the tried-and-true – Tidewater’s unique combination of innovation and tradition. The new logo still resembles the old one to represent the customer service that we have always provided and that got us to where we are now. However, its clean, modern appearance represents that we continue to progress, modernize, grow and improve. The circle of our logo, both past and present, signifies that we are a full-spectrum company in terms of the work we do, our high standards and values, and the emphasis we place on customer service and satisfaction. Clients benefit from all of the resources and technology of a big company and still enjoy the personal service of a small company.

Our slogan and mantra, Progress in Motion, means that we constantly push ourselves to innovate, which keeps us at the top of our game. It’s impossible to become complacent when you are always striving to achieve new heights, and it says to the client that we will find the most effective solution for them, even if it means changing things up and thinking outside of the box. But it’s just as important to keep, refine, and perfect practices that are proven to work. Whether trying something new or refining a current practice, our main focus is on proactive solutions, and most importantly, results. Our clients can see and feel that, as much as they want more, we want it more for them.

In many ways, we’re not just here to stay and we’re not just here to last. We are here to prosper, advance and progress the community association management industry as a whole into a brighter, more secure future.

Club CAI – Five Stars and Two Thumbs Up!

In today’s community management world, we are all stretched out pretty thin having to deal with board meetings, emails, classes, seminars, inspections, vendor meetings, and whatever you can squeeze in to what has never been a 9 to 5 job.  It’s amazing how budget season, pool pass season, and snow removal season all start to blend in to a year-round, ongoing process.

In our company, Tidewater Property Management, we sum it up in three words – Progress in Motion.  It’s the non-stop plugging away, advancing, and pushing forward and onward that keeps the momentum going and building in order to be successful in this industry, in this day and age.

With this being said, it is important to make a difference when and where you can.  At the end of July, I was excited to see an email from the Chapter, subject line:  CAI MENTOR PROGRAM! I am writing this article as an endorsement to this effort and the folks who willingly volunteer to be a Mentor.  You see, while leading the Membership Committee last year, I and a team of dedicated volunteers helped create Club CAI.  I am saying this because I am proud of Club CAI and its mission – it is the result of countless hours of brainstorming and planning.  It was a difficult decision to hand over the reins to Ted Porter of PuroClean, but I was happy with the groundwork we laid and I knew that there would certainly be people that would volunteer as Mentors and that Club CAI would be a success with Ted’s brilliant leadership.  With my crazy schedule, it was all I could do to help get Club CAI up and running.  But now, its success is due to the support of the CAI Chapter, the Board, the Membership Committee and the Mentors.  These volunteer members are available now to provide the guidance that anyone in our industry, new or experienced, can take advantage of.

With a career in this industry, it is important to gain as much knowledge as possible and to stay on top of the ever-evolving laws and standards.  That’s the beauty of the CAI seminars and classes.  Take advantage of them – you can’t get the industry-specific information from anywhere else.  But when your schedule is booked with board meetings, emails, inspections, and vendor meetings and you need answers quickly, call a Mentor from Club CAI.  They can offer you expertise on issues from accounting to insurance to association law.

Some of us may be competitors, but at the end of the day, we are all in this together!

The Young Manager

Community Associations Institute (CAI) is the international organization that supports the community association management industry.  Tidewater is a member of the Chesapeake Region Chapter.  Below is an article titled The Young Manager that I submitted for their magazine, the Beacon...

“Good morning!  My name is Gianna Rahmani and I am here taking the fast track to my PCAM®.  I am the Director of Operations & Marketing at Tidewater Property Management in Owings Mills, MD, and I have been in property management for over a decade now (since 2001).  And, no, I was not in diapers when I got my first job in this industry!”

I am young, and I am Asian – quite the combination for being mistaken as a little kid!  And so, nine times I’ve used this standard introduction (or some variation thereof) at the opening of each CAI course I’ve taken when the proctor goes around the room and asks each person to introduce themselves.  Because frankly, my career in Real Estate started as soon as the law allowed – I turned 18 and so it began.  Now, I am proud to say that I have completed the M-100, all 200-level courses, the M-310 for Management Company Administration, and the notorious PCAM® case study.

I don’t mean to scare anyone, but even for someone that has always been studious like me, that PCAM® case study was a true whirlwind.  The 30 days following was like a mourning period – I felt like I should have worn black the entire month, not talking to anybody and not participating in other extracurricular activities, up until the due date when I drove down to CAI’s headquarters to deliver my “book”.  The relief I felt when I received notification of passing was like no other.

But compared to the challenges of being a young manager, the PCAM® case study is nothing!  I mean, who takes little kids seriously?  What I am thankful for most is that my bosses see past my youthfulness.  They realize that young managers are ambitious, energetic, and motivated.  They are technologically savvy, go-getters, thinking out of the box and bringing in fresh ideas.  Their downfall?  Lack of experience.

And what is it that everyone in property management says, even when they have been in it for 20 to 30 years?  That they are still learning.  There is always something new that they have never before encountered or even heard of.  Property management is that kind of business.  You can take as many courses as you’d like, but it is a “learn from experience” career.

So here is some advice I would like to give young, or simply inexperienced, managers in order to be successful:

1.     Find a balance between being mature and acting your age.  You don’t want to be someone you’re not.  Again, who you are brings many positive qualities to the table.  But make sure that you are mature enough to know that business is business, and it comes before anything else.  Take your job seriously and people will come to respect you for it and, in turn, take you seriously.

2.     Accept the fact that you don’t know everything.  It is impossible and, quite frankly, unnecessary.  Your job is to surround yourself with the people that can give you the answers – bring the experts to the table and ask them the right questions.  Show appreciation for the people that support you and give credit where credit is due.

3.     Admit when you make a mistake, then take responsibility and learn from the experience.  Nobody is perfect and nothing has earned me more respect than following this rule.  Just remember to do all you can to fix it and prevent it from happening again.

So whether you are young, or young at heart, focus on these three tips and I promise, heads will be turning.

Our Management Fees are Too High...or are they?

One of the toughest challenges I have faced in submitting proposals for the management of a community is that there is no easy standard to which I can compare our fees.  Feedback from potential clients has varied greatly from our fees being right in line with the other proposals, or from too low to too high.  I had to find out why there is such a wide range out there, and my question has been answered!

It has come to my attention (and, more importantly, to several communities' attention) that the money communities pay to a management company extends significantly past "management fees".  Some were completely surprised by the extra charges, some were aware that there would be extra charges, but all were shocked by the amount of charges that went above and beyond the quoted management fee.

I was shocked myself, and it boils down to what I believe "management" is.  Is it to manage the community's financials by doing their account receivables and payables?  Certainly.  Is it to manage the communication between the Board and its homeowners?  Absolutely.  Is it to manage emergency situations in which residents and vendors are involved?  Of course.  Then why would I charge the community extra to "receive" a homeowner's payment?  Or, why should I charge an additional "administrative" fee to send a violation letter?  Or, why should I charge an "emergency on-call" fee?  In these cases, what does the management fee cover?

At the end of the day, a management fee is a management fee is a management fee; it shouldn't be a fee you pay us monthly just because it is a line item on your budget - it should be the fee you pay us to manage your community.  Postage, copies, and storage - yes, I agree that these fees are in addition to a management fee because they are items needed to manage your community.  But if I were to nickel and dime every association for everything we did to manage their affairs, the accounting itself would be a full-time job.  How in the world would there be time to actually manage the community?

I have made it a point not to talk negatively about my competitors, whom I respect greatly.  I actually consider it bad business practice to do so, so I will never call out a company that does the above.  As a shrewd businessman, one may even respect the fact that a company has found a way to minimize their overhead costs.  But that leaves the community, you as the homeowner, to pay for that business's overhead.  I say, analyze your financials, check out the companies you do business with, and make sure you are paying a company to service you.

So who is "G"? (pt. 3)

Tidewater Property Management, Inc. is owned and operated by Stanley and Marc Greenberg, and it was built on the foundation of personal customer service for community associations - slightly different from the rental property management with which I had more experience, but definitely as interesting and intruiging.   I found that the knowledge I already had about Real Estate and property management was a solid basis for  learning about master and sub-associations, community budgets, ARCs, turnover meetings (and I can go on and on), which I did as the father-and-son's administrative assistant.

As these new terms and concepts became second nature to me, I was offered a new opportunity as Tidewater's Director of Operations and Marketing.  In this role, I started building close relationships with the vendors that supported our communities and our clients themselves.  I met with current and potential clients and studied the qualities of a property management company that were truly important to them.  It was easy to implement systems that focused on enhancing the services we provide because the foundation had already been set.  The management style with which Stanley and Marc (and the property managers, accounting, and administrative staff they trained) approached our clients was one of genuine personal customer service - anything and everything is done with one question in mind - what would we want if we were the customer?  Quick response times, a strong and apparent presence in the community, proactive collection of fees, conservative spending, creative planning, advice based on knowledge and experience all come to mind.

Similar to the way they treat their customers, the familial environment that Stanley and Marc provide within the office itself makes Tidewater my "home away from home", where my co-workers have become my closest of friends and my employers have become as close to me as family.  We work together as a team day in and day out to provide the best service to our clients in a place where business does get personal - you can't provide good property management otherwise.  By the same token, the "personal"  becomes part of business within the Tidewater family itself.  Stanley and Marc have remained steadfast in providing for us, our futures, and our own families with generous benefits that we enjoy today and that will pay off in the future.

At Tidewater (where we have monthly barbecues and daily motivational sessions, where I get a call from my employers to see how I am feeling when I am sick, where my co-workers take part in my sons' birthday celebrations, and where I can take my sons to work when they don't have school), my two separate love stories of family and property management intertwined.