'Party Rock Anthem' Halloween House Banned by HOA - Some consideration please...

Below is an article posted by realestate.aol.com/blog; it covers the popular halloween house as seen on Youtube. While everybody loves a good show, it can result in the law of "Diminishing Returns" and can go from fun to a community nuisance very quickly. Imagine being the adjacent neighbors an having bright lights and loud music playing all night from across the street... now add 1,000+ people who came to see the show... now add their cars... and the food... and trash... and what if some those attending have enjoyed an adult beverage... You can see how this can add up quickly to a number of large problems.

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Kevin Judd's 'Party Rock Anthem' Halloween House-Display Banned by HOA

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/10/24/kevin-judds-party-rock-anthem-halloween-house-display-banned/
The party isn't rockin' this year for the home that hosted one of the country's most beloved Halloween light shows.

Kevin Judd made his Riverside, Calif., home "sing" to the soundtrack of LMFAO's infectiously catchy "Party Rock Anthem," using specially programmed, synchronized LED-lit animations that would twinkle and flash to the beat. A YouTube video (which you can see at the bottom of this article) of the "rocking" light display went viral, driving thousands from across the country to flock to the home for the daily light show in the weeks preceding Halloween 2011.
But before the show could resurrect for a long-awaited 2012 run, the party was shut down by an angry neighborhood HOA. Read More

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In truth, nobody wants to tell Mr. Judd that all of his hard work and planning are for not. Who wants to have that conversation? But perhaps there are a valid number of problems that are associated with a show of that popularity and size in a residential neighborhood. Could an arrangement could be made that would accommodate both parties? What is they limited the number of events, play the show only plays during set hours and / or traffic is controlled to avoid too many spectators at one time?

 

We live in a society that is growing rapidly and it is increasingly important to be mindful of those who surround you, especially if you live in a community that is governed with bylaws and codes. Disregarding those regulations in the name of a good time can in fact lead to the opposite if not done with communication and community acceptance.

 

As in all things, seek out professionals who deal with such matters to protect yourself and those in your area. Every community is different so take the time to ask.

Qualified Property Management

Lions and Tigers and Pigs, Oh My! Nuisance pets and Condominiums

The pets that owners often "sneak" into a community can often be a nuisance and sometimes even a health risk. Below is an articel on how New York is combating this issue: 

 Pigs in Condominiums?!? : Condo Reporter : Toronto Attorneys ...

  

http://www.condoreporter.com3/28/13 We have written numerous times on this blog about pets in condominiums – pet provisions in Declarations, enforcement of pet rules, nuisance pets, numerous pet evictions, and more. We've even run a popular seminar titled ... 

Boards have the power, when enforced, to properly manage their community and keep out unwanted animals. If you are on a board and are facing this type of situation but don't know what to do, seek out professional assistance.  

Google Author: Harry Burnard  

www.qualifiedproperty.com

Condominium / HOA Managers are Busy People!

What does it take to manage an HOA or condo, ALOT! Whether your community is self managed or you use a property management company, know that the person assigned to be the manager has many things on thier plate. The article below touches on a few points that are worth pointing out.
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HOA Manager: Why it's really 5 Jobs in 1 - Austin HOA and Condo ...
https://psprop.net2/19/13
HOA Manager HOA Manager: Why it's really 5 Jobs in 1. Being exclusively in HOA and Condo association management, we have learned over the years that it takes a very unique set of skills to make a great association manager. An individual manager ... Without the basic accounting and financial knowledge, it makes it very difficult to plan for maintenance and other association related projects. Most importantly, they must be able to the answer the one question that ...
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At the end of the day if a community wants to keep good property manager, lend them all of the support you can. Your assistance will not only be impactful to the manager, but also the welfare of the community.

Google Author: Harry Burnard
http://www.qualifiedproperty.com/

Catastrophic Community Planning

Catastrophes don’t happen very often and because of that planning for them is typically neglected. As a result, property management companies and the communities they represent will consider it from time to time; but often that action doesn't go beyond preparing an appropriate plan. Property managers are rarely chastised for focusing on immediate community needs.  Therefore, if they are confident they can facilitate any pressing emergencies; it’s a good beginning in their eyes. They trust there is enough practical experience in their company and the associations they represent as a whole to deal with an unlikely catastrophe. Of course, there’s always the catastrophe insurance to fall back on.

There are two types of disasters; Everybody’s Catastrophe and Your Catastrophe.  Hurricanes Andrew and Debby are two examples of Everybody’s Catastrophes.  Each of these events created a steep learning curve for those communities that were unprepared. However, if your association experiences a significant impact, so will everybody else's. Each of these disasters found a level of acceptance from the community board members due to the widespread issues facing that region. Most people understand there will be difficulties until conditions return to normal. In these situations there is a fair chance the unprepared community can muddle its way through the issue, though not without tremendous growing pains.

Now to disasters that ARE your problem. A catastrophe that IS your problem has a different dynamic because your board members may quickly come into play in disturbing ways e.g. Your:

·        Board Members want speedy advice regarding the financial impact of the event or they will “vote with their feet” and find new representation.

·        Owners will want to know how it will affect their properties.

• Board members of how you will maintain their facilities
• Board members  will want to know the expected length of any facility interruption

Your property manager needs to act decisively and communicate effectively to demonstrate the catastrophe is under control.  However, without prior preparation, it may take days to gain control of the situation and develop the message.  If your board members begin to react negatively your management continuity problem becomes a secondary issue. You are facing a crisis.  Of course the “Elephant in the Room” issue is you may quickly discover it won’t be business as usual. As you develop your recovery plan you may find you are actually in crisis mode.  I should be fair to assume a Property Management Company without a recovery plan won’t have a crisis management plan.

Property management companies who realize the potential for disaster facing them and their customers will find that the answer is not as easy as it may initially sound. Developing a community continuity plan (CCP) for immediate use will take more than a few hours at a white board with an admin assistant.  Unfortunately, once you develop a CCP; the devil is in the detail. An annual update won’t be anywhere near adequate if you are looking for a perfect disaster mitigation program. The plan must be regularly updated because your catastrophe could occur tomorrow. Therefore you need to ensure the people delegated responsibility to activate strategies are still on deck.   Also, your communities may have changed and the plans will be out of date. 

When you combine the effort to create the CCP with the challenge to keep it up to date and the likelihood of the event occurring it results in most people not having a CCP.

It’s perplexing how people often treat risk management strategies as all or nothing. “If we can’t have a complete solution, we won’t have anything”. However, you can take the middle road. Conducting a community continuity risk assessment will enable you to flatten the learning curve, to some extent.  I recommend you consider spending a couple of hours with key managers and a whiteboard to assess the need for a CCP. 

This involves identifying your Critical Community Functions by considering the following scenarios e.g.

·        Denial of access to a community (flooding, evacuation zone, road blockages...)

·        Failure of emergency personnel to deliver materials or services

Then apply the following assessment.

1.    Identify who is responsible for each Critical Community Function

2.    Identify the Maximum Allowable Outage for each Critical Community Function

3.    Consider the mitigating strategies readily available and determine the Time To Recovery for each Critical Community Function

If your Time to Recovery exceeds Your Maximum Allowable Outage you add it to a shortlist of Critical Community Functions requiring a CCP. You can then assess the complexity and cost of developing the mitigating strategies for each CCP required. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you need very few of these strategies. The senior management team can agree to progressively develop the necessary CCP mitigation strategies to reduce the risk. If they opt not to proceed the challenge of the vertical learning curve will be clear. This minimal effort may deliver peace of mind.

Time Saver:

Avoid trying to identify the most likely scenario which will interrupt your communities.  You are better to simply assume an inability of a community to function in the short term and proceed immediately to consider the Maximum Allowable Outage and Time to Recovery.  Example: A community  in Tampa, FL based its community continuity plan on a flooding due to a hurricane and instead, a power line sparks a fire in the community center. However, the mitigation strategies remained completely relevant.  The cause of the interruption wasn’t the key issue.  It was:

1.    The evacuation strategy of the community.

2.    The ability of local fire and rescue to be contacted in a timely manner to mitigate increased damage.

3.    Disclosure to the insurer prior to the event who provided for additional restoration costs if needed to mitigate the loss and ensure no additional cost would be passed on to the community.

Google Author: Harry Burnard

Keep Good Property Managers Honest

Below is an article that demonstrates the importance of using a vetting property management company who employs qualified property managers. It these tough economic times even the those who would turn away from even the appearance of illegal activities can be drawn in by desperation. It is imperative to have checks-and-balances in place to keep good men and women honest.

Local condo manager arrested on charges of stealing from residents ... dateline.ua.edu1/24/13 A former manager for the Summit Condominiums was arrested Saturday after allegedly stealing items from residents' apartments. Some residents didn't know they had been robbed until they were approached by police and ... 

As always, when dealing with the prospect of managing communities, it is important to seek out professionals who have the knowledge and expertise to navigate the difficulty task or condominium, townhome or community management. 

Google Author Harry Burnard