Understanding The Fundamentals Of A Community Association Management Org.

Posted by Diamond Community Services on February 17th, 2020

Most people think that a community association management company is nothing more than a real estate firm. If you also believe this myth, then it’s time for you to know the truth. Have you been searching for an appropriate and descriptive definition online? If so, then you are in the right place. The website of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation defines a CAM firm as a person or an organization that has the license to perform community association management services. These include;

• Managing and disbursing funds of community associations.
• Practices requiring substantial and specialized knowledge, managerial skill, and judgment when performed for remuneration. These practices are mandatory even when an association or several associations that received the services contain more than ten units or have a yearly budget or budgets that exceed 0,000.
• Creating budgets or other finance-related documents for community associations.
• Assisting in the noticing or conduct of community association gatherings.
• Coordinating maintenance for residential development and other everyday services incorporating operations of community operations.

In short, CAM companies are corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, sole proprietorships, associations, or other similar organizations that provide any of the services mentioned above.

Administrative department

Now, there are several branches of CAM companies. The first one is the administrative department. The people working in this department are the first ones that homeowners come into contact with. The administrative department of companies providing property management Chester County keeps track of and organizes your association’s mail-outs. These people answer and direct calls to the right place, book and reserve clubhouses for associations, distribute associational access, track a homeowner’s insurance, etc. The administrative department also updates the website of the association while approving new website user registrations. They update association information every year in various databases. The administrative department’s role is to collect and process background screenings for owners and tenants before forwarding them to the board of directors.

Accounting department

The next department of CAM companies is the one that concerns itself with accounting. The people working here manage the collection and process of payments made by homeowners. Accounting professionals speak with homeowners about their accounts, forwards the communication to the board members about payment plans proposed, and communicate with associational collection attorneys for updates. They are also the ones who code and process vendor payments, track updates or vendor insurance, merge bank statements, create monthly association financials, and file your annual tax returns. This department also makes changes to the accounts of homeowners, prepares estoppels for pending home sales, enters resale data for recently sold homes, etc.

Management department

When it comes to CAM companies, the people of the management department are the ones you are most familiar with. The experts of this particular department enforce associational documents while working directly with the board of directors. They do it through monthly inspections, following up on the reports put forward by homeowners and board members, and investigating info left by anonymous reports. In time, these inspections generate work orders and violations. These people sit with you during board meetings, schedule the same, and even meet with vendors. The professionals of the management department follow up on work orders to ensure that the vendors perform their jobs in an acceptable and timely fashion. They also take note of the violations to see if your neighbors are abiding by the laws of your association.