Homeowner Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can we self manage our association?

As long as a board of directors is legally elected and that board appoints a slate of required officers, you can manage your association without a licensed professional management company. But ask yourself, is this something you are willing to dedicate your time to? Are you familiar with the laws that govern both the operation of your association as well as the operation of your corporation? Are you willing to be the bad guy in the neighborhood because you are required to enforce your deed restrictions? Do you understand your documents such as your Declaration of Covenants, Restrictions, and Conditions, Articles of Incorporation and your Bylaws? Are you prepared to defend your actions if you make a mistake due to lack of understanding? Do you possess the capability to fulfill the required record keeping of a corporation? Do you have a strong accounting background? Do you have knowledge of chairing and running meetings of the members, the board and its committees as prescribed in Roberts Rule of Order? Are you familiar with the proper procedure for collecting and transcribing meeting minutes?

2. Is a community association firm or community association manager a state regulated profession?

Yes. Under Florida Statute 468 all persons receiving compensation for the management of operations with more than 10 units or a budget in excess of $100,000.00 annually must be licensed. Both the company and its employees must have a current active license with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Trend Management Solutions stays well ahead of the others by mandating in-house training, continuing education and onsite training.

3. What benefit would our association gain from switching to Trend Management Solutions?

Since your association is a living breathing corporation, you as a board member, have a responsibility to make the best use of the associations income as well as their expenses. Working with a management company that has experience, alliances, and knowledge of industry will save you money in the long run. This is not necessary done by paying a lower management fee. It is done by our company and managers having been exposed to many situations that have given them experience to deal with issues in a more efficiently fiscal manner.

4. Will the manager or management company run the association?

No. This is a common misconception. The board of directors in effect runs  the affairs of the association. The function of the manager is assist and guides the board of directors in making the correct decisions that affect the betterment of the association. The officers, such as the President, Treasurer and Secretary are subordinate to the board of directors and work under their direction. Your manager will assist both the directors and officers in the complete operation of the association agreed upon through an agent agreement or management agreement.  In most cases, the manager will be assigned many of the tasks that are required by both the board and the officers. If agreed upon, your manager will expedite all tasks to alleviate the day to day responsibility of the directors and officers. However, the ultimate oversight falls on the board of directors.

These are just a few of many questions that you have to answer prior to taking on such a huge responsibility. At Trend Management Solutions this is what we do.

5. Why choose Trend Management Solutions?

The truth is that you are probably working with a community association manager or management company that recently converted to this profession due to a declining real estate market. At Trend, our team of Community Association Managers has been specifically trained to work as managers. In addition, our managers have longevity under their licensure giving us much more experience in this industry. This is our profession. This is what we do. And we do it well.

We encourage you to invite us to one of your board meetings to so we may share with you our commitment to excellence in this industry and answer your questions about us or about your associations needs.