Some community managers work hard, do good job

Q: As a community manager, I do read your weekly columns as I know that many of my board members and homeowners also read them. I do appreciate the time that you spend in responding to the letters that you must receive every week.

I know that most of your columns discuss various specific incidents between board members and homeowners, as well as issues between homeowners.

I know that it doesn't make "good PR" on television or even in the newspapers to speak positively about association managers and association management, but is there any chance that you could write an article about what it is like being a community manager?

I am not talking about the classes, or licensing exams that you have to take to become a community manager. I am talking about the day-to-day challenges that community managers are faced with every week, including the abuse that we take from both homeowners and board members as well.

I work long hours trying to service my association accounts and too often do not feel appreciated by people who don't have a clue as to what it's like working for homeowner associations. If you could write such an article, I think the community managers in Southern Nevada would much appreciate it.

A: I would invite every board member or homeowner who ever had an issue with their management company or with their community manager to handle the telephone calls, emails, letters, faxes and unanticipated visits from their association homeowners and board members for a week.

It would definitely be a wake-up call or a lesson in human behavior, or sometimes lack of (good) behavior. Every job has its challenges and rewards, its positives and its negatives. Whenever your business or profession deals with the general public, your day is never boring.

Community management is not an 8 a.m.- to 5 p.m.- job. I would say that most managers on any given day work more than 12 hours because of their evening board meetings. Most of our meetings begin around 6 p.m., so there is little time for dinner or a quick bite to eat prior to attending a meeting that could last more than three hours before taking that drive home.

Depending upon his or her portfolio, it is not unusual for a community manager to attend four evening meetings in a row for any given week in the month. If that manager has a family, especially one with children, he or she can easily come home and find them fast asleep.

This does not include any special meetings that could require the manager to come to the community, or even meet with his or her board on a Saturday or Sunday morning or afternoon. There is definitely a downside to family relationships, which is one of the reasons for quick turnovers of community managers in associations.

In addition, a community manager may be on call for emergencies after business hours. It is not unusual to receive a call in the middle of the night during our "rainy season" from a homeowner whose ceiling is caving in. A manager could have to respond to a call to a community is on fire. Many times that means the manager must leave home at 3 a.m.

I know, some readers may be saying, "Poor community manager, if the heat is too hot, get out of the kitchen."

I know that this is a 24/7 town and that many of our homeowners (especially with this economic downturn), work long hours, work more than one job and are also on call for emergencies.

Still, a community manager must be a balancer.

He or she must balance the needs of an individual homeowner, while following the directives of the board members, state laws and homeowners association's governing documents in conjunction with the physical assets (the property and its amenities) and the checkbook.

Does the association even have enough money to address its problem or provide its services?

Too often boards -- as well as homeowners -- are too subjective, too close to issues to resolve problems in an intelligent and objective manner for both sides.

Because a community manager reports directly to the board, homeowners are often not aware of the amount of time that a manager can spend trying to convince the board to "lighten up" on violations, when it appears that the board is really "pushing the envelope" and stretching the rules and regulations by citing homeowners.

There are times when homeowners, who owe money or who are in violation of their governing documents, can be very abusive on the telephone with extremely foul and inappropriate and threatening language.

I am aware of incidents where community managers were physically pushed or shoved against a wall by homeowners.

The foul and inappropriate language is not exclusive to homeowners because board members sometimes become "unglued" and have treated their managers the same way.

I know of one particular case where a board member, who was intoxicated, charged at a community manager who was standing in front of the membership giving a report at a board meeting.

The manager kept backing away to avoid using her hands to prevent the board member from touching her, until she was up against a window at the community center before a stunned and surprised board and homeowners.

At least in this case, the membership had the good sense to recall that director before the next board meeting.

One last comment should be made, as I hear complaints all the time when meeting with other community managers.

The media has painted with a very broad brush community managers in a bad light. It is unfortunate, but true that the few community managers and the few boards who take outrageous actions against homeowners, who steal or who are in massive violations of the state law, take away from the majority of community managers and boards who work long hours, often under difficult conditions, to make their communities a great place to live and a great place to call home.

I was asked to comment on a story for the "wall of shame," and after the interview I asked the TV reporter, "Why don't you have a balanced presentation of association living and management by at least having one TV show, where you could interview boards or community managers that do it right?"

Her reply to me was, " Why should we have a program where you are doing the right things because that is what you should be doing in the first place?" The reporter missed the point of my question. Bias journalism obviously sells on TV as entertainment.

Once in a while, it would be nice to objectively tell the other side of the story

Other news: There is a drain-cover-recall hotline that anyone can call at 877-726-3671. Those affected, or those who aren't sure, can contact me or ask their pool service or contractor about authorized installers.

How do you know if your pool or spa is affected by the recall?

If the drains in your pool or spa meet any of the following criteria, they are not the subject of the recall.

If the drain covers in your pool or in-ground spa were installed before December 2008, your pool or spa is not affected by this recall. All of the drain covers affected by this recall were manufactured or sold after Dec. 19, 2008.

If the drain in your pool is a "channel drain"-- it is in the shape of a long and narrow rectangle (typically 3 or 4 inches-by-30 or 31 inches or longer) or if the drain is 24-inches-by-24 inches or larger -- it is not affected by this recall.

Hot tubs (often referred to as portable spas) are not affected by the recall, whether they are freestanding, placed in the ground or surrounded by a deck

Swimming pools, aside from built-in wading (kiddie) pools, or in-ground spas, that have one pump and more than one drain or a gravity drainage system are not affected by this recall.

• A kiddie or wading pool is generally found at public facilities. It is a permanent built-in fixture with its own separate circulation system and a maximum depth of 18 to 24 inches.

• An in-ground spa is a permanent, non-factory built structure, typically with a concrete or vinyl bottom with several return jets.

To summarize, if your drain covers were installed after December 2008, and if you have an in-ground spa, a wading (kiddie) pool, your pool has only one drain, and that drain is not a long-channel drain or larger than 24-inches -by-24 inches, you may need to participate in this recall and should take further action to ensure your pool or in-ground spa is in compliance.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. To ask her a question, email support@hlrealty.com.