As one of the oldest management companies in Palm Beach County, Associated Property Management (APM) has been specializing in community association management since 1988. APM represents more than 130 associations from Jupiter to Boca Raton and as far west as Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
Our corporate website is www.assocpropmgt.com and our weekly online newsletter, the APM News Express can be seen here at www.apmnews.org
Today, Association Officers and managers have found themselves in the position of being responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and expenses. In order to keep track of an Association’s finances it is extremely important to understand how and why a financial report is compiled. In most instances, these individuals are very responsible but they do not possess an accounting or bookkeeping background and find it difficult to understand financial statements.
Board of Directors in community associations are protected from liability in the course of operating and making decisions by what is known by the “Business Judgment Rule”. The Business Judgment Rule requires that the Board act within a reasonable manner and take the necessary steps to justify their decisions. If the Board did not use good business practices in their decision and something were to happen or be challenged, it could then be argued that they did not use good judgment. Generally, the burden of proof in establishing the impropriety of the Board’s decision is on those who are challenging the decision.
The results of the Turner Cost Index report is a great reminder for community associations that this is a great time to plan for any Capital improvements and any repairs or replacements that may be necessary for their association. Construction costs, materials and labor are all down and cheaper than a year ago. We continue to see some contractors that are doing work for a “break even” price, just keeping their labor working.
Do you have a “drive by” property manager working for your Community Association? You know, the one that has the Board of Directors, the unit owners, staff and the service personnel frustrated and left to wondering what is going on?
Throughout the years many community associations have found themselves in legal and financial disputes with contractors for work performed because they do not comply with the Florida Construction Lien Law. There are stories of community associations who have paid contractors all of the required funds, executed and received release of liens with each stage of payment, only to receive a notice of lien from a supplier of materials/labor as they had never been paid from the contractor for their work!