We're Here to Help
Your one stop shop for new and continuing board leaders.
Together let's take some of the guesswork out of leadership.
Effective board members are the backbone of any well managed building.
But for many, the role can be a big lift at best, and confusing and unnerving at worst. To complicate things, there are no comprehensive or easy to digest resources that walk volunteers through the roles and responsibilities for seated board members. We’re here to help.
We've aggregated tools and resources for new and continuing board leaders and hope you find it invaluable. We’ll also continue to add to and modify the tool to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness.
Together let's take some of the guesswork out of leadership.
THE JOURNEY TO HOME OWNERSHIP IN THE DISTRICT LEADS MANY TO BUYING IN HIGH-DENSITY CONDO OR COOPERATIVE LIVING SCENARIOS.
While resale packages and real estate agents offer some guidance on condo ownership, there is little done to educate would-be owners before they buy. Once residents are situated in their new spaces, it can often come as a surprise that much of the management of the building falls to the collective ownership. Untangling the rules, roles, and responsibilities can be tricky and onerous. Folks aren’t sure what the board role is vs. the management role and what is considered the purview of the resident. Things as straightforward as insurance coverages can be more complicated in a condo setting along with rules and regulations, bill pay, the definition of limited common elements, and what owners can actually DO with their units at any given time. To tackle these issues, an effective board is absolutely essential.
When it comes to board leadership, the more you know, the better off the building will be with your stewardship. Governing documents should function as the board’s decision-making compass when managing day-to-day issues and tackling conflict within a building. Questions like; who is responsible for in unit repairs when the roof leaks or, why can’t one owner rent a unit out when others have been renting for years? Or - what happens when a building doesn’t have enough in reserve funds to pay for large capital improvement expenses? Issues of delinquency need to be sorted out along with house rules and, most importantly, sound financial management. It’s a nuanced space to work in, and we’ve spent over a decade fine tuning the work and helping our boards navigate the tasks.
We encourage you to spend some time exploring these pages and links to outside resources. Also, consider attending our bi-monthly board education series: Building Better Boards: A Bird's Eye View. We bring folks together in our offices to cover things as varied as maintenance oversight, legal considerations, finance, reserve studies, and engineering. Truly, the topics are endless and we enjoy lively conversations and getting to know our board member community!