Can Community Associations Learn From the Past?
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Community associations can certainly relate. We struggle to prevent serious long-term problems because members are blinded by short-term losses. We have to stop making the same mistakes that lead to disaster. Things like:
- Prioritizing homeowner satisfaction over safety (homeowners and the community will always be at financial odds–both have the goal of aggregating as much money as possible)
- Using maintenance deferment as a solution to keep fees low
- Reliance on outdated planning information (the most expensive paperweight)
- Focusing on the wrong numbers (raising assessments now vs massive special assessments later)
- Failure to treat the reserve study as a living document (Having a reserve study isn’t enough – you actually have to act on it)
- Missing key elements, which lead to ‘surprises’ such as a full pipe replacement that nobody ever accounted for
It’s time to embrace a new way of thinking. With a strategic long-term plan in place for your community, you can go to members and say, “This is important, and here is why, and here is how it will impact you now vs later.”
The premise in short: fragile things break under stress and pressure, while resilient things are able to withstand stress and pressure without breaking. Anti-fragile things, on the other hand, actually get stronger under stress and pressure
Start building your community’s long-term plan now. Contact SmartProperty to learn how:
View a Brief Demo or Schedule a Meeting
