To Paint or Not to Paint Before Selling Your Home. Consider Your HOA First

If you're planning some renovations before you sell your home, you're probably trying to determine what will boost its value best so you can get out the money you're putting in. Pulling out the paint for some touch-ups may be one of the most common things you'll hear about, but before taking on such a sizeable job, it's worth considering the needs of your home and what you'll have the ability to do before it goes on the market.

Here are 4 important factors to consider before painting your home.

Your HOA Approval

Some HOAs will require you to hire an approved, HOA-contracted painting company. Others give you a variety of acceptable color choices. If you desire a different color, like a creamy yellow, you must go through the proper approval channel: submit paint swatches, list manufacturer guarantees, attend board meetings, etc.

The State Of Your Paint

To brighten a room and instantly improve the look of a space, there are a few things that will do the trick like paint. Often, a poor paint job will be one of the first things potential buyers notice when they visit your home, whether the color is dull or there are cracks showing. If your home's paint job is neither impressive nor out-of-date, you may not want to take on such a big project. However, if these issues will negatively impact your home sale, it may be worth the effort.

What Is Your Timeline?

There are many easy home fix-ups that can improve your home, but painting is one of few things that can take a lot of time. It's unlikely you'll want to shell out for a professional painter if you've already decided on a renovations budget, but if you don't have the time you may want to decide on a few problematic areas to paint. If the bathroom or the kitchen are looking weathered, focus on those areas instead of taking on the whole house.

What Buyers Will Change

When potential homebuyers are looking at your home, they'll not only be thinking about what they love, they'll be considering what they want to upgrade down the road. Unfortunately, painting is not one of the projects that buyers will want to spend time on as soon as they move in. While it may not be worth their time to move into a house that needs to be painted right away, it just might be worth yours to get out the roller.

There are several home renovations that can improve your home's value, but painting may be a necessity if your walls are dull and showing signs of age. If you're currently preparing to put your home on the market.

Playground Safety In Your HOA - National Playground Safety Week 2018 is April 23-27.

National Playground Safety Week 2018 is April 23-27. National Playground Safety Week is a time to focus on children's outdoor play environments. 

State laws and regulations addressing playground safety. 

Nearly 80 percent of playground injuries are caused by falls. Some of the top equipment associated with injuries are climbers, swings, slides climbing bars and jungle gyms, according to the National Program for Playground Safety.

• It is estimated that close to 220,000 children 14 or under went to the ER for injuries associated with playground equipment in 2011.

• 57% of estimated playground-related injuries treated in ERs occurred at either schools or parks.

• Falls account for over 75% of all playground-related injuries.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has come up with playground hazards you should watch out for when taking your kids to the park. SOURCE  Click here to see the details.

Summer is on the way and so is outdoor play activity.  The sound of children playing outside is one of the many joys of the warm weather months.

Many HOA's have community amenities and offer community playgrounds which can be a liability. Every HOA board should consult a professional equipment installer to ensure that playgrounds are built according to safety standards and maintained properly. Inspections should be scheduled yearly to keep your playground safe and free from equipment failures that can cause accidents. 

HOA's should have proper Liability insurance for amenities including playgrounds, covering construction, maintenance and liability issues.  It is important when there are accidents or injuries that occur on common property. For example, if playground equipment breaks and isn't repaired, resulting in a child getting hurt.

If you are in a community and see problems with playground equipment or if a playground is unsafe, report the equipment to the HOA so they can repair it quickly. And remember, there is no substitute for parental supervision.

From the smallest condominium to the largest lifestyle community, resident amenities are a fundamental advantage to living in a community Association. These amenities may be as grand as golf courses, lakes and pools or as humble as a unique sitting area. No matter how large or small the amenities, prompt, proper and cost-effective operations are vital to that community.

4 Tips To Keep Your HOA Community Safe For Residents

The safety and well-being of community members is highly important to your HOA. Associations should take every measure possible to adhere to all procedures and policies that keep communities safe.

Every association wants to make sure that the best quality services are being provided to the residents to ensure maximum protection for them.  The safety and security of the homeowners’ community is in the hands of the HOA or the management company..

If your HOA is being managed by a management company there are procedures in place for the prevention of unplanned accidents on the property as well as procedures on how to respond to accidents, fires, adverse weather conditions and other unforeseen situations that may arise.  Here are a few steps to consider to ensure safety and security for the community.

Revise and update security procedures

Devise a comprehensive security policy in collaboration with board members and make it mandatory that the terms and procedures are followed to ensure maximum protection for residents. Perform an annual review of the current and past safety and security policies and identify the areas for improvement.

Investigate the areas that may be vulnerable to danger or damage and take any necessary action on what needs to be changed.

Collaborate with law enforcement agencies

It is vital to have open lines of communication with local municipalities, law enforcement, fire and medical emergency personnel. Communication with local municipalities is important when your association needs to report street light outages or road and sidewalk problems.

Your HOA may need local police and law enforcement agencies to provide security during threats, events or just patrolling the community. Each board member should know the procedures for contacting emergency personnel in case of emergencies or security issues.

Establish a close-knit community

Encourage residents to look out for each other and develop a supportive community.  A friendly neighborhood learns to look after each other, and reports to the proper authorities whenever they notice any suspicious activity happening in the community.  Neighbors should be wary of whatever is happening in the community.

A well-managed Neighborhood Watch program is an important part of maintaining a safe and secure community. Your Association should actively recruit volunteers and hold informational meetings and special events focusing on community safety.

Give tips to the community

This also comes with keeping the community informed about the latest procedures, devices and looming threats. A community newsletter is a great way to communicate. The use of technology, such as email is a fast way to notify residents on impending adverse weather threats, road closures, ice removal and other important notices that need to reach residents in an expedited manner. Regular monthly published updates along with security tips, such as securing the doors and windows, not letting children walk out alone at night, not letting strangers into the house and not giving away their house security codes to others.

Here is a list of reminders your Association can publish to your community members to assist the board and management in keeping your community safe.

1.    Is the garage door closed?

2.    Are all car windows up?

3.    Are the car doors locked?

4.    If you have a garage remote in your car, remove it.

5.    Are all items in your car removed? Remember, it might be only an empty store bag, but the thief sees a bag that “might” contain something valuable. Those cheap sunglasses looked expensive in the dark through the car window.

6.    Is the door between your house and garage locked?

7.    Are all home windows closed and locked?

8.    Are all doors locked?  

As a community member know who is on your HOA Board and who should be contacted. In the event of a true emergency calling 911 as your first step.

Each Board Member should know the policies and procedures set up by the Association or management company and they should be followed precisely to avoid liability on the part of the Association or management company.

Association Management Group handles all of this for communities as your HOA Management Company. AMG also provides training for HOA's.

Happy National Pet Day! Your Pets Living in Your HOA

April 11 is National Pet Day. While loving our pets is something we do every day, National Pet Day encourages us to pay special attention to pets. It is also a day to commemorate everything that our pets do for us on a daily basis. So if you have a pet, you can do something special for them on this day.

Here are 5 things you can do for your pets:

1. Take them for a long walk.

2. Buy them a special treat or new toy.

3. Spend a little bit of extra time with them. 

4. Give them a back scratch or tummy rub.

5. Take them to the groomer and give them a bath or haircut. 

After all, don’t they deserve it?

Let's look at your pets living in an HOA

It has been proven by studies that most homeowners select a home with their pets in mind. They are seeking homes that are suitable for pets and having nearby dog parks are a highly sought after community amenity. If the community does not have a designated dog park, a local nearby dog park is desired.

If you live in an HOA community, you have rules pertaining to pets. Many community associations institute rules governing the size of dogs, and some even ban certain breeds for safety and liability.  Each HOA has different pet regulations. Some have designated pet walking areas to keep waste in  a confined common area. If your community has dog walking areas, you may notice a waste receptacle and plastic litter bags. 

If you are a pet owner or plan to get a pet after you move into an HOA community, it is wise to read the rules in your HOA documents regarding pet restrictions. Pet related issues such as barking dogs, permitting pets in other resident's yards and owners not picking up after their pooches' are just some of the most common complaints with Homeowners Associations.

Reading your HOA documents regarding pet ownership may keep you out of an HOA related complaint issue and keep you from receiving notices, or worse, a fine for a violation. Associations often don't have to deal with the homeowner about pet pooping because angry homeowners feel free to confront culprit owners themselves instead of reporting it. In either case, it should be common courtesy for responsible pet owners to pick up after their own pets.

If you are buying into an HOA community, you can ask your Real Estate agent to do the preliminary work for you. He or she may already know which communities will be best suited for you and your pet. Most realtors are well versed in homeowners’ association laws, so they can quickly detect an issue for you. Ask your realtor to contact each HOA to verify breed restriction laws beforehand. It’s not worth falling in love with a home where your dog isn’t welcome. Once you’ve selected a home, ask your realtor for a copy of the HOA bylaws. Read through your documents carefully, and clearly understand pet restrictions. Many HOAs have  leash laws.

For more information on pet rules, implementation and management, contact AMG. Ask about our HOA board training.

AMG NEWS: Postal Service Offering High-Tech Way To Preview Your Mail. Letters & Packages

At Association Management Group, the well-being and safety of community residents is a high priority. Additionally, technology and government services that provide tools can positively impact communities nationwide.

Association Management group would like to share this new technology tool provided by the United State Postal Service (USPS).

Recently, the USPS released an online software application called Informed Delivery.  Informed Delivery is a free and optional notification service that gives residential consumers the ability to digitally preview their letter-sized mailpieces and manage their packages scheduled to arrive soon. The feature is provided at no additional cost for all Informed Delivery users.

Find more detail here:

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action