By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

Whether you like it or not, online marketing is here to stay. Don’t think that tomorrow you’ll wake up and not have to deal with it or worry about it, like a fad. No such luck. Burying your head in the sand and hoping that it’ll go away is not likely to help either.

So what is a person to do who doesn’t want to do anything, but deep down they know there are some minimum things they should be doing for the “greater good” of their company and future generations of that company?

Well, my first rule of thumb is to advise the person in charge of the company to protect the brand. Okay, so what on earth does that mean? What it means is to get your name secured in the top online marketing platforms out there, and if you don’t have a domain or blog, get the name registered as well.

What sites am I referring to? The major sites include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. All of these sites offer customized URL links and, depending on your business, there may be others as well. Again, you ask, what does that mean? It means these labels or URL links are a pattern of letters or numbers or whatever your name is composed of. If someone else in another geography, company, or industry has a similar name, they may beat you to it, so grab it now.

For instance, if your company name is Markington Real Estate Services, you will want to secure the following URL customized names:

http://www.facebook.com/markington-real-estate-services

http://www.youtube.com/markington-real-estate-services

http://www.linkedin.com/company/markington-real-estate-services

http://www.twitter.com/markington

http://www.pinterest.com/markington

These are only examples, and whether you wish to use these services or not depends on your business. However, the names are going quickly, and those with more common words or names will not have much of a selection when they do decide to select a name to match their brand.

If you’re a new company, it’s strongly recommended that you do your homework before you start your new property management company. Research the name and find out if the name is available across the various social media platforms. Do not select a name until you determine the availability of these sites, as well as the domain name for the company website and blog.

I have seen so many companies make the mistake of selecting a name, incorporating the name, and then later determining there is no chance to obtain a cohesive name across all customer touch points. What does this mean? If your name is Markington, people are going to search Markington. That’s it. The letters are the online link back to you and your content. If you are marketing apartments, offices, and retail, and you’re looking for new building owners, they are going to search for Markington.

If you think it’s easy to get good SEO for three or four different variations, you’re mistaken. It’s hard enough to build your SEO with a single name, let alone a variety of configurations.

If you are set on a name and there’s no other way around it, think of creative ways to abbreviate or create acronyms with your name, again, being consistent and creating a brand with the abbreviation or acronym.

So if your company name is Markington Real Estate Services, consider MRES or MarkRES, etc. The other way to do it is with a geographic reference, say MarkingtonAZ, etc. Use caution, as the letters you are permitted may be limited. For instance, with Twitter, the number of letters is defined on their support pages for the real name, different than the username. Also note, with Twitter, the real name can change as often as you wish, but the username is fixed. Click here for more information.

How long can real names and usernames be?

• - Your username can contain up to 15 characters.
• - Your real name can be 20 characters long.

The bottom line is that all of the sites work together to let customers find you. It’s important to plan and think ahead. At present, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube are not going anywhere. Based on that information, it’s prudent as a company executive or business owner to protect your brand and get your URL before somebody else grabs it and makes it that much harder for you to have the name that is so near and dear to you and your customers.

By Colin McCarthy, J.D., Robinson & Wood, San Jose, CA

Well my last post was so good I did not have the courage to write another. About six months ago we were discussing various scenarios by which a landlord could be held liable in California for injuries or property damage occasioned by her tenants. We discussed how, if she knows about a tenant’s animals’ dangerous propensities, she might have a duty to prevent injuries of property damage to others arising from such dangerous propensities. Citation to the holy hand grenade scene must have subconsciously made me think I had reached my pinnacle in blog writing material. No more blog posts! Until now.

What inspired this sudden turn of events? Alcohol. And a recent Buffalo Wild Wings beer with a Buildium person. As we discussed Buildium and life over beers, it occurred to me that I needed to re-engage the ATPM blog readers regarding the perils of tenants’ overindulgence in alcohol and resultant personal injuries and property damage. Is there liability? If the landlord knows the tenant has a gun and is a heavy drinker, is she liable if the tenant shoots someone while drunk? Is the drinker the equivalent of a dangerous dog?

In California, the landlord will not have a duty where she merely knows the tenant is a drinker and has guns. In one case, the plaintiff was a visitor of the tenants and was shot when the tenant was drinking. The landlord knew the tenant was a drinker and knew he had firearms. The landlord was not aware of any circumstances that suggested the tenant was dangerous with the guns when drinking. So there really was no notice to the landlord of a danger she should have prevented or been warned about. ”If the court concludes the injury was not foreseeable, there was no duty.”  Sturgeon v. Curnutt, 29 Cal. App. 4th 301, 306 (1994).  The court here concluded the injury was not foreseeable. And thus the landlord had no duty to prevent it. The landlord won.

In a similar case, a college was exonerated from civil liability for injuries sustained after some students got drunk and went racing.  I’m sorry — “became intoxicated” and “engaged in a speed contest.” In this case, the court held that it was not foreseeable that in-dormitory drinking would lead to an off-campus automobile drag race. The “conduct of students, without known violent propensities and without knowledge that they would drink to excess and thereafter operate motor vehicles, does not rise to the level of foreseeable harm as does a case where the tenant has a known vicious dog.”  Baldwin v. Zoradi, 123 Cal. App. 3d 275, 294 (1981).

Obviously, the appellate justices in that case had not seen the second-greatest movie of all time — Animal House.

This blog submission is only for purposes of disseminating information. It does not constitute legal advice. The statements in this blog submissions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Robinson & Wood, Inc. or its clients. No attorney-client relationship is formed by virtue of reading this blog entry or submitting a comment thereto. If you need legal advice, please hire a licensed attorney in your state.

A guest post by Kevin Raposo, SimpliSafe, Cambridge, MA

Ever wonder what goes through the mind of a burglar? We got the chance to sit down with some burglary professionals and asked them. Here’s what we discovered:

A Tonka Truck left in the yard could invite a burglar to choose your home.

Home burglaries may seem random in occurrence, but they actually involve a selection process. A burglar’s selection process is simple: choose an unoccupied home with the easiest access, the greatest amount of cover, and with the best escape routes possible. Don’t have a burglar alarm? Here’s a list of suggestions that will help you minimize the risk of a home burglary, and also make your home unattractive to potential burglars.

Before picking a home, a burglar will scope out your entire neighborhood to get a better idea of what he’s working with. To do this, he will usually walk around with a rake, or even go as far as dressing up as the cable or electric or phone repairman. “I’ll even post a flyer on your door to get a closer look into your home,” says professional burglar Cliff T.

Here’s how to make your home less desirable to burglars:

• Tear down the privacy fences. These give a burglar excellent cover from neighbors.
• Trim your bushes. Any sort of high vegetation, like trees or shrubbery, covering your windows allows a burglar to break them without being detected. Burglars prefer lots of cover.
• Put away the Tonka Trucks and strollers. Toys or playground equipment in your yard are signs that kids live there … which usually means a mother lives there … “cha-ching,” that means JEWELRY.
• Create the illusion that you are home. By using timers on lights, radios, and TVs your residence will appear occupied, even when no one is home, which will deter the bad guys.

Here’s an eye-opening diary entry from a convicted burglar that gives you a more in-depth view into the mind of a burglar, and how he targets a home.

Inside the Criminal Mind of Joshua Komisarjevsky

Property owners should be looking at their home with the eyes of a burglar. In other words, consider the location of the home from various angles. Is the home isolated or surrounded by other homes? Does it provide secluded nooks and dark corners for a burglar to hide in or escape from? Is the house adequately lit or relatively dark? Is there a security system? Burglars will look at these things when identifying potential targets.

By Ken Kmet, Condo Voice, Clearwater, FL

Say the phrase “fire inspection” and every property manager, board member, and maintenance engineer will make a face. It is that annual visit to your property by the local fire marshal. It is usually unannounced, may not necessarily happen every year, and often comes with a price tag to repair, fix, label, identify, upgrade, add, test, certify, or change out something. Even though you have complied with the previous inspection report, and did what was asked then, that doesn’t mean something new will not be written up this year. You may feel like you are being picked on. Don’t; this is a very common thing. Things that change from year to year include new codes, new personnel, new technology and equipment, new facilities, new use of the facility, and new laws. Buildings and equipment age between inspections, and although something may seem to function well enough for you and the residents, that doesn’t mean it is functioning well enough to contain or distinguish a fire or evacuate the residents.

What gets inspected? Virtually everything within your building, and outside, is subject to inspection. Anything that could cause a fire, fail to contain a fire, fail to help fight a fire, or restrict an exit to safety during a fire is a candidate. A partial list of those include signs, fire extinguishers, fire pumps, alarm systems, alarm monitors, fire pull stations, horns, lights, smoke detectors, fire sprinklers, fire hydrants, stairways, railings, and generators, to name a few. They all get inspected annually themselves and certified to be operational by their designated service companies. If the inspector does not see a tag that is current, then it gets red tagged, sometimes literally.

The above list is just the equipment. Some of the other concerns of the fire inspector include storage of flammable, combustible, and incompatible liquids and/or materials. Some routine violations include gas cans in an enclosed room, such as a maintenance or storage room in a condominium or HOA. The inspector looks for combined storage of chlorine for the swimming pool with gas, paint, cleaning supplies, or other maintenance materials. It is critical to have fire rated doors, and signs, on these rooms to contain, and to indicate to the fire fighters what is “behind the door” that feels hot or smoke is coming out of.

Does your community association have a grille? Do you use LP gas cylinders to fuel it? Keep your LP, gasoline, chlorine, acid, and janitorial supplies separated and in different approved rooms, containers, or areas. Most of what an inspector will find is where people just don’t use common sense. If something even looks like it might be a safety concern, it probably is. So be proactive, and be preventive. Don’t wait for the fire inspector to write you up. Practice safe use and storage of all of these chemicals and supplies. Whoever is in charge of managing your facilities should conduct inspections quarterly. People move things, store things, and use things without your knowledge or permission. Just because something is safe today doesn’t mean those conditions will remain that way.

The other people who will have sad faces will be the insurance agent and company. Improper storage of chemicals and supplies, and failure to keep the buildings and facilities up to fire codes, is putting not only life, but also property, at a risk level they will not want to insure, and may, after forensic studies results are in, deny a claim for damages. There is language I have found in virtually every insurance policy and condominium and HOA covenant, declaration of condominium, and supporting recorded documents: “Nothing shall be done to increase the insurance risk to the property, the residents, the units, or the facilities.”

Containment and possible causes for a fire extend everywhere. A common area for problems is on the roof, which is usually difficult to access. Most often, it is on the roof where your air conditioning equipment is located and your dryer venting exists. Some A/C companies leave junk, old units, and electrical wiring, boxes, and connections to a sub-par level. Fire inspectors go there, inspect, and report on any conditions that may cause a fire, whether it is the associations or the unit owner’s obligation to correct it. If your dryer vents are not cleared, the fire inspector will insist these issues be repaired quickly. He or she doesn’t care who fixes it, just that it gets repaired, because failure to do so puts everyone potentially in harm’s way.

There are always costs associated with fire safety and inspections. You should budget accordingly. Here is a list of common expense items virtually every multifamily community incurs each year:

1.  Fire extinguisher inspections, recharges, and certifications.

2.  Fire pump (if you have one) flow and pressure test, and certification.

3.  Fire hydrant flow test, and certification.

4.  Fire alarm test and certification.

5.  Generator or backup power test and certification.

6.  Fire sprinklers test and certification.

This is not intended to be a complete list of possible certifications need for your community, city, or state.  You may have other equipment or issues specific to your community.

The costs of each of these, of course, varies depending on what, if anything, needs to be repaired. But fire service companies are heavily regulated, require licenses difficult to qualify for and keep, and are a trade that carries with it very high liabilities for failure to perform. As a result, their hourly charges are pretty high. Inspections for each service can range from $200 to $500, plus cost of materials. The inspection for the fire marshal can range from $200 to $400 per visit. Return visits are usually much less, from $25 to $100.

Not directly related, but usually with shared resources, are your elevator services. There is a phone monitor, which is related to the phone line that monitors the fire alarm systems. This cost, as well as their inspection and operational license and associated fees, should also be included in your budget.

Once you have received your inspection report, generally you are given a week to a month to have the problems corrected. If it is a major expense, or something you have to get bids for, the inspector will give you more time, if you ask, and if you supply a letter explaining how and when the work will be completed.

There will be a re-inspection, and hopefully all is well. However, these days, there are charges for the inspections, and for each return trip. Most fire department budgets are running thin due to the struggling economy, and even though you may receive an extension, you can expect to be charged for each trip to your property.

The bottom line is, the fire inspector is there to protect lives and property. Everyone thinks, quietly, that it is a bother and an unwanted expense to have to keep up fire equipment to the latest standards. However, when there is a fire or an emergency, those that survive are very glad for the inspector, the fire department, and the EMS, and that the association spent the money to keep up the equipment that saved their lives.

By Carla Toebe, New Century Realty, Kennewick, WA

One of your responsibilities as a property manager is to maintain a safe, secure, crime-free property. Unfortunately, there are a number of scenarios within property management that a criminal – or even just an opportunist – could exploit. The list below outlines some situations to avoid and some precautions to employ.

Never accept cash. Never, under any circumstances, accept cash as payment of rent. By never accepting cash, you will prevent possible thefts by employees or outside people who have marked you as a target, and you will also attract fewer criminals who want to deal only in cash so they can launder money or keep their money trail off the records to avoid being tracked.

Screen your applicants. Application screening is another very effective way of recognizing criminals, or people living beyond their means. Naturally a criminal record is a red flag and is generally considered a reason for denial. Another red flag is having a number of items in collections that are not being dealt with. This could mean the individual is living beyond their means. You have to consider the possibility that their wages might be garnished to take care of these bills. Would they be able to still pay the rent? Where is the rent money coming from in that case?

Be aware when showing units. Showing a rental unit could also be potentially dangerous if you do not take appropriate precautions. When you are showing a place privately to a stranger, you are giving them a perfect opportunity to commit a crime against you. It is always a good idea before you meet them to get their information and do all the pre-screening you can. If you feel they may be an OK fit but are still uneasy about them, be sure to show the unit during daylight hours. One very good tactic is to set appointments for multiple prospects at the same time. If you must meet the person alone, require an ID prior to entering and leave their license info with someone who can follow up with police in the event you don’t return with the “all OK” message.

Change the locks. Always make sure you change the locks between tenants. There should be adequate key control in place as well. Keys marked with the unit number and street number can lead someone right to the tenant’s door in the event that key becomes lost, is not returned, or is left lying around by someone using it. Keys should only have limited information on the tags or a cross reference sheet identifying what the codes on the tags mean. Always keep proof that the locks have been changed; it protects you from liability in the event of a break-in. If a tenant loses a key, they should be charged a replacement cost to re-key the locks.

Keep sensitive information secure. You’re holding personal information about each of your tenants. All of this information needs to remain in locked cabinets when not in use and not given out to anyone without the tenant’s written authorization, unless it is requested by law enforcement. If it is requested by law enforcement, you will need to cooperate, but make sure you are dealing with an official of the local police or FBI before giving out personal information.

Keep renters informed. If a crime does occur in one of the units you are managing and you have other tenants in the same vicinity, they should be notified of the crime so that they are aware and can protect themselves. Most crimes committed against people in rentals are crimes of opportunity, and renters can do simple things to make sure they do not become victims.

Think twice about signs. If your rental is in a higher crime neighborhood and prone to vandalism, you may want to do some creative advertising that your unit is available. You do not want to leave a sign on the street indicating you have a unit ready to move into. If you must put a sign out there, you can request that the current tenants not be disturbed so that any onlookers will think it is occupied.

Engage the community. Finally, there are neighborhood watches that you and tenants can become involved in, and many cities have crime prevention seminars that you can attend to learn more tricks of the trade in order to help keep you and all your tenants safe.

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

I think we can all agree that whether you’re a seasoned property manager or building owner, or if you’re a rookie to managing property, that there are not enough reminders about Mother Nature changing course, come winter each year!

Weather can be a property manager’s best friend or worst enemy. The key is to be sure you are prepared! Even if you have the best staff and the finest building engineer, double checking the basics while the weather is mild is much more pleasant than learning that something was overlooked after it breaks or bursts in the middle of January, especially when it could have been prevented with a $5 piece of weather-stripping or a $2 valve.

Winter can really cause a lot of trouble for the bricks and mortar of a building, in addition to the windows and pipes. Going over all of the most vulnerable areas early will save you so much grief later on down the road. For instance, walk the lower levels and check the basements or whatever areas are least visited at your property, in addition to all spaces that are vacant.

It is vital that even the smallest pinhole be closed up tight. In a biting subzero winter, a blowing cold snap can pierce through that small hole and act as a razor through any pipe. That type of damage can be menacing and I would not wish it on anyone.

I have learned over the years that you MUST check and double check to prevent a winter disaster. As a force of habit I circulate the below checklist as a tickler to all of my staff in early Fall. It is a simple, yet gentle reminder that we need to make sure we have thought of the obvious before winter sets in. Every year you should pull out your checklist and send it to your team. This will help them to make sure they are covering their bases. Of course in the large properties, these checklists can become quite comprehensive, but regardless of size, these basic reminders are worth their weight in gold.

Winter Risk Management Checklist

1. Winterization of outside hoses, spigots, etc.
2. Boilers and heating equipment has been inspected and tested for proper operation.
3. Roof inspected and gutters and downspouts have been cleaned and inspected.
4. Vents and other openings are closed and sealed tight for cold air infiltration.
5. Final fall plantings (bulbs, sod, etc.) completed and clean up.
6. Customer heating systems checked and inspected (individual)
7. Walk off mats inspected and located for installation on hard surface floor areas.
8. Snow supplies purchased such as shovels, ice melt, etc. for first snow fall or ice storm.
9. Snow blowers inspected, checked, and made ready for first snow fall (remember November/December you can have an early snow!).
10. Snow removal vendor identified and contract in place. Please identify the name of the vendor hired for the 2012/2013 season and update all emergency calling lists.
11. Insure heat tape, if applicable, is working properly.
12. Be sure time clocks and other equipment is functioning properly for lighting and security systems (remember it is darker earlier so exterior lights and parking lot lights need to be on earlier).
13. Inspect all vacant units and spaces to insure heat is operational and windows are sealed tight.
14. Inspect all basements and lower levels to insure openings are closed and weather tight.

Download The Checklist

Here are some other sources for more comprehensive winterization steps. You may also find some ideas to include in your resident or tenant newsletters:

http://www.sdao.com/ref/RiskMgmt/winter_weather.pdf

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/Winter_Checklist.pdf

http://www.tcrecc.com/docs/3bepreparedWINTER_Checklist.pdf

http://www.buildings.com/tabid/3334/ArticleID/13154/Default.aspx

http://homerepair.about.com/od/exteriorhomerepair/ss/winterize.htm

Have a safe winter!

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

It is a tough time of the year for us property managers as many of us are in the process of planning our budget for next year. However, it’s also a perfect time to poll all of your property owners, vendors, customers, and staff to see what might be on their wish list!

What is a wish list you ask? Well a wish list is a reminder of all of the things your customers, staff, vendors, or property owners have wished for that can help your property to improve, save money, or maybe even provide a new service idea!

Simply create a friendly form and title it 2013 ABC Property Budget Wish List. Leave a blank page of lines and explain that you are interested in feedback for ideas to make your property better, greener, or more efficient. Ask them to share their wish list items and suggestions because you may be able to incorporate some of the ideas into the budget for 2013, or into your long range planning for 2014, 2015, 2016! There is no time like the present to start looking out beyond next year’s budget!

Everybody understands budgeting and cost containment. People know that you cannot purchase everything all at one time. But, if you offer everyone on the property team a chance to contribute to the future you are not only giving everyone a chance to be heard, you are also holding them accountable to planning and strategizing for their department or focus area! It is amazing what ideas you can glean from such a request. The wish list for your customers may take the form of a Facebook poll, website newsletter post, or online form. For your staff, you may send an online email form as well! Give everyone a short window of time to respond, say a few days or so, and see what feedback you get.

Once you get all of the results you can look at the list and address some of the suggestions and/or share the suggestions that may be incorporated or not incorporated and why. Also, if you plan for the long term budgets, at least everyone will understand your program and your plan of attack for the future! It will also demonstrate how well you have picked up on the property needs over the last year. You’ll find out that you either have a good grasp on the needs of the property, or a little surprised to learn that you’re a bit out of touch with what other people observe as property needs.

In addition to the budget wish lists, an annual Vendor budget letter, which is a more formal request, should be distributed to all contract service vendors, suppliers, utility providers, and professional services, such as accountants, auditors, attorneys, architects, etc. Every property is different so it may not apply for all property types, but it gives everyone a part in the budget, and it also shows them that you are interested in what they think or their suggestions. When polling the vendors and suppliers you are looking for feedback and recommendations as well as the future projections for price increases next year. This letter provides a written response that can be part of your budget presentation. Even your local city water and sewer provider should receive a request for increase information. No one should be left out as it truly saves time and provides a great documentation trail for your budget. It will also explain why you are proposing various increases.

As far as the contract service providers, the request for next year’s contract is another aspect. Each year you prepare your budget you are also evaluating the contract services as well. Why not incorporate that into the request, and ask for the contract too.

Here is an example of a Vendor Budget Letter.

Even if you are not able to distribute and use these ideas for the 2013 budget process, you now have a year to prepare for the following year. Happy budgeting!

By Ken Kmet, Condo Voice, Clearwater, FL

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so we’ve put together a checklist for condominium associations and homeowner associations for hurricane season readiness. The first thing an association has to do is adopt a policy on how the association will function during the three phases of a severe weather event: before, during, and after a hurricane/severe weather event. They must also adopt a hurricane shutter specification, then make a checklist of actions and duties assigned to the association and to each homeowner in all three phases of the severe weather event. If you have all this, examine it carefully, and update if necessary. Of course, all of this should be done well before you see the television alerts showing you the radar of a hurricane off shore and heading right for you. The last thing you need in a crisis, where your life may be in danger, is confusion and wrong assumption of duties. Make sure your preparedness policy alerts individuals of what common area services, equipment, and facilities will be available, or NOT available (such as the elevator). How to create this policy deserves its own post, and we will do that at a later date at condovoice.com, but every policy should contain the following details.

Emergency Board Powers: With details on the “special powers” conferred by the state legislature on condominium boards to enable them to maneuver their association through the difficult post-disaster period;

1. Immediate Post-Storm Action: Including locating residents and employees, attending to the injured, securing the community, and documenting storm damage.

2. Reconstruction and Restoration: Dealing with association attorneys, insurance companies, and contractors in disaster recovery and putting a community back together again.

3. If you have hurricane shutters, decide whether the association has the ability and the responsibility to close them when needed, or not.

Note: Impact-resistant glass windows and doors have become the norm in recent years, and condominium units and HOA homes with these are now self-sufficient and hurricane ready. As a homeowner, and as a rule, you should never assume it is the association’s responsibility to close your shutters. During a crisis, there is never enough manpower available to handle everything the community needs, or for each homeowner that has not planned well.

4. Post a notice to your bulletin boards and website. It should contain an alert of severe weather approaching and clearly state the association’s hurricane policy. This policy will assign duties to the association and each homeowner before, during, and after the crisis, including evacuation procedures.

5. Install shutters and/or make the association’s common areas and facilities ready well in advance of the storm. The storm may not hit, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

6. If you have association records on site, gather the boxes that contain them and put them in your pre-designated secure location either higher up or off site.

7. Try to determine who is staying, who is leaving, and what group of people will serve as volunteers for the association during the crisis. For example, who will help fill sand bags, move furniture, etc.?

8. If you employ a maintenance person or staff, determine if they are available, and if so, when and for how many hours, before they have to head home and care for their own property and family. They may serve several properties and have to share their time with those, and at their own homes. Contact each of your service providers and have a plan for what they will do for your property before, during, and after the storm. Discuss charges, rates, and the amount of time they can dedicate to your property, so that expectations are clearly set. Some service contractors have hurricane retainer contracts, which can reserve a certain amount of man-hours for emergency service.

9. Move all equipment that can be moved to a higher place. This includes pool pumps, compressors, small generators, and the like. Most condominiums and HOAs have maintenance rooms, which are most often located on ground level. These contain tools, equipment, and supplies, which should be set up to be moved quickly in the event of rising water. This place should be higher and easy to access after the storm so these things can be used to clean up and do immediate repairs if necessary. Remember, your elevator will not work in a power loss. Generators operate life safety equipment, and an elevator is not life safety equipment.

10. Remove all furniture and items that can become projectiles in high winds from the exposed common areas. Check with your swimming pool professional, and, in an emergency, if your pool’s surface can handle it, throw your pool furniture in the swimming pool.

11. If the association owns a generator, test it, and make sure it is supplied with fuel and that it functions properly.

12. If you have time, purchase supplies needed at your local hardware store for possible repairs and cleanup after the storm, including water, batteries, and perishable items.

If you have a website for your community association, make sure you post the links to medical and emergency services, including evacuation routes and procedures, so that members can access this while there is still power. A community website can be a powerful tool and asset during a time of crisis. It can be a place to turn, created and designed for just that moment, when all else fails. Make sure your website is also mobile ready, so that if power does go out, your members can still use their mobile phone to access the website. If you can, manage the website by posting alerts, notices, and other information so that not only residents, but out-of-town owners can access it for updates as to the status of the property, damages, etc. A website can also serve as an off site records storage resource for occasions like this. Talk to your website manager about this option.

Each condominium and HOA community has their own particular needs to prepare for a hurricane. This list IS NOT complete. It is only intended to get you thinking about “what if” a hurricane were to approach your condo community, townhome, time share, or HOA. Make sure you have gone over everything ahead of time.

If you are a self-managed community, have the list of people you will turn to for help handy. If you are professionally managed, go over your hurricane policy with your property manager, and how management will help you during the three phases. Don’t assume! Make sure you are clear with how much, and with what specifics, management will help you in the crisis. Determine and agree on the additional charges, if any, so that there will be no hesitation on their part when you ask for help. Make sure crisis-related manpower and equipment is designated for your community. Also determine how many of their resources you will have available to you.

During a time of high anxiety, the last thing you need to do is to have your anxieties increased by the thought that you haven’t prepared well enough. Having a proper checklist, being fully stocked with hurricane supplies, and having a clearly defined hurricane policy for your community can give you the peace of mind to know you have done all you can to prepare.

By Ken Kmet, Condo Voice, Clearwater, FL

As buildings age, more attention has to be paid to repairs and replacements. Plumbing problems are more expensive than other repairs because they are hidden. Locating the source of a leak may not be easy, even though wet areas or standing water may be evident. Finding the actual problem source may require the assistance of a professional leak-finding service, as well as invasive tactics, including drywall or concrete removal. Plumbing leaks of every kind usually come with collateral damage, not only to the property owner of the home where the leak originates, but also to the neighbors.

When you experience one leak in a building that is over 20 years old, chances are you will start to see them more frequently. If you live in an older community association, including an HOA, condominium association, townhome community, or other multi-family community, a call to action is needed. You may try to make do, repair the one leak here and there. But living through these repairs is misery to all involved, and expensive. Most of the time the expenses are shared between unit owner and the association, and just how the bill gets shared is not always clear. Just because “you’ve always done it this way,” that doesn’t mean someone took the time to research it properly, and the laws have changed recently in every state regarding who is responsible to do the repair and pay for the repair for each part of the damaged property.

You can look to your condominium documents, HOA bylaws, deed restrictions, and other forms of legal documentation for your community for answers. It may say plainly in these documents that the unit owner is responsible to repair the pipe, but the association must pay for the drywall repairs, regardless of fault, cause, or location. There can be any number of variations on this theme. However, you must also look to your state laws, because they have probably changed since your documents were recorded, and they may take precedence over your documents, depending on many factors. You can always call your attorney and pay for a letter to define the current responsibilities.

However, there is one rule of thumb that I always go by, and that is to look to your property insurance for answers first and last. In other words, follow the money, or better said, those with the gold make the rules. The insurance industry doesn’t play around, and they lobby legislatures all over the country to make laws that favor them, and perhaps not necessarily for the consumer or property manager. For example, recently in Florida, regarding a “pipe burst” event, the law was changed to make the drywall, regardless of location, the responsibility of the community association, even though in most condominium documents, the interior walls, as well as the plumbing pipe (providing it services only that unit), are defined as being “a part of the unit,” and therefore the responsibility of the unit owner. In the past, the association was only responsible for common walls. But now, we look to the insurance industry to explain to us what is the responsibility of the association versus the unit owner.

I use a visual when explaining the principal of “no-gap” coverage. Take your right and left hands, fingers stretched out, and bring them together so that each finger fits into the other. The right hand represents the community association insurance policy, and the left hand represents the unit owner’s insurance policy. The state laws are written so they fit together with no gaps. Theoretically, if both the association and the unit owner call their agents and each file a claim, the adjusters for both companies will determine what is covered under which policy, with no gaps in coverage. The only thing out of pocket for both parties should be the deductibles and/or co-pays.

Let’s take this one step further. If a building experiences leaks, and they become more frequent, then the issue of “neglect” or “negligence” starts to pop up in conversations. The implication is, if you “know” you have pipes that are getting old and need replacement, and claims are adding up on the loss history charts, the insurance company is going to require you, the property owner, or community association, to make significant if not total repairs and/or replacements to stop the leaks. They will not simply keep paying for property damages year after year. They will either increase your premiums tremendously or drop you. If you get dropped, and/or have a large claims history, it may come to the point where you cannot get insurance, you will pay through the nose for it, or you may have to use an insurance company that is not “admitted” (in your state) or even rated well.

By law, community associations have to make “their best effort” to get insurance. Best effort here includes repairing the property as needed to get the insurance at a reasonable rate. Most building owners, boards of directors, and HOA, condominium, and community associations put off the huge expense of replacing plumbing for obvious reasons. However, if you count the cost of premiums that are 10 times more than you are paying now for many years, it makes sense to just spend the money before that time comes on the one-time replacement, eliminate the issue and risk from the picture, and keep low premiums. It makes economic sense to, for example, pay $100,000 to replace the plumbing pipes in a building, than to pay five times your current insurance premium over the next five years, only to have to pay the $100,000 anyway, five years from now.

Replacing plumbing pipes is invasive, it is miserable, and it may seem expensive until you do the math when you bring the insurance factor into the equation. If you have a building that is aging, and especially if you are starting to have leaks here and there, start a reserve now for replacing your plumbing. Being proactive and funding a reserve, as well as conducting a study to establish what the scope of work and eventual cost will be, not only makes good financial sense to your community, but it also shows your insurance company that you are taking steps to reduce the risk, which is the thing they rate their premiums on and whether they will offer you a renewal policy.

This blog submission is only for purposes of disseminating information. It does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by virtue of reading this blog entry or submitting a comment thereto. If you need legal advice, please hire a licensed attorney in your state.

By Rose McMillan, Terminix, Atlanta, GA

If you are a property manager, you may think that the idea of calling an exterminator is a nightmare. While dealing with pests of any sort is no picnic, it is far better than simply letting the infestation get worse and worse, which is exactly what is going to happen if you do nothing. If you are performing a property management role for a multifamily property, you need to have an integrated pest management strategy available at your fingertips should you detect a problem.

For Property Managers

Keep an open door policy for reporting pests. Be very clear that there will be no blame or penalties placed for reporting pests of any sort. One great way to keep things blame-free is to allow residents to sign up for weekly or monthly pest control treatments.

Be proactive with your pest control and make sure that you seal up any cracks or gaps in the walls and the baseboards. This keeps pests from entering the building on their own. Seal up the areas where pipe lines enter and leave the unit as well.

Call an exterminator sooner rather than later. For example, if roaches and bedbugs are seen during the day, this usually means that an infestation has gotten quite bad and needs immediate attention. An exterminator can tell you what you need to know about your situation.

Educate your residents by passing out notices with pictures of different pests and what draws them in. For example, people who live in urban areas should be warned about bedbugs and cautioned to avoid picking up furniture on the side of the road.

Put together a sound strategy for integrated pest management by working with a good company that specializes in pest removal. In many cases, a good company of this sort can ensure that you have all your bases covered.

For Residents

All residents should keep their homes tidy to better facilitate good pest management. For example, they should wash their dishes every day, and they should reduce clutter in their home to provide less of a safe haven for pests.

Residents should also throw out old food. This is because insects are drawn to food that is left out and undisturbed, even if the food has not gone bad. This includes old frying oil, which can be put in the freezer and thrown out when it is frozen.

Use bleach if possible to clean up the wet areas in the home. There are many pests that are drawn to the damper areas of the home, and bleach makes it impossible for them to live there. Bleach also sanitizes the areas, making it more pleasant in general.

Do a thorough clean of the home or the unit once a month. This includes sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing. Not only will this discourage pests from coming in your home, you will find that it can also help you detect pests that you did not know were there.

If you are running a large multifamily property, you must be proactive when it comes to pest control. This is not a matter that you can put off, so act before there is a problem. Most pest problems can be nipped in the bud early on if you have the right information at hand.