Maintenance Free Living! Really?
“When a member asked me to address the belief of homeowners, that HOA living is maintenance free living, the zippy Green Acres theme song came to mind immediately. “Green Acres is the place for me, farm livin’ is the life for me… It continues on “The Chores.. The Stores.. Fresh Air… Town Square…”
I mean, the whole premise of the show was about Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor moving from a complicated city life to their own piece of “the promised land” to enjoy nirvana. Nearly all the comedy revolved around the Douglas’s interactions with “real” people and misconceptions about a simple lifestyle they thought they would enjoy.
This isn’t much different than the belief that moving from a single family home to an HOA would make life carefree. Well, without the comedy and Arnold Ziffle, the pig.
Where does the thinking come from?
In general, many developers sell units implying the Association repairs everything and pays for everything, via dues. They don’t explain that some items, like a leaky or clogged kitchen sink or a low battery in a smoke detector is the homeowner’s responsibility. They also don’t understand the concept of a benefit assessment – i.e. a certain element is used exclusively by one homeowner so the association assesses the cost of repair back to the unit owner who benefits from said element – like a waste pipe or a fence or whatever.
In addition, some people think they live in an apartment – or assisted living. People call the property manager complaining about smoke detectors beeping because of a low battery or burned out light bulbs in their living rooms and are aghast when I tell them I’m happy to send someone over there, but they’ll get charged for it. One woman called a manager 3 days in row to keep the manager updated on her fight with a spider web in her garage.
If you think that homeowners are entirely responsible for this thinking, you’d be wrong. In a quick search of one local real estate’s company, using the term “maintenance free”, there were over 1,200 homes for sale! There were even 4 farms listed as maintenance free. Now, that’s funny.
Senior communities tout the maintenance free benefits, and for good reason. Many of the seniors have health problems that keep them from doing a lot of maintenance. Townhome living is meant to be easy.
Think about the term “maintenance free” during the winter. I’m sorry to say, snow season is expected to make another surprise entrance in about 90 days. (Yuk) One of the biggest benefits of living in an association is that the lawn care is done, the driveway is plowed and the sidewalks are shoveled. Is there some maintenance required by the homeowner if the downspout is spilling water that freezes onto a sidewalk? It’s certainly not in the governing docs, but some common sense is in order here. What would a good neighbor do? What if you had a pregnant daughter coming to visit? Do you say well, it’s not my responsibility; C’est La Vie or do you get out there and do something about it? At the very least, call and let someone know about the dangerous situation or make sure the outside lights are working.
It amazes me that during a snowfall at an HOA, there are always a handful of people who shovel their driveway and sidewalk off, even before the snow has stopped and while our trucks are working down the street. I often wonder what drives these people to do something they don’t have to do. I just assume they care about their association and neighbors. Maybe they’re doing their neighbors sidewalk, maybe they’re trying to help us? If we all thought and acted like these neighbors, I don’t think worrying about light bulbs would even come up.
Association living isn’t responsibility free either. A homeowner who just sits back and waits for the board to decide everything to their satisfaction is not going to work out for that homeowner or anyone else in the association who might be experiencing the same thing. Boards & property managers really need more (quality) inputs from the homeowners so they can do their job.
Contribute your time and ideas to make your association a better place to live for everyone.
Don’t believe everything the developer and salesperson said about maintenance free living. What’s wrong with doing your part and maybe just a bit more to realize the feeling at the end of the theme song…”You are my wife.. Goodbye city life, Green Acres We Are There!”
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Standardize your landscape specifications to your advantage
Using Standardized Specifications as a Property Managers Unique Service Proposition.
By Steve Hoogenakker Steve@Landscape.Pro
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge. The air conditioner was refusing to work through another day, much like the temp that was hired here last week. My desk, looking like it belonged to Andy Rooney was strewn with paperwork facing every direction.
Emails had come in over the weekend about sprinkler heads shooting fountains 15 feet in the air, and I’d received 2 calls from the Vice President of the board asking when the pruning was going to be done. I even got an email asking about the sidewalk edging. Sidewalk edging? Who asks about sidewalk edging?
I scrambled through the papers looking for the maintenance specs, then through my files. I called my assistant and asked her for the contract, but nobody had found it yet.
The contractor finally called me back at 3:00 PM. He didn’t think the pruning had been due yet. The edging might have been kind of done using a weed whip, he didn’t know. As for the sprinklers, how was he supposed to know? He said “I’ll get my irrigation subcontractor out there in the next week”. A week? Oh no.
At 5:45 PM, I left the office, never finding the specifications. I emailed the Vice President before I left and told her I was working on it, but didn’t feel like I had made a lot of headway.
Tuesday morning. Another email about wasting precious water due to the fountain sprinkler heads asking if I cared about the environment, if I worked for BP and asked if I was going to pay the water bill next month. I get a phone message from an angry resident about one of their bird baths being damaged by the mowers last week. With the edging and pruning questions still fresh on my mind, we did a full press search for the specifications. Voila, we found them. My assistant has saved us!
Well, saved might be a strong word. I start to read through it. Hmmm, I’ve never seen specs like these before, they’re only a couple of pages long, should be a piece of cake.
Let’s see here, mowing; “Contractor not responsible for damage to personal items left in common areas”. I don’t remember seeing that. I hope the birdbath was inside the sidewalk, but it’s not likely. I’m not looking forward to that visit and phone call. Ah, here’s edging. “Edging shall be completed once annually”. Well, no end date, so I guess they have until Halloween to finish. I’m sure they won’t wait that long, but when?
Then I found pruning. Pruning shall be completed twice annually, but after shrubs have flowered. What does that mean I wondered? Surely some shrubs have finished flowering, it’s July for Pete’s sake. Have they done any of it? OK, one more question, irrigation, let’s see if that’s any better. Irrigation: “Lawn Sprinklers will be started up in the spring and blown out in the fall. If adjustments or repairs are necessary, it is the responsibility of client to notify contractor.”
So, I feel good that I found the contract and specs, but I still don’t have a single answer to give to the association.
This story happens hundreds if not thousands of times in Minnesota each year in one form or another. The problem arises because there are no standardized specifications for grounds maintenance. The specs could’ve come from a book, or more likely, they’re using a contractors specifications. I’ve run the largest landscape maintenance business here in the distant past and I can tell you that 20% of the language in contracts being passed around is language I wrote in 2000, and I am not an attorney!
In the past the board probably took 3 bids with 3 sets of specifications and accepted one. If they were one of the lucky ones, they kept using the same specs even after the contract ran out. If not, when the bid was up again, they asked for 3 more bids and got 3 different sets of specs to try to compare and had a new board to re-learn everything all over again.
So, what’s the solution? Whether you’re non-managed, a managed association, or a management company, you need to come up with your own set of specs and standardize as much of it as possible. To me, NOT having grounds maintenance specs for one of the biggest budget items and complaint items is just like trying to run an association without having MCIOA as a backstop!
There are only a couple of large management companies that have their own specs and they have a big competitive advantage over all the others. Their property managers already know what’s required at each site, why and when. They have deadlines for pruning and edging and they’re the same date, so on July 15th, sidewalk edging had better be done at every site. 80% of the thinking and brain damage of the board and property managers has already been eliminated. Just mark it in your Outlook calendar in February: First edging to be completed July 15th. You’ll see July 15th coming up so you can contact the vendor 2 weeks in advance with a reminder if you wish. The standardized specification makes less work for the manager, and in turn makes the manager and the board more efficient, and that translates into a happier association.
So, how do you go about making standardized specs? Since 90% of the horticultural items apply to all sites, standardize as many dates and descriptions as possible. For those few items that have to be customized, put them on as an addendum WITH DATES.
Grab 2-4 of your current landscape contracts and setup a meeting with me 1-2 of your property managers with 2-4 of their current grounds maintenance/snow contracts and optionally 1-2 respected board members. Send the documents out ahead of time and ask all to comment. Then, buy them lunch to come up with best parts of all contracts. Have them combine the specs into two sets. One for very small associations and one for larger associations. Run these by your accounting and legal departments and start using the “ABC Grounds Maintenance Specifications” as your own competitive advantage. Once done, 90% will always be done. You can tweak it over the years but you can have a new competitive advantage in a couple of weeks.
Steve Hoogenakker
Concierge Landscape Environments
Steve@Landscape.Pro
763-213-2410
CALL FOR A FREE BID AND SITE ANALYSIS
By Steve Hoogenakker Steve@Landscape.Pro
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge. The air conditioner was refusing to work through another day, much like the temp that was hired here last week. My desk, looking like it belonged to Andy Rooney was strewn with paperwork facing every direction.
Emails had come in over the weekend about sprinkler heads shooting fountains 15 feet in the air, and I’d received 2 calls from the Vice President of the board asking when the pruning was going to be done. I even got an email asking about the sidewalk edging. Sidewalk edging? Who asks about sidewalk edging?
I scrambled through the papers looking for the maintenance specs, then through my files. I called my assistant and asked her for the contract, but nobody had found it yet.
The contractor finally called me back at 3:00 PM. He didn’t think the pruning had been due yet. The edging might have been kind of done using a weed whip, he didn’t know. As for the sprinklers, how was he supposed to know? He said “I’ll get my irrigation subcontractor out there in the next week”. A week? Oh no.
At 5:45 PM, I left the office, never finding the specifications. I emailed the Vice President before I left and told her I was working on it, but didn’t feel like I had made a lot of headway.
Tuesday morning. Another email about wasting precious water due to the fountain sprinkler heads asking if I cared about the environment, if I worked for BP and asked if I was going to pay the water bill next month. I get a phone message from an angry resident about one of their bird baths being damaged by the mowers last week. With the edging and pruning questions still fresh on my mind, we did a full press search for the specifications. Voila, we found them. My assistant has saved us!
Well, saved might be a strong word. I start to read through it. Hmmm, I’ve never seen specs like these before, they’re only a couple of pages long, should be a piece of cake.
Let’s see here, mowing; “Contractor not responsible for damage to personal items left in common areas”. I don’t remember seeing that. I hope the birdbath was inside the sidewalk, but it’s not likely. I’m not looking forward to that visit and phone call. Ah, here’s edging. “Edging shall be completed once annually”. Well, no end date, so I guess they have until Halloween to finish. I’m sure they won’t wait that long, but when?
Then I found pruning. Pruning shall be completed twice annually, but after shrubs have flowered. What does that mean I wondered? Surely some shrubs have finished flowering, it’s July for Pete’s sake. Have they done any of it? OK, one more question, irrigation, let’s see if that’s any better. Irrigation: “Lawn Sprinklers will be started up in the spring and blown out in the fall. If adjustments or repairs are necessary, it is the responsibility of client to notify contractor.”
So, I feel good that I found the contract and specs, but I still don’t have a single answer to give to the association.
This story happens hundreds if not thousands of times in Minnesota each year in one form or another. The problem arises because there are no standardized specifications for grounds maintenance. The specs could’ve come from a book, or more likely, they’re using a contractors specifications. I’ve run the largest landscape maintenance business here in the distant past and I can tell you that 20% of the language in contracts being passed around is language I wrote in 2000, and I am not an attorney!
In the past the board probably took 3 bids with 3 sets of specifications and accepted one. If they were one of the lucky ones, they kept using the same specs even after the contract ran out. If not, when the bid was up again, they asked for 3 more bids and got 3 different sets of specs to try to compare and had a new board to re-learn everything all over again.
So, what’s the solution? Whether you’re non-managed, a managed association, or a management company, you need to come up with your own set of specs and standardize as much of it as possible. To me, NOT having grounds maintenance specs for one of the biggest budget items and complaint items is just like trying to run an association without having MCIOA as a backstop!
There are only a couple of large management companies that have their own specs and they have a big competitive advantage over all the others. Their property managers already know what’s required at each site, why and when. They have deadlines for pruning and edging and they’re the same date, so on July 15th, sidewalk edging had better be done at every site. 80% of the thinking and brain damage of the board and property managers has already been eliminated. Just mark it in your Outlook calendar in February: First edging to be completed July 15th. You’ll see July 15th coming up so you can contact the vendor 2 weeks in advance with a reminder if you wish. The standardized specification makes less work for the manager, and in turn makes the manager and the board more efficient, and that translates into a happier association.
So, how do you go about making standardized specs? Since 90% of the horticultural items apply to all sites, standardize as many dates and descriptions as possible. For those few items that have to be customized, put them on as an addendum WITH DATES.
Grab 2-4 of your current landscape contracts and setup a meeting with me 1-2 of your property managers with 2-4 of their current grounds maintenance/snow contracts and optionally 1-2 respected board members. Send the documents out ahead of time and ask all to comment. Then, buy them lunch to come up with best parts of all contracts. Have them combine the specs into two sets. One for very small associations and one for larger associations. Run these by your accounting and legal departments and start using the “ABC Grounds Maintenance Specifications” as your own competitive advantage. Once done, 90% will always be done. You can tweak it over the years but you can have a new competitive advantage in a couple of weeks.
Steve Hoogenakker
Concierge Landscape Environments
Steve@Landscape.Pro
763-213-2410
CALL FOR A FREE BID AND SITE ANALYSIS
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Emerald Ash Borer and Minnesota Property Managers
Emerald Ash Borer’s effect on common interest communities
By Steve Hoogenakker and the MDA
Why should I care about EAB?
All ash trees are susceptible to EAB and millions of ash trees have been killed in infested areas already. It’s estimated that townhome associations may have as many as 40% of their trees as ash trees. Minnesota has one of the highest volumes of ash on forestland in the U.S. with an estimated 867 million forestland ash trees and ash is a prominent component of our urban forests as well.
How many trees do you have in your association? If you have 200 units and there’s two trees per unit including common areas, that could mean 160 ash trees. The potential economic and environmental impacts of losing these trees is substantial. The cost of removing and replacing a single tree can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. In any case, knowing the number and size of ash trees will be helpful and setting reserves aside now for future tree replacements or treatments is a good idea.
How do I prepare for EAB affecting my association? You have two choices. You can learn to spot EAB on your own using the links below. The information also includes insecticide information that will teach someone in your association to treat the trees or contact a reputable tree/landscape company especially if there are any large ash trees. Some companies will perform an Ash Tree audit to see how many ashes you have. The three options available for your ash trees are
1. Remove the Ash trees now and replace with a different tree so the landscape can continue to mature.
2. Treat the ash trees using an insecticide. The treatments may have to take place for the remainder of the tree’s life. This is probably too expensive for your entire association, but if you have large ash trees in prominent areas, these can’t really be replaced and treatments might be the best option.
3. Wait until the ash trees die, dispose of properly and replace later.
Emerald Ash Borer is in Minnesota
On May 14, 2009, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was confirmed as present in the South Saint Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul. EAB is a serious invasive tree pest, and consequently a quarantine has been placed on Ramsey, Hennepin, and Houston counties to help slow the spread of EAB to other areas. >>See Quarantine Information
What is EAB?
EAB is an insect that attacks and kills ash trees. The adults are small, iridescent green beetles that live outside of trees during the summer months. The larvae are grub or worm-like and live underneath the bark of ash trees. Trees are killed by the tunneling of the larvae under the tree's bark.
Where is EAB?
EAB is native to eastern Asia but was discovered in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario in 2002. Indications are it may have been introduced to this area as early 1990. EAB has been spread in ash firewood, nursery stock and possibly other ash materials to a number of new areas
“Dealing with emerald ash borer is a new challenge for most Minnesotans,” said MDA Plant Protection Director Geir Friisoe. “In some cases people may not know when it makes sense to treat their trees and when it doesn’t, or what kind of treatment will work best for their situation. With so many options out there and so many factors to consider, we thought it would be helpful to provide homeowners with all the relevant information in one small package.”
“It’s not just a matter of picking the most effective option for your trees,” Friisoe said. “There are potential water quality and human health concerns with some of these products if they are not used properly. We’re doing our best to get that information into the hands of homeowners, but ultimately the responsibility is theirs to read, understand and follow the label requirements.”
Available to download on MDA’s Web site at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/eab, the guide recommends that homeowners consider the following factors before moving forward with an insecticide treatment: Also on the right side of the website, there are links to an EAB treatment guide, FAQ’s and how to determine if I have EAB.
Identify if EAB is near: Treatments are only advised for trees within about 15 miles of known infestations.
Consider removing and replacing small and struggling ash tree: The cost of replacing these trees may be less than the cost of repeated treatments over the years.
Check the calendar: Treatments are most effective from mid-April through June.
Have a professional treat large ash trees: Do-it-yourself products are generally less effective on trees larger than 48 inches in circumference or 15 inches in diameter.
Contact a certified arborist or city forester before treating your trees: Some communities have special restrictions or requirements.
By Steve Hoogenakker and the MDA
Why should I care about EAB?
All ash trees are susceptible to EAB and millions of ash trees have been killed in infested areas already. It’s estimated that townhome associations may have as many as 40% of their trees as ash trees. Minnesota has one of the highest volumes of ash on forestland in the U.S. with an estimated 867 million forestland ash trees and ash is a prominent component of our urban forests as well.
How many trees do you have in your association? If you have 200 units and there’s two trees per unit including common areas, that could mean 160 ash trees. The potential economic and environmental impacts of losing these trees is substantial. The cost of removing and replacing a single tree can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. In any case, knowing the number and size of ash trees will be helpful and setting reserves aside now for future tree replacements or treatments is a good idea.
How do I prepare for EAB affecting my association? You have two choices. You can learn to spot EAB on your own using the links below. The information also includes insecticide information that will teach someone in your association to treat the trees or contact a reputable tree/landscape company especially if there are any large ash trees. Some companies will perform an Ash Tree audit to see how many ashes you have. The three options available for your ash trees are
1. Remove the Ash trees now and replace with a different tree so the landscape can continue to mature.
2. Treat the ash trees using an insecticide. The treatments may have to take place for the remainder of the tree’s life. This is probably too expensive for your entire association, but if you have large ash trees in prominent areas, these can’t really be replaced and treatments might be the best option.
3. Wait until the ash trees die, dispose of properly and replace later.
Emerald Ash Borer is in Minnesota
On May 14, 2009, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was confirmed as present in the South Saint Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul. EAB is a serious invasive tree pest, and consequently a quarantine has been placed on Ramsey, Hennepin, and Houston counties to help slow the spread of EAB to other areas. >>See Quarantine Information
What is EAB?
EAB is an insect that attacks and kills ash trees. The adults are small, iridescent green beetles that live outside of trees during the summer months. The larvae are grub or worm-like and live underneath the bark of ash trees. Trees are killed by the tunneling of the larvae under the tree's bark.
Where is EAB?
EAB is native to eastern Asia but was discovered in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario in 2002. Indications are it may have been introduced to this area as early 1990. EAB has been spread in ash firewood, nursery stock and possibly other ash materials to a number of new areas
“Dealing with emerald ash borer is a new challenge for most Minnesotans,” said MDA Plant Protection Director Geir Friisoe. “In some cases people may not know when it makes sense to treat their trees and when it doesn’t, or what kind of treatment will work best for their situation. With so many options out there and so many factors to consider, we thought it would be helpful to provide homeowners with all the relevant information in one small package.”
“It’s not just a matter of picking the most effective option for your trees,” Friisoe said. “There are potential water quality and human health concerns with some of these products if they are not used properly. We’re doing our best to get that information into the hands of homeowners, but ultimately the responsibility is theirs to read, understand and follow the label requirements.”
Available to download on MDA’s Web site at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/eab, the guide recommends that homeowners consider the following factors before moving forward with an insecticide treatment: Also on the right side of the website, there are links to an EAB treatment guide, FAQ’s and how to determine if I have EAB.
Identify if EAB is near: Treatments are only advised for trees within about 15 miles of known infestations.
Consider removing and replacing small and struggling ash tree: The cost of replacing these trees may be less than the cost of repeated treatments over the years.
Check the calendar: Treatments are most effective from mid-April through June.
Have a professional treat large ash trees: Do-it-yourself products are generally less effective on trees larger than 48 inches in circumference or 15 inches in diameter.
Contact a certified arborist or city forester before treating your trees: Some communities have special restrictions or requirements.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
LinkedIn and Commercial Property Managers, how will this help my property management business
&
By Steve Hoogenakker Concierge Landscape Environments
LinkedIn and property managers – The link to the top professionals in the property managers Community.
To help get you started, go to LinkedIn, fill out the basic information, then look up my name, Steve Hoogenakker and "invite to your network" and just mention that you're in the property management field or in a supporting industry. I'll accept you. LinkedIn has a wonderful protection feature that if anyone tries to link with someone they don't know, they can flag your account making it harder to get others to LinkIn, so knowing that I'll accept your invite or using other very close friends is the best step, then you can read through my profile to give you ideas of what you can do next.
What is LinkedIn and why is it so important to property managers & HOA’s? First of all, it’s the best way to post your questions and have them answered by your peers. Second, there are members of groups like MHA, IREM, CAI and CAI Minnesota that you can join for free and get timely articles and discussions on topics you care the most about.
LinkedIn is not a passing fad, it’s here to stay and it’s your free tool for important information.
The average LinkedIN user is a college educated 43 year old making $107,000 per year. Where else can you connect to this level of professionals in your industry? There were 17 million visitors in February. Who is visiting? Your customers, your employers, your employees, your vendors, your fellow homeowners and your peers.
This isn’t your “facebook for adults”, and this isn’t a short “tweet”. This is a free, powerful tool to manage your professional life and career, even if you aren’t looking for a new one.
Recently, Accenture’s head of global recruiting , John Campagnino, announced that he is hiring for 50,000 positions. 40% of those he expects to get through social media, particularly LinkedIn, so if you’re not using social media for your benefit, you’re missing out.
You Google other people, don’t you think they Google you? Of course they do. LinkedIn organizes your life’s work and interests, so if people search for you, it’s all presented in a clear, concise manner.
Here’s an example of LinkedIn’s value:
Nishar was trying to decide whether his daughter, who was 12 at the time, should spend her summer at a program offered by Johns Hopkins University. He posted the question to his status update on both Facebook and LinkedIn. While he received more comments on Facebook, they were casual and congratulatory. Only four of his LinkedIn contacts wrote him, but they offered a rich analysis, describing experiences with the Johns Hopkins program that left them better off academically; they persuaded him to enroll his daughter. "People are in a different context and mindset when they're in a professional network," he says.
Property managers & LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is even more important to property managers. The most powerful aspect of LinkedIn is it’s groups. There are many groups available as of this writing; Professional Property managers group, MHA, IREM, IFMA, Community Associations Institute, CAI Minnesota, CAI – CT, and CIC and Townhome Mastermind Group.
These groups are made of your peers. There are relevant discussions there that can help you with your business or association. You can post your own discussion, or even ask a question. The members of these groups have been very supportive, and calls for help are almost always answered. We’ll tell you how to find these groups a little later.
So, how do you get started?
If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, go to www.linkedin.com, and setup an account. It’s free. There’s no need to use the paid version. It will take maybe a half hour to two hours to enter the information. If you’ve been a professional for awhile, you don’t need to enter in irrelevant information like grade school, or even high school information.
Your typical profile might have your current position and company on top with previous employment underneath, Then you might decide to list your goals. Also on your profile, you can have LinkedIn automatically grab your blog entries, twitter, facebook entries and articles you’ve written. You can also list things like the groups you belong to, your reading list, people you’ve recommended, and people who have recommended you.
After you’ve done the original profile and joined a few groups, you might want to spend 30 minutes every 6 months or so updating your profile and inviting others to join your network. I encourage you to join the groups I mentioned earlier. Post a thought, or pose a question and get involved with your peers.
After the original setup, look for the CAI groups listed above and ask to join. Use the searchbar in the upper right and change the search from people to groups. Besides the CAI groups, look for other interests that are not based in business, like bird watchers, executive weightlifters, speakers and panelists, gardeners, whatever. For every interest you have, there are probably already 5 groups or more to possibly join. If you’re really passionate about an issue, it’s very easy to start your own group, like I did with CIC and Townhome Mastermind.
So get LinkedIn, join a few groups, and share this article with friends and famly. I hope your life can be enriched a little like mine has.
Steve Hoogenakker, Concierge Landscape Environments
By Steve Hoogenakker Concierge Landscape Environments
LinkedIn and property managers – The link to the top professionals in the property managers Community.
To help get you started, go to LinkedIn, fill out the basic information, then look up my name, Steve Hoogenakker and "invite to your network" and just mention that you're in the property management field or in a supporting industry. I'll accept you. LinkedIn has a wonderful protection feature that if anyone tries to link with someone they don't know, they can flag your account making it harder to get others to LinkIn, so knowing that I'll accept your invite or using other very close friends is the best step, then you can read through my profile to give you ideas of what you can do next.
What is LinkedIn and why is it so important to property managers & HOA’s? First of all, it’s the best way to post your questions and have them answered by your peers. Second, there are members of groups like MHA, IREM, CAI and CAI Minnesota that you can join for free and get timely articles and discussions on topics you care the most about.
LinkedIn is not a passing fad, it’s here to stay and it’s your free tool for important information.
The average LinkedIN user is a college educated 43 year old making $107,000 per year. Where else can you connect to this level of professionals in your industry? There were 17 million visitors in February. Who is visiting? Your customers, your employers, your employees, your vendors, your fellow homeowners and your peers.
This isn’t your “facebook for adults”, and this isn’t a short “tweet”. This is a free, powerful tool to manage your professional life and career, even if you aren’t looking for a new one.
Recently, Accenture’s head of global recruiting , John Campagnino, announced that he is hiring for 50,000 positions. 40% of those he expects to get through social media, particularly LinkedIn, so if you’re not using social media for your benefit, you’re missing out.
You Google other people, don’t you think they Google you? Of course they do. LinkedIn organizes your life’s work and interests, so if people search for you, it’s all presented in a clear, concise manner.
Here’s an example of LinkedIn’s value:
Nishar was trying to decide whether his daughter, who was 12 at the time, should spend her summer at a program offered by Johns Hopkins University. He posted the question to his status update on both Facebook and LinkedIn. While he received more comments on Facebook, they were casual and congratulatory. Only four of his LinkedIn contacts wrote him, but they offered a rich analysis, describing experiences with the Johns Hopkins program that left them better off academically; they persuaded him to enroll his daughter. "People are in a different context and mindset when they're in a professional network," he says.
Property managers & LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is even more important to property managers. The most powerful aspect of LinkedIn is it’s groups. There are many groups available as of this writing; Professional Property managers group, MHA, IREM, IFMA, Community Associations Institute, CAI Minnesota, CAI – CT, and CIC and Townhome Mastermind Group.
These groups are made of your peers. There are relevant discussions there that can help you with your business or association. You can post your own discussion, or even ask a question. The members of these groups have been very supportive, and calls for help are almost always answered. We’ll tell you how to find these groups a little later.
So, how do you get started?
If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, go to www.linkedin.com, and setup an account. It’s free. There’s no need to use the paid version. It will take maybe a half hour to two hours to enter the information. If you’ve been a professional for awhile, you don’t need to enter in irrelevant information like grade school, or even high school information.
Your typical profile might have your current position and company on top with previous employment underneath, Then you might decide to list your goals. Also on your profile, you can have LinkedIn automatically grab your blog entries, twitter, facebook entries and articles you’ve written. You can also list things like the groups you belong to, your reading list, people you’ve recommended, and people who have recommended you.
After you’ve done the original profile and joined a few groups, you might want to spend 30 minutes every 6 months or so updating your profile and inviting others to join your network. I encourage you to join the groups I mentioned earlier. Post a thought, or pose a question and get involved with your peers.
After the original setup, look for the CAI groups listed above and ask to join. Use the searchbar in the upper right and change the search from people to groups. Besides the CAI groups, look for other interests that are not based in business, like bird watchers, executive weightlifters, speakers and panelists, gardeners, whatever. For every interest you have, there are probably already 5 groups or more to possibly join. If you’re really passionate about an issue, it’s very easy to start your own group, like I did with CIC and Townhome Mastermind.
So get LinkedIn, join a few groups, and share this article with friends and famly. I hope your life can be enriched a little like mine has.
Steve Hoogenakker, Concierge Landscape Environments
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Case of the Missing Specs part II
There are only a couple of large management companies that have their own specs and they have a big competitive advantage over all the others. Their property managers already know what’s required at each site, why and when. They have deadlines for pruning and edging and they’re the same date, so on July 15th, sidewalk edging had better be done at every site. 80% of the thinking and brain damage of the board and property managers has already been eliminated. Just mark it in your Outlook calendar in February: First edging to be completed July 15th. You’ll see July 15th coming up so you can contact the vendor 2 weeks in advance with a reminder if you wish. The standardized specification makes less work for the manager, and in turn makes the manager and the board more efficient, and that translates into a happier association.
So, how do you go about making standardized specs? Since 90% of the horticultural items apply to all sites, standardize as many dates and descriptions as possible. For those few items that have to be customized, put them on as an addendum WITH DATES.
Grab 2-4 of your current landscape contracts and setup a meeting with 1-2 landscape contractors (with their current contracts), 1-2 of your property managers and optionally 1-2 respected board members. Send the documents out ahead of time and ask all to comment. Then, buy them lunch to come up with best parts of all contracts. Have them combine the specs into two sets. One for very small associations and one for larger associations. Run these by your accounting and legal departments and start using the “ABC Grounds Maintenance Specifications” as your own competitive advantage. Once done, 90% will always be done. You can tweak it over the years, but as the great philosopher Susan Powter says, “Stop the Insanity”!
Steve Hoogenakker
Concierge Landscape Environments
Steve@Landscape.Pro
763-213-2410
So, how do you go about making standardized specs? Since 90% of the horticultural items apply to all sites, standardize as many dates and descriptions as possible. For those few items that have to be customized, put them on as an addendum WITH DATES.
Grab 2-4 of your current landscape contracts and setup a meeting with 1-2 landscape contractors (with their current contracts), 1-2 of your property managers and optionally 1-2 respected board members. Send the documents out ahead of time and ask all to comment. Then, buy them lunch to come up with best parts of all contracts. Have them combine the specs into two sets. One for very small associations and one for larger associations. Run these by your accounting and legal departments and start using the “ABC Grounds Maintenance Specifications” as your own competitive advantage. Once done, 90% will always be done. You can tweak it over the years, but as the great philosopher Susan Powter says, “Stop the Insanity”!
Steve Hoogenakker
Concierge Landscape Environments
Steve@Landscape.Pro
763-213-2410
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Case of the Missing Specs
A New Story.
How a free lunch can take care of your property management headaches.
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge...
The Case of the Missing Unspecified Specifications!
By Steve Hoogenakker
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge. The air conditioner was refusing to work through another day, much like the temp that was hired here last week. My desk, looking like it belonged to Andy Rooney was strewn with paperwork facing every direction.
Emails had come in over the weekend about sprinkler heads shooting fountains 15 feet in the air, and I’d received 2 calls from the Vice President of the board asking when the pruning was going to be done. I even got an email asking about the sidewalk edging. Sidewalk edging? Who asks about sidewalk edging?
I scrambled through the papers looking for the maintenance specs, then through my files. I called my assistant and asked her for the contract, but nobody had found it yet.
The contractor finally called me back at 3:00 PM. He didn’t think the pruning had been due yet.The edging might have been kind of done using a weed whip, he didn’t know. As for the sprinklers, how was he supposed to know? He said “I’ll get my irrigation subcontractor out there in the next week”. A week? Oh no.
At 5:45 PM, I left the office, never finding the specifications. I emailed the Vice President before I left and told her I was working on it, but didn’t feel like I had made a lot of headway.
Tuesday morning. Another email about wasting precious water due to the fountain sprinkler heads asking if I cared about the environment and if I was going to pay the water bill next month. I get a phone message from an angry resident about one of their bird baths being damaged by the mowers last week. With the edging and pruning questions still fresh on my mind, we did a full press search for the specifications. Voila, my assistant has saved us!
Well, saved might be a strong word. I start to read through it. Hmmm, I’ve never seen specs like these before, they’re only a couple of pages long, should be a piece of cake.
Let’s see here, mowing; “Contractor not responsible for damage to personal items left in common areas”. I don’t remember seeing that. I hope the birdbath was inside the sidewalk, but it’s not likely. I’m not looking forward to that visit and phone call. Ah, here’s edging. “Edging shall be completed once annually”. Well, no end date, so I guess they have until Halloween to finish. I’m sure they won’t wait that long, but when?
Then I found pruning. Pruning shall be completed twice annually, but after shrubs have flowered. What does that mean I wondered? Surely some shrubs have finished flowering, it’s July for Pete’s sake. Have they done any of it? OK, one more question, irrigation, let’s see if that’s any better. Irrigation: “Lawn Sprinklers will be started up in the spring and blown out in the fall. If adjustments or repairs are necessary, it is the responsibility of client to notify contractor.”
So, I feel good that I found the contract and specs, but I still don’t have a single answer to give to the association.
This story happens hundreds if not thousands of times in Minnesota each year in one form or another. The problem arises because there is no standardized specifications for grounds maintenance. The specs could’ve come from a book, or more likely, they’re using a contractors specifications. I’ve run the largest landscape maintenance business here through the 1990’s and I can tell you that 20% of the language in contracts being passed around is language I wrote in 1999, and I am not an attorney!
In the past the board probably took 3 bids with 3 sets of specifications and accepted one. If they were one of the lucky ones, they kept using the same specs even after the contract ran out. If not, when the bid was up again, they asked for 3 more bids and got 3 different sets of specs to try to compare and had a new board to re-learn everything all over again....
Part II tomorrow!
How a free lunch can take care of your property management headaches.
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge...
The Case of the Missing Unspecified Specifications!
By Steve Hoogenakker
It was a hot Monday afternoon in July and the humidity made it feel like an Indian sweat lodge. The air conditioner was refusing to work through another day, much like the temp that was hired here last week. My desk, looking like it belonged to Andy Rooney was strewn with paperwork facing every direction.
Emails had come in over the weekend about sprinkler heads shooting fountains 15 feet in the air, and I’d received 2 calls from the Vice President of the board asking when the pruning was going to be done. I even got an email asking about the sidewalk edging. Sidewalk edging? Who asks about sidewalk edging?
I scrambled through the papers looking for the maintenance specs, then through my files. I called my assistant and asked her for the contract, but nobody had found it yet.
The contractor finally called me back at 3:00 PM. He didn’t think the pruning had been due yet.The edging might have been kind of done using a weed whip, he didn’t know. As for the sprinklers, how was he supposed to know? He said “I’ll get my irrigation subcontractor out there in the next week”. A week? Oh no.
At 5:45 PM, I left the office, never finding the specifications. I emailed the Vice President before I left and told her I was working on it, but didn’t feel like I had made a lot of headway.
Tuesday morning. Another email about wasting precious water due to the fountain sprinkler heads asking if I cared about the environment and if I was going to pay the water bill next month. I get a phone message from an angry resident about one of their bird baths being damaged by the mowers last week. With the edging and pruning questions still fresh on my mind, we did a full press search for the specifications. Voila, my assistant has saved us!
Well, saved might be a strong word. I start to read through it. Hmmm, I’ve never seen specs like these before, they’re only a couple of pages long, should be a piece of cake.
Let’s see here, mowing; “Contractor not responsible for damage to personal items left in common areas”. I don’t remember seeing that. I hope the birdbath was inside the sidewalk, but it’s not likely. I’m not looking forward to that visit and phone call. Ah, here’s edging. “Edging shall be completed once annually”. Well, no end date, so I guess they have until Halloween to finish. I’m sure they won’t wait that long, but when?
Then I found pruning. Pruning shall be completed twice annually, but after shrubs have flowered. What does that mean I wondered? Surely some shrubs have finished flowering, it’s July for Pete’s sake. Have they done any of it? OK, one more question, irrigation, let’s see if that’s any better. Irrigation: “Lawn Sprinklers will be started up in the spring and blown out in the fall. If adjustments or repairs are necessary, it is the responsibility of client to notify contractor.”
So, I feel good that I found the contract and specs, but I still don’t have a single answer to give to the association.
This story happens hundreds if not thousands of times in Minnesota each year in one form or another. The problem arises because there is no standardized specifications for grounds maintenance. The specs could’ve come from a book, or more likely, they’re using a contractors specifications. I’ve run the largest landscape maintenance business here through the 1990’s and I can tell you that 20% of the language in contracts being passed around is language I wrote in 1999, and I am not an attorney!
In the past the board probably took 3 bids with 3 sets of specifications and accepted one. If they were one of the lucky ones, they kept using the same specs even after the contract ran out. If not, when the bid was up again, they asked for 3 more bids and got 3 different sets of specs to try to compare and had a new board to re-learn everything all over again....
Part II tomorrow!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Leadership and the Board of Directors
LEADERSHIP and THE BOARD: A Story for board members and company owners:
By Steve Hoogenakker
There comes a point in time in every leaders time when he or she is tired of
spearheading every initiative and dragging and cajoling the other members to help.
At that point, they look to take their board or company to another level, either to create more energy, creativity or create more balance in their life, or possibly all of the above. When they find themselves in this situation, they must become a leader working “on” the business of managing a board instead of “in” it.
The first rule of a great board leader is that the team can never be completely dependent upon any one individual.
One of the more common mistakes made is that the president of the board fails to let go of certain activities and therefore stunts the growth of the team as a whole.
The next important point to remember is that as a leader, part of their job is to build a team of decision
makers. This can only be done by observing, directing and training them to be inter-dependent with each other. There are 3 stages of dependency;
1. Dependent: Unable to make decisions or to sustain a high level of accomplishments without prodding or constant oversight. It takes at least one additional competent individual to monitor this person. Using fuzzy math this equation would look like (1+1)= 1
2.Independent: Able to successfully perform complete projects required by the board in their entirety without oversight. Independents will often take over the entire task even if it was handed out to a subcommittee of 4 people. Independents like to think of themselves as the highest order of individual as I used to believe. Independents don’t require someone to watch over them, but they don’t add people to the process either. Fuzzy math might be 1=1 or a really good independent might be able to perform the work of 3 people or 1=3
3. Inter-dependent: This individual can complete the project on their own, but seek out ideas and input from others. They have good communication skills and are somewhat empathetic, (not sympathetic)!
When a project is given to an interdependent person, they PULL people into the project, creating synergy and energy. Because their very nature is to look at each issue as it affects all members, the fuzzy math might look like 1+4=30, with 1 being the interdependent person, 4 being the input and ideas brought in by other people and 30 being the number of residents who are on board because the group nailed the mission and tapped into the energy of the association.
In the Garth Brooks song, Standing Outside the Fire, people want to be “cool” and “strong” and face the problems alone, but the real answer is to be strong, but just “weak” enough to let others in and help create the future.
We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk it the tables being turned
We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall
We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance (that) might exist
And for that forsake it all
They're so hell bent on giving, walking a wire
Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire
So what’s the plan?
As a leader you are responsible for the focus of your board and the needs of all residents. The clearer the vision of the leader, the more people will follow. When building your team, as the chief, you must lead by example.
Each board must have a Visionary and a Manager. A single person should not hold these positions. In many cases, one person tries to fill both roles. This is the classic case of a workaholic. This is the type of person who puts in 60 or 70 hours a week and has no balance in their life. You must let go of this attitude if you wish to achieve success in building a strong team and surround yourself with supporters. Surround yourself with people whom you can trust, and whom you know will get the job done. You must engage yourself with people who will follow your lead.
You are the quarterback of your team, and as such, you must have people around you (like Michael Oher in “The Blind Side”) who will protect you and block for you. Make sure that your association’s environment is enjoyable and satisfying. If this is not a satisfying, gratifying and enjoyable place, how can you expect your board to flourish?
With this in mind, make sure you avoid the temptation of micromanaging. While delegating is a critical part of your role as the Manager or Visionary, keeping too close an eye on your board makes them feel untrusted and hesitant. Let them know you expect them to make some mistakes, but that you trust them to excel at their work without you hounding them or watching their every move. You'll be grateful for a board member who isn't afraid to use their own initiative, and get some balance back in life while accomplishing more than ever before
By Steve Hoogenakker
There comes a point in time in every leaders time when he or she is tired of
spearheading every initiative and dragging and cajoling the other members to help.
At that point, they look to take their board or company to another level, either to create more energy, creativity or create more balance in their life, or possibly all of the above. When they find themselves in this situation, they must become a leader working “on” the business of managing a board instead of “in” it.
The first rule of a great board leader is that the team can never be completely dependent upon any one individual.
One of the more common mistakes made is that the president of the board fails to let go of certain activities and therefore stunts the growth of the team as a whole.
The next important point to remember is that as a leader, part of their job is to build a team of decision
makers. This can only be done by observing, directing and training them to be inter-dependent with each other. There are 3 stages of dependency;
1. Dependent: Unable to make decisions or to sustain a high level of accomplishments without prodding or constant oversight. It takes at least one additional competent individual to monitor this person. Using fuzzy math this equation would look like (1+1)= 1
2.Independent: Able to successfully perform complete projects required by the board in their entirety without oversight. Independents will often take over the entire task even if it was handed out to a subcommittee of 4 people. Independents like to think of themselves as the highest order of individual as I used to believe. Independents don’t require someone to watch over them, but they don’t add people to the process either. Fuzzy math might be 1=1 or a really good independent might be able to perform the work of 3 people or 1=3
3. Inter-dependent: This individual can complete the project on their own, but seek out ideas and input from others. They have good communication skills and are somewhat empathetic, (not sympathetic)!
When a project is given to an interdependent person, they PULL people into the project, creating synergy and energy. Because their very nature is to look at each issue as it affects all members, the fuzzy math might look like 1+4=30, with 1 being the interdependent person, 4 being the input and ideas brought in by other people and 30 being the number of residents who are on board because the group nailed the mission and tapped into the energy of the association.
In the Garth Brooks song, Standing Outside the Fire, people want to be “cool” and “strong” and face the problems alone, but the real answer is to be strong, but just “weak” enough to let others in and help create the future.
We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk it the tables being turned
We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall
We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance (that) might exist
And for that forsake it all
They're so hell bent on giving, walking a wire
Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire
So what’s the plan?
As a leader you are responsible for the focus of your board and the needs of all residents. The clearer the vision of the leader, the more people will follow. When building your team, as the chief, you must lead by example.
Each board must have a Visionary and a Manager. A single person should not hold these positions. In many cases, one person tries to fill both roles. This is the classic case of a workaholic. This is the type of person who puts in 60 or 70 hours a week and has no balance in their life. You must let go of this attitude if you wish to achieve success in building a strong team and surround yourself with supporters. Surround yourself with people whom you can trust, and whom you know will get the job done. You must engage yourself with people who will follow your lead.
You are the quarterback of your team, and as such, you must have people around you (like Michael Oher in “The Blind Side”) who will protect you and block for you. Make sure that your association’s environment is enjoyable and satisfying. If this is not a satisfying, gratifying and enjoyable place, how can you expect your board to flourish?
With this in mind, make sure you avoid the temptation of micromanaging. While delegating is a critical part of your role as the Manager or Visionary, keeping too close an eye on your board makes them feel untrusted and hesitant. Let them know you expect them to make some mistakes, but that you trust them to excel at their work without you hounding them or watching their every move. You'll be grateful for a board member who isn't afraid to use their own initiative, and get some balance back in life while accomplishing more than ever before
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