2014 July
Focus on... Budget & Finance

Finance Budgeting and the Bottom Line
2014 July Budgeting and the Bottom Line

Preparing the annual budget is by no means an easy task. Those charged with preparing condominium or HOA budgets will soon begin reviewing costs, gathering data and projecting expenses for the coming year. Communities, businesses, individu…

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Finance Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners
2014 July Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners

As the 2012 federal legislative fiasco over the debt ceiling—as well as any number of other spending bills proposed since then—demonstrated, balancing a budget can be like pulling teeth. Balancing a condo or HOA community's budget can some…

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Finance Financial Firestorms
2014 July Financial Firestorms

In an upscale lakeside community near Orlando, the pace of home sales unaccountably accelerated in 2009. At first, the new owners paid their assessments and fees. Then some of the homes were rented to subtenants, and others changed hands a…

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Q&A Q&A: Selecting a New Manager
2014 July Q&A: Selecting a New Manager

Q Our association recently hired a new management company. An announcement was sent to the homeowners announcing the change. A new board initiated this action with no input from homeowners and no discussion. I have specifically requested …

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Q&A Q&A: Ahoy, Matey!
2014 July Q&A: Ahoy, Matey!

I reside in a 44 unit cooperative in Lighthouse Point, Florida. We have 15 docks that are common property owned by the cooperative. Our bylaws specifically state that they are property of the cooperative, cannot be sold and must be returned…

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