Residents and developers of Brick Ridge Estates have been in disagreement over many issues, especially whether the homes should be governed by an association.
A mom who likes to wear a mermaid tail in the pool to entertain the kids, gets a lot of backlash from the homeowners association and the city for swimming in pools that don't allow fins, goggles or toys
A lawsuit filed against engineers over structural issues and non disclosure has lead to an award of $5.05 million to the condominium association.
The reserve study consists of a number of estimates and assumptions. All of them are important, but one stands out as having significant impact upon the calculation of needed reserves - remaining life of components. As an example, if your previous reserve study indicated that the remaining life of the roof was 15 years and it is now determined to be only 10 years, then you have much less time to accumulate the needed funds, which translates into higher assessments. That is considered a change in estimated remaining life.
So how is remaining life calculated? First of all, recognize that it is an estimate. Unless the major repair or replacement is imminent and the date is known, the remaining life is an estimate. The actual remaining life may be shorter or longer than what is estimated in the reserve study. In more than 20 years of reserve study experience, we have seen components that have lasted only a small percentage of their original estimated life, and others that have lasted multiples of their original estimated life. One of the purposes of the reserve study is to attempt to predict the remaining life as closely as possible.
When a component is placed into service, the first estimate of remaining life is likely to be based upon a warranty, manufacturers’ representations, contractor estimates, cost estimating database, or common industry practice. You may, in fact, have different estimated lives from each of these sources. It means you've got to make a decision as to which estimated life you choose to use for your reserve study. This life is known as the useful life and the period of time is known as the normal life cycle or replacement cycle, as virtually all components are anticipated to deteriorate over a period of time known as their normal life cycle.
As time progresses, the condition of the component will change, and perhaps not in accordance with the original estimated life. This, again, is normal, as components rarely deteriorate exactly in accordance with the estimated normal life cycle. That means the estimated remaining life may be adjusted in each reserve study after the component is placed into service. That's not likely, but it can occur. One of the primary reasons for performing the component condition assessment as part of a reserve study site visit is to determine the estimated remaining life of each component. Again, this may be accomplished in several different ways.
- 1)We, as reserve preparers, ask you (or your maintenance staff, support vendors, or contractors) what your future plans are for major repair or replacement of each significant component. As an example, it does little good for me to assume that a roof with an estimated original life of 40 years that is now 15 years old (and therefore should have a remaining life of 25 years) is going to reach its full lifecycle when you already know that you have significant issues due to either product failure or improper installation, and that you are estimating you need to replace the roof within the next 10 years.
- 2)We ask you about your current maintenance activities and any factors (such as excessive use or extreme wear and tear) that exist that may impact the remaining life of each significant component.
- 3)Based on our own observations and experience, and with knowledge of when the component was placed into service, we evaluate the condition and form our own estimate as to the remaining life of each significant component.
- 4)We inquire about warranties and product quality (which is not always evident from visual observation).
Clearly, judgment comes into play in making the remaining life decision based on any of the methods above.
Since the reserve funding requirement is a function of the aggregate remaining lives of all components combined, the more accurate the remaining life estimate, the more accurate the funding plan will be. For those associations that use a baseline funding goal, any significant reductions in estimated remaining lives can plunge you into special assessment territory. That is one of the reasons why our reserve study company continually recommends against using a baseline funding plan. It simply leaves you no room for significant changes in remaining life or replacement cost.
A caution here - many times we have gone on site for the first site visit of an Association that is a new client for our Company and, as we have our initial discussion with Association management and maintenance staff, are told that they intend to repave the streets (or pick any other reserve activity) simply because the prior reserve study says now is the time to do it. That's putting the cart before the horse. The reserve study should be based on your maintenance plan, and your maintenance plan should be based upon operating maintenance activities and the physical condition of the components. While the reserve study may be the financial representation of a maintenance plan, it is not itself a maintenance plan. Don't confuse the two.
The Servant Leader
Much has been written about a form of leadership called the “servant leader”. This title, dubbed by Robert Greenleaf as a form of leadership in 1970, has been hailed as the modern model of leadership. But is this really a new form of leadership, or is it simply a variation on a theme?
As in many organizations, the president of the community Association is recognized as the leader of that organization. The actual task of management is often delegated to an employee or an outside management company. But is the president still performing a management function? The answer is yes, as the leadership function itself is divided into two sections: leadership and management. The vision promoted is the leadership function, while the serving activities constitute the managerial function. The delegation of a portion of the management tasks to an employee or third-party management company simply reduces the number of management tasks that the president performs.
Here's a list of characteristics that many believe are central to the concept of the servant leader:
- Awareness - The servant leader must understand his or her own values, biases, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the values of those served.
- Foresight - The servant leader has a well-developed sense of how the past, present, and future are connected.
- Stewardship - The servant leader is a steward who holds the organization's resources in trust for the greater good of those served.
- Listening – The servant leader is one who can listen effectively to others.
- Empathy - As discussed above under “awareness,” the servant leader must be able to understand the perspective of others.
- Persuasion - The servant leader is recognized as one who influences others through his persuasive capabilities.
- Conceptualization - The servant leader is someone who can integrate present realities and future possibilities.
- Commitment to others – The servant leader is responsible for serving the needs of others. This means thinking about you, not me.
- Building community – The servant leader is someone who helps create a sense of community.
- Diversity – The servant leader values diverse opinions and seeks out opposing points of view.
- Trust - The servant leader cultivates a culture of trust.
- Humility – The servant leader does not wear the title of president as a badge to show who is in charge. Rather, he knows that it's not about the leader; it's about others.
The primary thrust of those promoting the servant leader model of management and leadership appears to be setting forth a leadership model that is directly opposite that of the dictatorial leadership model. But is it really a distinct leadership model, or is it simply a difference in emphasis and style? There are many different definitions of management, but they all seem to focus around a core concept of creating maximum benefit from the resources available.
The dictatorial leadership model could often be described as the most efficient form of management. It can work well with a strong leader who has a clear vision of the future and takes whatever actions are necessary to reach that vision. Those promoting the servant leader model of leadership appear to claim that the dictatorial leadership model in fact is not leadership at all; it's simply management. I don’t see it that way. The vision itself represents the leadership function; the management style adopted represents the management function of how to reach the vision.
Can you actually separate leadership from management? I'm not sure you can. The servant leader is one who uses persuasion to influence others towards his or her vision. The dictator simply orders others towards his vision. The dictator is probably very efficient; the servant leader is likely less efficient. The dictator, however, is not nearly as likely to have the “buy in” or support of his followers, while the servant leader is very likely to have a majority or full support of his followers in achieving goals. If the vision happened to be the same between these two leadership styles, the net result in achieving the goal might be the same. The difference is that the dictator likely would not have the support of his followers to perform the next task, whereas the servant leader would likely have the support of his followers in achieving the next task. In the long run, that may turn out to be a more efficient form of leadership.
The type of organization may have a significant influence upon which form of leadership works best. For instance, in corporate America the dictatorial/top-down leadership style is the most common model of leadership. However, those served by corporate America are both the employees and customers of the company. Assuming the company is producing a product that is desired by the customers, then it is the employees who are most affected by the leadership style. Employees are not volunteers.
In the community Association, those served are the members of the Association. While membership in the Association is voluntary, once a member buys a unit or lot within the Association, they become a fixed portion of the group or members served by the Association leadership. One huge difference from corporate America is that the members of the community Association are volunteers. They don't have to participate in any way in their community Association, and many choose not to do so. In fact, the primary reason many people buy in a community Association is that they can have the benefit of recreational and other amenities on a group basis that they could never afford on an individual basis - and they don’t have to worry about maintenance of those amenities. For the leader of the community Association, the challenge is much greater than in corporate America simply because the members are volunteers, not employees. They can make a choice every single day as to whether to participate or not to participate.
One of the ways that the community Association leader can influence or persuade other volunteer members is by example. Treating your fellow members as you would like to be treated yourself is the first step. My many years of experience in the community Association industry have demonstrated to me that the vast majority of members of Associations are well-satisfied with the Association experience. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the news. What we see in print news is the very small minority of interactions that don’t work well. Some of these actions are the direct result of a failure of leadership. As an example, those boards where the directors rule with a firm hand without demonstrating empathy towards their fellow members are much more likely to have an unhappy group of homeowners.
I have not reached any conclusion with this article. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and observations on this concept called leadership. Others I have talked to appear to have fully embraced the concept of the servant leader model. I still need some convincing, but probably just with the issue of it being a completely separate leadership model. I can’t argue with any of the characteristics described above. I see great benefits to that style of leadership, particularly as compared to and contrasted with the dictatorial style of leadership. However, I'm not sure I really see it as a completely different model of leadership. I simply see it as a difference in emphasis and style.
Homeowners can now install drought-resistant landscaping or other native, water conserving lawns without being legally scrutinized by their homeowners association.
When purchasing a home many homebuyers don't ask enough questions when buying into a homeowners association and find themselves shocked by the restrictions.
Lawmakers feel Senate Bill 1454 violates the Constitution's single-subject rule by combining different topics in a bill. The bill tackles a number of changes to homeowners association procedures.
A homeowners association succeeded in removing their three-person board. The recall election was called by the association because they felt the board was misspending association funds.
Residents of a golf and country club are upset because they feel the golf course is in disarray and unsafe and that their property values have suffered because of it.
