Effective financial management is crucial for condo and HOA boards, as all members share a fiduciary responsibility to ensure their community's financial health.

This includes actively reviewing financial statements, budgets, and reserve studies to identify irregularities, plan for future expenses, and avoid shortfalls or fraud. Boards should adopt clear policies for managing operating and reserve funds, including ensuring proper transfers, updating signers as needed and investing reserves properly.

By staying informed and involved, board members can uphold their community’s financial stability and foster long-term success.

Learn more. 

A condominium community relies on its volunteer board members to operate effectively. These dedicated individuals give their time and energy for the benefit of all owners, often tackling challenging tasks. This is especially true in smaller, self-managed buildings without the support of a property manager to ease the burden.

As we reflect on our blessings this Thanksgiving, Chicago Condo Resource and Haus Financial Services want to express heartfelt gratitude to all condo board members who generously dedicate their time to support their associations.

To condo board members: thank you for everything you do.

To owners: take a moment this week to show your appreciation for your board. Their hard work truly makes a difference for your investment.

Acknowledging the board’s commitment and expressing thanks can help foster a positive and thriving condo community. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

For years, owners and occupants have had the right to request reasonable accommodations or modifications from community associations to allow disabled individuals to fully use and enjoy their units, with assistance animal requests being the most common. Starting January 1, 2025, a new section (18.12) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act will require boards to adopt policies for accommodating disabled unit owners’ requests for accessible parking, ensuring a review process within 45 days.

Even though this requirement is specific to condominium associations, non-condominium associations should also adopt similar policies. The process should outline how to handle all accommodation and modification requests, including assistance animals, with boards advised to make decisions carefully, avoiding hasty denials, ensuring thorough review, and seeking legal advice when necessary. Both state and federal law prioritize housing accessibility for disabled individuals, and boards must handle requests objectively and in compliance with the law.

Learn more here. 

Jamie Carlson is the Program and Event Manager for CAI Illinois, and a real estate agent who holds both CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations) and AMS (Association Management Specialist) certifications.

Join Jamie on the second Wednesday of every month to talk all things condominiums, townhomes, and HOAs. Each month she'll cover different topics regarding buying, selling, and living in community associations, with some special guests along the way.

Each session will include 15 to 30 minutes of open Q&A time to ask all your burning questions about anything related to community association living. This event is FREE. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gJK_BFi9

Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day! Have you held your annual board elections?

The next free Condoly webinar will focus on conducting board elections.

Qualifications, noticing, ballots and proxies, voting methods and election day procedures will be covered.

Join Condoly on Thursday, November 21st at 6:30 pm to learn about the democratic process for your association. Have a copy of your Bylaws handy for reference.

Register your FREE Condoly account or Sign in to your existing Condoly account to register.