| Plan to Plant Landscaping defines different aspects and philosophies of a community. It can be manicured like a formal French garden or free flowing like an Englishman would have it. In either case, it’s intended to provide respite from the concrete and asphalt of our modern world...to soothe the soul. Attractive landscaping also increases property values. Those communities that have a strategic plan to care for their landscape attract more conscientious residents and higher prices, plain and simple. To achieve both high aesthetic and financial goals, proactive Boards appoint a committee to supervise the landscape care and philosophy of the community. The Landscape Committee reviews contract proposals and monitors, protects and defends the landscape standards. In addition, the Committee establishes long range landscape plans recognizing that growing things have a limited useful life just like buildings. The Landscape Committee acts as a buffer between residents and the landscape contractor. Rather than have individuals making demands of the contractor directly, all requests should be funneled through the Committee. Contractor performance should be carefully monitored by the Committee by review of work immediately following the contractor’s visit. This is both in the association’s and the contractor’s best interest since, by contract and specifications, the contractor is rarely doing all tasks in all areas each visit. Corrections can be addressed immediately rather than jumping the contractor for a year’s worth of accumulated screw-ups. Trimming standards and consistency are particularly important. Pruning styles range from free-flowing, irregular shapes to spherical or unusual topiary forms. It’s important that the criteria not change from year to year. Perennial plants adapt slowly to a trimming style. Radical changes in trimming can cause traumatic results, even death. Natural, low-maintenance growth patterns are easier to maintain and allow plants to flourish, and reduce care and replacement costs. They also provide the consistency needed to produce a beautiful landscape. In an effort to create instant "curb appeal," some associations over plant common areas. Small, unusable and difficult to irrigate patches of grass rapidly become eyesores because they're hard to maintain. Young trees and shrubs are allowed to mature and overcrowd the buildings, walkways and streets. Over planting can be spotted by the following signs:
Improperly arranged flowers can create similar problems. Annual flowers and other colorful plants should be strategically located to ensure optimum growing conditions. Avoid sporadic spots of color. While individuality has its merits, the Board should strive for consistency in the landscape policies. When it comes to curb appeal, landscape is king. With careful and proper planning and planting, common areas can be all that they can be. BACK Doing Their Bidding A bid should contain enough information to properly evaluate the contractor, a description of the work to be performed, specifications, materials, other important requirements and last, but not least, the contractor’s price to perform the service. The bid should use the "Goldilocks" approach: not too little, not too much, juuuust right. So what is "just right"? Every bid should have these components: Contract With Proper Provisions A document like the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Contractors Contract should be used which includes: ~Contractor licensing information Detailed Drawings & Specifications. A description of the work and materials including blueprints and engineering reports if the work is complex. Common projects like roofing, landscaping and painting should always have considerable detail. Addendum. If there is an exception or limitation to the work, an attachment should be included that fully describes it. Insurance Information. On sizeable projects, the contractor should provide a Certificate of General Liability Insurance naming the association as an "Additional Insured". If the contractor has employees, a current copy of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance information should be included. If there is more than one worker, don’t fall for the "we’re all independent contractors" ploy. If they are, they should all produce business cards, General Liability insurance, proper licenses and other confirming evidence. If they can’t, they aren’t. Performance Bond. On projects that are complex and expensive, it may be wise to require that the contractor provide a performance bond (cost is 2.5% of the contract amount) that will pay for another contractor to finish the job if the original one is unable or unwilling. The association pays for it but it is good insurance. Contractors with poor credit can’t get them. References for Similar Work. Get reference contact information (names, addresses and phone numbers) and make the calls. This is your best screening tool. A final word...When requesting contractor bids, it’s very important to use the services of a knowledgeable attorney to review the contract. The attorney will ensure that a contract with provisions that will reasonably protect the association. A comprehensive bidding system and attorney review will help ensure that the contractor does your bidding and not his. A "bid" of precaution, will lead to "bidder" results. Just a little "bid" of timely advice for planning for your fair weather projects. BACK P-A-I-N-T Perfection Plan. Inventory every paintable item and decide when it needs to be painted. Prioritizing is particularly important if the painting budget is inadequate to paint everything at once. You can concentrate on the short-term needs, and accrue money in reserves for future painting. Ask. The paint industry changes rapidly so make no assumptions. All paint companies offer free expert advice on the latest and best products for your particular needs. In addition, they can provide specifications to use for bidding the project and actually do inspections on the project to ensure the product is being applied properly. This is also the time to update your color scheme. Ask the paint company to prepare a color board with three different trim and body options (usually a free service but worth paying for). Let the owners vote on their favorite. Inspect the Work. In the planning process, walk the site completely. Notice which areas are fading faster than others (typically south, southwest exposures). Determine the condition of the underlying materials to be painted (they may need to be refurbished or replaced). Note the detrimental effects your sprinkler system may be having on your painted surfaces, and make necessary connections to avoid premature failure of the new paint. Know what unavoidable damage the painting process may cause to landscaped areas, and plan accordingly. During the job, don't rely on the painting contractor to inspect his own work. Make sure that the paint manufacturer's representative inspects the project at logical intervals. This way, the manufacturer cannot void the warranty for improper application. Each product has a recommended "mil" thickness which can vary depending on method of application (brush, roll or spray), ambient temperature and dryness of the surface. It is critical that the right product be applied in the right way. After the job is done (at least according to the painter), do a walk-through inspection of your project before you pay the final painting bill. There are always, always, always (did I repeat myself?) always corrections and additions to every job. Get them done before you make final payment while the painter is motivated. Once paid, it’s off to the next job and motivation plummets. After six months, and especially after the first rainy period, inspect the whole job to see how it’s holding up. There are often areas that begin to flake or crack. In particular, look for painted rails and other exposed horizontal surfaces that get direct rain. All significant failures should be touched up immediately. Do not wait! Negotiate. Get competitive bids from qualified contractors whose references you’ve checked. All bids should be based on identical and clear specifications provided by the paint manufacturer. Do not automatically choose the low bid. All bids are negotiable and you may get the price you want from the painter you like best just by asking. You’ve got nothing to lose. Timing. All your planning and painting needs should take into consideration that most painting is done usually within a relatively small weather window (unless it’s interior). Give your contractors plenty of lead time so you don’t get caught in the "schedule squeeze". It’s common for painters to take on more work than is humanly possible given the weather envelope. The last thing you want is to have the painter working in the rain saying "We always do it this way". Better to wait until next year. There are few homeowner association projects more important than painting. Remember the acronym P-A-I-N-T as you venture into your next round and it will turn out A-O-K. BACK Clean Sweep Chimneys The National Fire Protection Association advises, "Chimneys, fireplaces, and vents should be inspected at least once a year for soundness, freedom from deposits and correct clearances. Cleaning, maintenance, and repairs should be done if necessary." This is particularly important in common wall communities like condominiums and townhomes where a chimney fire can spread to neighboring units. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends that open masonry fireplaces should be cleaned at 1/4" of sooty buildup, and sooner if there is any glaze present in the system. Factory-built fireplaces should be cleaned when any appreciable buildup occurs. This is considered to be enough fuel buildup to cause a chimney fire capable of damaging the chimney or spreading to the home. The fact that fireplaces are rarely used doesn’t change the need for inspection. Birds and other animals may build nests in the flue or there may be other types of deterioration that could make the chimney unsafe to use. Chimney caps rust away defeating the spark protection features. If your common wall community has either gas and/or wood burning fireplaces with chimneys, now is the right time for the association to arrange and pay for a mass inspection before the chimney sweep busy season kicks in. Chimney sweep services offer discounts on multiple inspections, often in the $10-20/chimney range instead of $30-40. Usually the inspection can be done from the roof without having to enter the unit. If repairs and/or cleaning is indicated, the unit owner should pay for it. The costs, again, can be negotiated down if there are multiple chimneys to clean. Before fall turns to winter and fireplace burning starts, arrange this critical fire safety inspection and make sure to include it in your budget next year as a line item so you don’t forget to do it. BACK Drip & Watt
Control It’s basic human nature: I’m not paying (directly) for it, so who cares? This lack of concern causes resources and dollars to literally go down the drain. Is the association helpless to control it? No. Whenever there is a association paid cost, the Board has the responsibility to monitor and control that usage. So how is that best done? Analyze Utility Usage. Looking at the last 24-36 months of utility bills can reveal much. Is usage consistent for the months in question? If the total yearly usage is divided by number of homes by 12 months, is it consistent with utility company averages? If not, roll up your sleeves, you’ve got work to do. Utility bills are usually one of an HOA’s biggest expenses. A 5-10% reduction may translate into thousands of dollars of savings. Perform a Utility Audit. All homes should be surveyed for fixtures that control HOA paid utilities. The first step is to send out a checklist form with postpaid return envelope to all residents. The survey should include questions and items you need the resident to respond to such as: 1. Toilet[s] running continuously? 2. Faucets drip? 3. Do you have low flow faucets? 4. Do you have low flow shower heads? 5. Do you have a programmable clock for your heat? 6. Are all exterior light fixtures using compact fluorescent
bulbs? 7. [Add other questions that apply] Schedule Repairs. Approach this campaign as a way of saving a bucket load of money to deter claims of invasion of privacy. Explain in dollars and cents how reducing water consumption by 10%, 20% or 30% could reduce the monthly assessment. Since water is a major budget item, the reduction is significant. Based on the savings, the HOA can justify paying for the repairs and it’s cheaper for everyone if they’re done efficiently. These repairs can be done by maintenance people who charge a fraction of what plumbers charge. Perform Repairs. Pick a weekend when a repair crew can do repairs advise residents of the schedule and need to be home during no more than a two hour time frame. Using the returned Utility Audit as guides, have crews equipped with toilet tank repair kits, an assortment of faucet washers, low flow water restrictors, 13 watt compact fluorescent bulbs and programmable clocks for heat move quickly from house to house. The repairs shouldn't take more than 15 - 30 minutes per unit so two men could do around 40 homes or more in a day. There may be several homes that cannot be accessed because the owner is unavailable. Arrange another weekend to finish up. There may be a few who refuse access but with 80 - 90% compliance, the project is a great success. And if there is evidence that a holdout's unit is leaking water (You can hear it running.), it qualifies under the HOA’s emergency access rights. When it comes to conserving energy and reducing costs, it’s the drips and the watts that’ll get you. Do an annual energy review to make sure you don’t slip drips and know what’s watt. BACK © Copyright by
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