VP Dolan

Ten Tips for Finding the Best Atlanta Property Management Company For Your HOA.
HOA management companies in Atlanta range from the mega, big-box companies to the Mom and Pop companies run by families. Regardless of the size of your association, you should understand the key differences in management companies and how to choose the best management for your HOA or condo association.

Here are ten things you should look for in an Atlanta HOA Management Company:

1. Find a Locally Owned Company. Working with a locally owned and operated management company means that all management decisions originate in Atlanta and not 800 miles away. Locally owned management companies are focused on the Atlanta market and their key vendor and banking relationships are right here in Georgia. Best of all, if you ever have a question or concern, you can personally visit and meet with the company and its highest executive officers and inspect any and all management records.

2. Make Sure Your Management Company Banks with a Georgia Bank. Banking locally means fewer errors in banking transactions and more efficient depositing of HOA checks without delays caused by interstate bank transactions or delayed mail processing times. It also means that if you ever have any concerns or a need to withdraw or move funds, you can do without any delay. If your property management company works with an out-of-state bank, you will have a longer turnaround and less access to records and money when you need it.

3. Find a Company That Delivers Financial Statements at the Beginning of Every Month. If you entrusting your company’s affairs to a management company, you have the right to receive timely and accurate financial statements every month. If your management company is giving you full and complete financials by the 10th of every month, something is wrong. Either they are too big and inefficient, understaffed or lack the organization they should have to effectively manage your community. And make sure the financial statements include a Balance Sheet, Income and Expense Statement, Cash Receipts Journal, General Ledger and Check Register as well as copies of the actual bank statements. If the management company can’t provide you with all of these basic financial documents (and many cannot), there is something wrong and you need to find another company.

4. Insist on Complete Transparency. There is nothing magical about what management companies do and nothing should be secret from the Board. The Board should be able to request records and get them without a runaround. And the Board should be able to review every property inspection the company performs. Too many companies claim they do property inspections when in reality they whistle through the neighborhood on the way to Starbucks.

5. Make Sure You Get to Choose All Vendors. Management companies often have “sweetheart deals” with vendors that enhance their bottom line and cost the HOA more money. So when it comes to selecting vendors and soliciting bids, make sure you are able to direct what companies you want to receive bids from and that you make the decision of who to hire. If any management company tells you that they select all of the vendors, pack up your bags and run!

6. Be Realistic. Management companies deal on a very low profit margin. Think about what services you want and what you are willing to pay for. If you want weekly property inspections, you are going to pay a lot more than a neighborhood that wants monthly property inspections. But are weekly inspections necessary or reasonable? Most Covenants require that associations provide homeowners a minimum of thirty days to correct a violation. Weekly inspections would be an unnecessary waste of resources and would only increase the management costs.

7. Look at the Company’s Insurance Before Doing Business With Them. Is your HOA property management company insured to cover your association in the event of a loss? Do they have liability insurance in case they hit the front entrance sign on the way into the neighborhood? Do they have an umbrella insurance policy just in case? Do they also have fidelity coverage in case one of their employees steals from the association coffers? Do they have workers compensation coverage in case one of their employees is hurt on the job? If not, you probably need to find another management company.

8. Beware of the Big Boys. Bigger management companies often have longer response times and more “red tape” to deal with. If an Atlanta property management company has to refer your question to someone else in the company or can’t get a bill paid within five days of receiving it, you are going to be frustrated dealing with the company and the delay in response time is ultimately going to cost you time and money. Also, lack of service and delayed responses put your Atlanta HOA, High Rise or Condo association in situations of extreme liability. If problems concerning the health and well being of the public, lets say a tripping hazard or leaking roof in a community center, aren’t addressed immediately the cost and liability associated with the problems rise exponentially.

9. Meet the Company Representatives. You will never get a true sense of what a management company does and how companies differ from one another until you meet with representatives. If all you are doing is collecting bids and comparing prices, you are missing the boat. If the management company representatives aren’t “liable,” when you meet them, they sure aren’t going to get any better when they talk to homeowners. And make sure they are willing to return all phones, not just calls from Board members, from all homeowners within 24 hours. Many companies will give “A+” service to Board members and “D-” service to the homeowners.

10. Visit the Company Offices Before You Decide. Worried about who you are doing business with? There is no better way to get a sense of how your management company operates than by a personal on site visit. Is the office clean, neat, professional and organized? It should be if that is how they conduct business. If the office is a disorganized mess with boxes piled everywhere and papers scattered in a heap, you may want to choose another management company.

Riverside Property Management is a Homeowners association management company management company proudly serving Roswell, Alpharetta, Buckhead, Marietta and all of North Georgia. Riverside is also an expert Georgia condo association management company and high rise Atlanta association management company. To find out more about Riverside Property Management and why it is one of Georgia’s fastest growing property management companies, go to www.riversidepropertymgt.com. You’ll be glad you did.

Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act Could Impact Your Neighborhood Pool

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Standards for Accessible Design, which goes into effect March 15, 2011, establishes detailed guidelines for accessibility to certain commercial swimming pools, wading pools, and spas. The purpose is to make these public areas usable by persons with disabilities. Facilities that are not in compliance could face lawsuits that would force them to remedy the violation. Existing swimming pools falling under the ADA rules have until March 15, 2012 to get in compliance while new commercial swimming pools being constructed, must comply as of March 15, 2011.

Who Must Comply With the New Federal Regulations?

Title II (Public Industry) and Title III (Private Industry) of the ADA apply to swimming pools. These sections prohibit disability discrimination by public entities and commercial facilities. Examples of Title II facilities include municipalities, cities, counties, and school districts. Title III outlines regulations for any private entity, residential dwelling, such as a private residence, an apartment complex, a condominium, or a home owner’s association. The ADA does not affect any type of residential dwelling, such as a private residence, an apartment complex, a condominium, or a home owner’s association. However, if any of these residential facilities operate an element of public accommodation within their premises, these elements would be subject to ADA regulations. Also; the entity will be deemed places of public accommodation, and therefore subject to the ADA, when they “affect commerce” and are “open to the public”. Any exchange of money will likely be found to “affect commerce”

When Your Atlanta HOA or Condo Association Must Comply With the New Law:

Here are some examples of situations where a residential entity would fall under ADA regulations with respect to swimming pools:

• A private residential apartment complex sells memberships to their swimming facilities. This situation would be considered providing a public accommodation.

• A Home Owner’s Association pool is used for swimming competitions that are open to competitors from outside the association. This situation would also be considered offering a public accommodation.

• A condominium actively rents out their units when owners are absent, including advertising, taking reservations over the phone, and providing either meals or housekeeping services. In this instance, the condominium would be considered a hotel.

• Use of government funds

What Changes Are Needed?

Entities falling under Title II and Title III will be required to provide “accessible means of entry for pools”. The type of means of access that is required, depends on the structure.

If Your Pool Is More Than 300 Linear Feet…

Any commercial pool containing more than 300 linear feet of pool perimeter walls, will be required to provide two means of access that are wheelchair accessible. The means of access can be any two of the five designated means of access. They include, pool lifts, sloped entries or ramps, transfer walls, transfer systems, or accessible pool stairs. Each of these means must meet certain criteria.

If Your Pool Is Less Than 300 Linear Feet…

Pools with less than 300 feet of perimeter walls will require at least one mean of access, either a pool lift or a sloped entry (ramp). Wading pools will be required to have a sloped entry. While spas will be required to provide a pool lift, transfer wall, or transfer system which resembles a small set of portable stairs. Wave pools and lazy river pools will only be required one means of access such as a pool lift, sloped entry, or transfer system.

Although there are some exclusions to these guidelines, “given the flexibility and cost of a pool lift, it would be very difficult for any entity to escape their responsibility to provide access to a swimming pool”.

Rules for Wading Pools – All wading pools MUST have a sloped entry (zero depth entry). This sloped entry must run to the deepest point of the pool. All baby pools will have to be modified to include a zero entry. There are no other approved means of access to wading pools.

Rules for Spas – All spas must have one approved means of access. This can be a lift, transfer wall or transfer system only.

Rules for Catch Pools – these are pools set up for water slides only. These pools do NOT require a means of access into and out of the pool, but will require an accessible route to the edge of the pool.

Rules for Specialty Pools – these would include lazy rivers, wave action pools, or any other pool where the access to the pool is limited to one area. These pools will only require one means of access regardless of the linear feet of the perimeter. The means of access can be a sloped entry, lift, or transfer system.

Pool Access That May Be Needed:

There are different means of pool access permitted under the new standards. They include:

Sloped entry – All sloped entries must comply with ADAAG accessible route provisions. They must be a minimum of 36 inches wide and have a maximum slope of 1:12 (8.33%). The one exception of the ADAAG accessible route provisions is slip resistance. Sloped entries into pools are not required to be slip resistant. The sloped entry must have a landing at 24 to 30 inches below normal water level in the pool. The landing must be 36 inches wide and 60 inches long from the edge. All sloped entries must have handrails on both sides regardless of slope. The handrails must have extensions at the top. The width between handrails must be between 33 and 38 inches. The height of the handrails must be between 34 and 38 inches. The one exception on mandated hand rails are sloped entries for wading pools, where none are required.

Lifts throughout the year – You are going to see advertisements and offers from many people selling lift chairs. There are over 100 lift chairs on the market today, but very few meet the specifications and requirements of the updated standards. All Pool lifts must meet several basic requirements. All lift seats must be a minimum of 16 inches wide. In the raised position, the centerline of the seat must be located over the deck a minimum of 16 inches from the pool edge. The slope in this area can’t be greater than 1:48. There must be at least a deck area of 48 inches wide and 36 inches wide from the chair edge forward. The lift must be able to stop the seat 16 to 19 inches above the deck. All pool lifts must have footrests and they must be attached to the seat to ensure they move together. The lift also must be able to submerge to a minimum of 18 inches below water level. All pool lifts must be able to support of minimum of 300 lbs and be capable of sustaining a static load that is at least 1.5 times the rated load.

All Pool lifts must be designed and placed so that they can be operated without assistance. This means the lifts have to be operated hydraulically. A crank operated chair is not acceptable as the only means of access. One using the lift must be able to call the chair from both the deck and in the pool without assistance and with the use of only one (1) hand. A hydraulic chair will run on water pressure. In order to comply with the law fully, a hose bib will need to be installed in the deck next to the chair location so that a hose is not required.

Homeowners and condominium associations must also comply with the Fair Housing Act. Under the Fair Housing Act, a privately owned residential community must provide a barrier-free pathway up to the edge of a pool. In addition, they cannot prevent a resident from using their own apparatus to gain access to the pool, providing it does not provide a hazard for other residents. In other words, if a resident has a portable pool lift and keeps it in storage when not in use, the facility cannot prevent that resident from using the lift to gain access to the pool.

While the new rules took effect this fall, compliance under the 1991 standards is deemed acceptable until March 15th, 2012.

Tax Credits Are Available For Necessary Remediation

The remediation proposed should be eligible for tax credits/deductions up to 50% of the first $10,000. Speak to your tax advisor for complete details. Additionally, the Federal government offers tax incentives for access barrier removals.

1. A tax credit for small businesses that remove access barriers from their facilities, provide accessible services, or take other steps to improve accessibility for customers with disabilities

2. A tax deduction for businesses of all sizes that remove access barriers in their facilities or vehicles

The exact requirements for Title II and Title III entities can be found in Chapter 2, section 242 of the revised ADA guidelines; whereas, the criteria for each of the means of access can be found in Chapter 10, section 1009 of the revised ADA guidelines.

More information can be found at www.ADA.gov.

To help you navigate these complex waters, we highly recommend that you work with your Atlanta property management company to understand your compliance requirements under this new law.

Riverside Property Management is a Homeowners association management company management company proudly serving Roswell, Alpharetta, Buckhead, Marietta and all of North Georgia. Riverside is also an expert Georgia condo association management company and high rise Atlanta association management company. To find out more about Riverside Property Management and why it is one of Georgia’s fastest growing property management companies, go to www.riversidepropertymgt.com. You’ll be glad you did.