San Diego Condos, Homes and Real Estate News

Each quarter this mailer, we will cover a few things that home owners and their HOA boards can do to generally benefit Downtown residents; this quarter: Building Management.

Few things affect the quality of life in a condominium more than the style and nature of the management company that the board of directors has chosen to oversee your condominium community.

The various Downtown buildings are managed in many different ways. The level of service varies from full concierge services with valet parking, doormen, pools, spas, exercise rooms, and 24- hour security to minimum service (akin to apartment-style management). The level of service is determined by a number of things:

Monthly dues: The factor foremost in determining the level of service is the amount of monthly dues paid to the association. The higher the dues, the more services and amenities the dues can support. The reverse of that coin is the higher the dues, the fewer the people who can afford to purchase in the building; largely because the HOA fees are calculated in the buyer's lender's determination of what monthly payments buyers can afford. There is nothing wrong with high HOA fees for many owners who like the exclusivity that the higher dues provide and prefer the increased services. Other buyers often find that they do not use pools, spas, recreation rooms, valets, etc. and dislike paying for those amenities. The good thing about the number of varying communities available in Downtown is that there is something for almost everybody's taste and budget.

Types of Management

Onsite: Many of our communities, particularly the larger ones, are managed by some of the major management companies which provide a full-time onsite general manager, an assistant general manager, and a building engineer. This form of management is generally the most effective since it provides management seven days per week to oversee the staff, security, and to resolve issues that arise. They usually have well trained people to assist with the day-to-day management and to see that the building remains in full compliance with all new regulations and accounting practices. However, this is the most expensive form of management, which is often initiated by the developer when he begins the sales efforts in the community.

Onsite self-management: This style of management involves the HOA's Board of Directors for the building hiring their own full-time general manager and often a full-time building engineer, depending on the size of the community, both of whom report directly to board. This removes one level of management (the professional management company), but often produces the same results. The general manager then becomes responsible for seeing that the compliance issues are met. Typically this also involves the hiring of a firm to handle the accounting and billing.

Semi-onsite: This form of management is becoming the most popular in the mid-size communities Downtown, and even some of the larger buildings are beginning to adopt this concept. Some of these developments do not have a need for full-time onsite management and use a part-time general manager who reports to the Board of Directors. These managers often work 15 to 25 hours per week, enough to oversee the staff, remain on top of the maintenance items, and address issues in a relatively quick fashion. Usually this form of management involves hiring a property management firm to handle the accounting, billing, minutes, and assist in compliance regulations. The more challenges the community has, the more hours the manager works, at least at first, until he or she gets the HOA stabilized. This style requires an active board of directors who are willing to oversee the manager and assist him or her in making the decisions. Usually that manager is also available on call after hours and handles the after hour calls personally.

Offsite Property Management Company: Typically this is the least effective, but often the least expensive, of the major forms of management. Most of the major property management companies will provide a liaison manager who will oversee the community. Unfortunately, the liaison managers typically oversee at least seven other properties each. That means even if the manager is working 50 hours per week, they can only allot 6 to 8 per week in your community. That 6 to 8 hours usually only involves 2 or 3 hours per week onsite, since the hours include meetings, bookkeeping, minute preparation, etc. What typically then occurs is that burnt-out lights, maintenance, and cleaning issues often linger from month to month until there is a walk-through and those items are noted and can be addressed. There is little time for supervision and oversight of staff and after hours issues are generally forwarded to a staff member of the management company who has little or no knowledge of the community. The main benefits of this form of management are lower costs and the management company has the ability to assist the HOA in staying compliant.

The selection of a competent general manager is critical in communities that are self-managed. The abilities of the liaison are extremely important to those HOA's that choose offsite management and there are, unfortunately, plenty of ineffective ones in the marketplace, so beware! If your board decides to under take self-management or semi self-management, the board's willingness to be involved is what will make things work best for your community.

Before buying Downtown San Diego condos, buyers have to consider a lot of things. Here is a brief checklist of the basic things to inspect on your chosen condo:

Examine the floor plan for energy and efficiency. Check for window locations - will the windows produce too much heat inside the home during certain times of the day?

Know the noise level inside and outside of the place. You can do this by asking potential neighbors about the noise level. You can also try going to the unit at different times of the day, especially weekend and late at night, so you can personally hear the noises produced by the surrounding.

It is very important to determine the degree of privacy of Downtown San Diego condos. Check for the visibility of rooms from the outside. Are the windows properly placed to avoid being overly visible to outside?

Safety is major concern thus you should check for security functions. Check for security systems; is it near to the local police or the fire station? Does the building have enough light during the night?

Know the rules and regulations of the HOA and see how it canaffect or hinder your lifestyle. Some rules worth considering are: pet rules - are pets allowed? Decoration rules - do they have rules on what decorations are not allowed?

Learn what type of people lives in the community. Are they families, single adults or retirees?

Check if there are enough backup/facilities in case of emergency like generators for power outage, fire extinguisher and fire exits in case of fires, and etc.

It is important to have an idea on your chosen condo before buying it to avoid buyer's remorse. Having enough information can certainly make decision-making a breeze.

For further information on any Downtown San Diego Condos contact:

Gregg Neuman

1-800-221-2210                        

Contact the Neuman and Neuman Team

www.SellSanDiego.com

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