10 Reasons to Serve on Your Community's HOA Board  "Who me? Run for the HOA board?"  Think board membership isn't for you? Think again. Being a part of your HOA board and directly effecting change in your community can be awfully appealing and offers a real sense of belonging. As a member of your HOA, you'll:   1. Protect property values and maintain quality of the community   2. Correct specific problems such as parking and maintenance issues    3. Give back to your community and to your neighbors    4. Better socialize by meeting your neighbors and making friends   5. Possibly advance your career and build your resume   6. Better fill your time and have fun taking part in a large, positive project   7. Educate yourself on the many facets of running a community association   8. Express yourself and design creative solutions to residential issues   9. Earn recognition and satisfaction in a job well done    10. Take pride in your community, the place in which you live and where you derive pleasure, comfort and security    Give it some thought. You might be just who is needed to take your community to the next level. Yes you!

CAMS Management has Merged with GRS Management

We are pleased to announce
CAMS Association Management has merged with GRS Management Associates.

CAMS Association Management has relocated to the GRS corporate office at 3900 Woodlake Blvd. Suite 309 Lake Worth, FL 33463.

You can still reach us at the same phone number and fax number.

PHONE
(561) 738-0061
Fax: 561-738-6252

HOA Dues are Actually Cheaper than the Alternative  They Save Money & Time in the Long  Run  Although cutting that check monthly might sting a little in the short run, when pooled with your neighbors' share, your HOA dues actually buy substantially discounted services, maintenance and improvements that you likely wouldn't receive if you were left to fend for yourself. Some areas in your community that likely benefit from the substantial sum of you and your neighbors' assets include:   General Maintenance Can you imagine soliciting landscape services, pest control, repairs, general cleaning and all the rest on your own? Providers of these services love large community contracts and often discount their work because of the size, scope and regularity that a community contract can offer. Plus, your HOA likely shops around for these services or solicits bids.     Communal Amenities     Want to go swimming? How about play tennis? Well, you can price out the cost of building a pool or a tennis court or you can chip in and use the community amenities that your monthly dues help pay for. From clubhouses and hot tubs to weight rooms and boat docks, it's a whole lot less expensive to share the many building, repair and maintenance costs involved than to pay for large scale amenities without help. Improved Resale     Statistics reflect that homes that rely on individuals for their maintenance, repairs and improvements often return a lower resale because of the hit-or-miss quality of those services and the inconsistency with which they're rendered. Rarely in a community with an HOA do necessary repairs and maintenance items stand unaddressed for very long. Plus, one of the many jobs of your HOA is to source capable professionals, and keep them on task, on time and on their game of providing top quality.   While your next HOA payment will no doubt cost the same as before reading this article, we hope thinking about it in these terms might make it seem a little more reasonable.

Spring is Coming! What Shade of Green is Your Thumb?

Shrimp plants love the climate in South Florida. Guess what love shrimp plants.

Whether Your Home Comes with a Little DIY Garden Area or it's All Professionally Landscaped, it's Springtime in Florida!  

Right about now in Florida is the time lots of homeowners and landscape professionals start replanting flowerbeds, laying new sod, replacing foliage and trees damaged by weather and planting new plants of all kinds.  

  

If you have a flowerbed or other garden area that you typically replant each year, then you know the drill. You're likely considering: Egyptian star flowers, begonias, Florida sweethearts, wishbone flowers, periwinkles, or maybe even golden shrimp plants or rain lilies. If your community contracts with a professional landscaping company, you'll likely notice at least one of these plant types being installed somewhere on the property, from medians and other common areas to bordering sidewalks and parking areas. 

If you're new to your community, you'll want to check with your association before you begin digging in. Many HOAs have rules regarding the areas where residents are allowed to garden and what they're allowed to plant.  

Happy spring planting from the crew at CAMS!

Annual Community HOA Meetings are in Full Swing You Should Attend. Here's Why:   Annual HOA meetings get a bum rap for being long, boring and poorly attended. They serve at least four critical functions, however. The Election of Directors   HOA Boards have considerable authority and responsibility to govern the corporation, and residents who become officers and directors of associations are key to its success or failure. Attendance helps residents become acquainted with the people who will be effecting change in the community in which they live. Ratification of the Budget and Annual Assessments   Many homeowners have little idea of how their HOA dues are being spent and how much it actually costs for landscaping, for example, insurance, accounting and legal services, etc. Annual meeting attendance helps residents understand where their money is going. Critical Votes   Annual meetings are the one time each year that the entire membership has an opportunity to vote on critical issues such as amendments to bylaws and special assessments. Annual meetings offer great insight into large communal changes in store. Thanks and Support of Leadership   Board members work hard and endure as much as anyone in any voluntary position. Annual meeting attendance is a great way for residents to show their support and give thanks in an official capacity. At CAMS, we recommend that you make it a point to attend your community's annual meetings. If you don't go, you won't know!

Why Become a Board Member of Your Association? In Short, for More Say & Better Control Over Your Home. Here's the Long of It:     You have a big financial stake in your community and its common elements, from utilities, security, landscaping, parking and walkways to perhaps a pool, clubhouse, golf course and more. As a board member of your homeowner association, you can help ensure that these elements are properly maintained and that rules and bylaws are followed, and reap the benefits of experiencing what essentially is a better sense of belonging to the community in which you live.   As a board member, you will: Help Protect Your Property by being in a position to better implement rules that preserve and increase home values and foster resident pride throughout the community. Help Correct Problems by having first-hand access to the systems and protocols that only the board has. You won't be reporting that item in disrepair to the board and hoping someone hears you; instead you'll be facilitating the repair directly. Meet More of Your Own Expectations again by being in a position to directly facilitate what you perhaps wanted from your community when you first moved in, and that you found isn't the case after having lived there.   Gain Better Understanding of the Rules and Bylaws by working with them regularly.   Have Fun and Gain a Better Sense of Belonging by meeting residents and helping to resolve their issues, and initiating events and other items that help neighbors have fun and enjoy living there.    Gain Leadership Skills and Build Your Resume if you're relatively new to the working world. Now is the time to volunteer or run for a principal position. Give it a shot. You'll never look back!

Snowbirds/Locals Survival Kit Can't-Lose Tips for Living in Harmony It's season! Yay! Grumble, grumble. Yay! Grumble. Whether you're a part-time resident or live here year-round, you probably have opinions about life "on the other side."   Full-time residents love the extra revenue that snowbirds inject into their local community, for example, but aren't fond of the additional traffic and crowds during this time of year. Part-time residents love the weather here in South Florida, but are perplexed by the fast-paced, all-business attitude of locals.    To help maintain the peace, whether you're a year-round or part-time resident, remind yourself often of the following: Locals: South Florida climate and sunshine belong to everyone, whether full-time, part-time or short-time visiting tourist. No one owns the weather here, and there's plenty to go around. Share it! Snowbirds: Year-round residents work here, and many don't have the luxury to often enjoy the climate, beaches and other attractions. Locals are limited in time and focused on obligations. Try to be understanding that full-time residents are not on vacation, and so approach day to day with a different mindset than you do.   Locals: Yes, you may have to wait to get a table at your favorite diner this time of year. But the extra income during season is what allows that restaurant to stay in business long term. You may think you want empty spots at the counter all year, but you don't. Be thankful for the subsidy that helps enable the quality of life you enjoy.      Snowbirds: There's likely a marked difference in the culture, norms and habits of people in South Florida vs. the region you're from. Try to recognize those differences and adapt. It's not unlike trying out your French while on vacation in Paris. Compromise is your friend.   Locals: That goes for you too. Be as understanding and welcoming as possible. Many situations are not as they seem on the surface, but are simply a matter of cultural differences. Ever visited a friend's home and noted the contrasts in that family's behavior, differences in cooking or home making, etc.? Same thing.    Snowbirds: Keep in mind that despite the tiniest footprint that you yourself might strive to make during season, because you're part of a very large temporary population influx, the combined impact is substantial, and requires year-round residents to adapt to the change.      Bottom line? Be nice no matter where you live and for how long, and be patient. We're all on the same team.

It's Annual and  

Budget Meeting Time    

Watch for Notices & Coupon Books 

 

It's just about that time again! Usually, as we head into the holidays, community associations have meetings about budgets and their annual meetings.  

The budget meeting is the forum where the Board will review and adopt the operating budget projecting the funds needed by the association to cover its operating expenses and provide reserves for repair and replacement of the common elements of the property the community maintains.

The annual meeting is the forum where voting for leadership for the next year takes place, and where general decisions concerning the community's actions for the coming year ensue. 

It's a great time to become involved in your community in an official capacity, or just to watch how the process for governing your community takes place. It's also the time for residents to keep a lookout for meeting notices and association payment coupon books.

Let's Talk Deep Fried Turkey Be Smart, Stay Safe this Thanksgiving Deep frying a turkey is one of the most amazing ways you can prepare a holiday bird. Unfortunately, the flames that can potentially engulf your home if you don't follow some simple precautions will amaze your family, your guests and your neighbors too as the fire trucks roll in to extinguish your celebration. Follow this advice, however, and you can have your safely fried turkey and eat it too! First and foremost, fully defrost your bird, which can take as long as 6 days in the fridge for a 20-pound or larger turkey. Immersing even just a partially frozen turkey into boiling oil is a recipe for disaster. This can't be stressed enough. It's not a case that it "might" cause fireworks you'll never forget. It's the No. 1 holiday fire-starter that repeats every year to careless newbies. Always locate your fryer outdoors, on a stable surface and away from wooden decks, overhanging trees, eves, patio covers, trellises and awnings, and preferably a safe distance away from your home should a spill or grease fire occur.  Do not overfill your fryer. Upon immersion, your turkey will displace the hot oil, and an overfilled fryer will overflow. And spill damage to your lawn or driveway is the least of your concerns. Spilling oil onto the fryer's heating element or open flame is a great way to start a fire.  Monitor the oil temperature from start to finish to avoid combustion as the temperature of most cooking oils will continue to rise under continued high heat.  If you're new to deep frying, it's not our intent to scare you away from this delicious alternative cooking method. Millions of Americans deep fry their holiday turkey every year with yummy success. But like driving or using power tools, etc., there are a few basic safety precautions to heed.

Low Speed Limits in a Community Can be Deceiving They Provide a False Sense of Security  Very low posted speed limits are typical in residential communities, but law-breaking speeders are only half the equation. A bigger problem, say authorities, is the false sense of security a driver can feel behind the wheel of a vehicle traveling at low speeds.   Because of the luxury of additional reaction time that traveling at 20 mph, for example, allows, drivers can be lulled and distracted by their cell phone, items in their vehicle and searching for an address, etc. Compounding the problem are pedestrians, often elderly or very young, who tend not to pay as much attention to their surroundings when in their own neighborhood. You'll often see jaywalking, residents not paying attention to moving vehicles and kids playing in the street.  Bottom line? Stay vigilant while driving through a community, even at very low speeds. And pedestrians, this goes for you too. Stay alert. A 2-ton car traveling at 10mph still weighs 2 tons.

Recycling Helps Everybody    It's the sensible, responsible and neighborly thing to do, and it's not hard to implement.     Following your community's recycling program by placing glass, plastic and paper items in the appropriate corresponding color-coded bins is easy, and it really does help the environment. Just look at these facts:      * Using 1 ton of post-consumer paper to make new paper products saves 7,000 gallons of water and conserves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill.   * Recycling 300 lbs. of paper saves roughly one tree.   * For every ton of glass recycled, we eliminate 384 lbs. of mining waste.   * Using post-consumer aluminum cans to make new cans produces 95% less air pollution vs. manufacturing cans from raw aluminum.    * Paper recycling reduces pollution by about half.   * Recycling a 36-inch stack of newspaper saves about 73 kilowatt hours of electricity (14% of a typical residential electric bill).   * Recycling 1 pound of aluminum saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 290 hours.   * It takes 64% less energy to make paper products from post-consumer paper, saving the equivalent of three barrels of oil for each ton of paper that is recycled. Generally, folks who don't recycle believe that their individual contribution doesn't add up to much. But it's that single household multiplied by everyone on your block, and then by every block in your community, and every community in your city that adds up to the jaw-dropping statistics above. Just follow the rules of your community. Keep your bins stored out of sight until collection day. Avoid spilling cans and bottles into the street and weigh down paper items so they don't blow away, and you'll be a big part of the solution.

After Hours, What Do I Do?   

Contacting Your Association Manager

Your community association management office has after-hours availability for good reason and depends on residents to be its eyes and ears at night. But what constitutes an emergency, how dire that emergency is, and which agency is best qualified to handle it can often be murky.

A general rule of thumb is to rate your potential after-hours call on a common sense scale of 1 to 3. "1" being a life-threatening emergency or violent crime, "2" a threat to property, and "3" a "Can it wait?" issue.

1. Is someone's life or health in danger because of a fire, accident or crime in progress? Call 911. You know when you need immediate police, fire department or medical services. Don't delay with an interim call to your community manager. 

2. The severity of property damage is a judgment call. Essentially, however, if the property damage is in progress and threatens additional significant damage, then yes call and rally the troops. A burst pipe washing away a home foundation, for example, can't wait until the next morning after tens of thousands of gallons of water has continued to flow all night. A landscape professional, on the other hand, is unlikely to dispatch late at night to take care of a fallen tree in a neighbor's yard. Which brings us to No. 3:

3. "Can it wait?" issues are best described as issues about which 9 of 10 ordinary people would agree. A barking dog keeping you awake, for example, is a nuisance and perhaps even a crime to some degree. And if you're the one lying awake with an early schedule slated for the next morning, it might even seem at the time like a dire emergency. But chances are not one of those 9 ordinary people would mobilize in order to intervene on your behalf. Can it wait? It not only CAN wait, but it's very likely that no one will respond at that time anyhow. Save yourself the aggravation and address the issue the following day.  

Regardless of whether or not you choose to contact your community management office after hours about a nighttime issue, it's always a good idea to follow up the next day with your manager. Your board wants to know about the property it manages 24-7, and you are your community's eyes and ears. 

Hurricane Season Planning     NOAA Prediction & Making a Pre-Plan Now       In April, NOAA predicted 7 hurricane-strength storms in 2018 (sustained winds of 74+ mph). Recently, however, the number predicted dropped to 4. Apparently, the tropical Atlantic is colder than normal for this time of year. While this is welcomed news, especially following the wake of devastation last year left by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, it's only an educated guess. So stay vigilant and make a plan now.     At CAMS, we recommend a little "Hurricane Pre-Planning" by following three basic courses of action. Then later if a named storm sets its sights on South Florida, you can proceed with preparing your home for an imminent strike. For now, however:                    ASSEMBLE A HURRICANE KIT:  A direct hit by a hurricane can mean loss of power and essentials for a long period of time. We recommend assembling your Hurricane Disaster Kit now, and stowing it in a closet or attic. Think of your kit as what you might require for an extended camping trip. You'll need flashlights, a battery-powered radio and extra batteries, toiletries and other non-perishable essentials, a change or two of clothing, a few basic tools, a camp stove if you have one, a first-aid kit, and anything else you think you can't do without if and when the time comes. The key here is to really put one together now while you're thinking clearly. Later, if a hurricane strike is imminent, you can supplement at that time with food, water and other last-minute items. REVISIT YOUR INSURANCE COVERAGE: It's never a bad idea to periodically check that your home and belongings are adequately insured. But in Florida, during hurricane season, the stakes for homeowners are high. And when a storm is zeroing in on your neighborhood, it's generally too late to start worrying about coverage. Revisit your homeowner's insurance now. If you need to extend your coverage or list new items and shoot photos, etc., you have the luxury of time on your side. Also, while you're getting organized, file all your important financial, medical and personal papers all in one spot. That way, when your hurricane preparation becomes the real thing, you can quickly access, waterproof and protect those documents before the storm hits. Post-storm is a bad time to chase a paper trail. READY YOUR STORM SHUTTERS: Every window and otherwise penetrable entryway to your home should be equipped with protection, whether it's storm shutters, fitted plywood sheets or other devices. Now is the time to take them out of long-term storage, move them nearby where they're quickly accessible, check that they function properly, and take inventory of the components necessary to install them. Speaking of installation, if you require help putting up your shutters, now is also the time to make arrangements for that assistance. Oh, and while you're digging things out of storage, do you plan to park your vehicles in your garage if a storm is pending? Is there room? There's a good chance you might not have time to clean out your garage in the event of an approaching hurricane, not to mention the obvious problems associated with throwaway items piled near the road. Get busy now!  Waiting in long lines to purchase gasoline, canned goods and drinking water; clearing your yard of ornaments, garden hoses, trash cans, outdoor furniture and the like; and all the other necessary short-term preparations prior to an imminent hurricane strike are nerve-wracking enough. However, if you take the time now to pre-plan with the suggested items above, it can greatly reduce the anxieties experienced in an already highly stressful situation. See Ready.Gov for more hurricane planning information.

The Science Behind Picking Up After Your Pet

The Science Behind Picking Up After Your Pet   Who hasn't experienced the nose-pinching displeasure of having to hose off a shoe after stepping into a pile of a neighbor's thoughtlessness? But the inconvenience left behind by folks not picking up after their pets is only a small part of the story. Did You Know: ∙ Giardia, salmonella and E. coli are only some of the contaminants that can flourish in animal waste, and can be transmitted to both humans and animals via storm-water runoff and ingestion of infected groundwater.   ∙ Animal waste contains high levels of nitrogen, which following a rain often gets into nearby ponds, lakes and canals, and depletes oxygen. This toxicity can wipe out fish and underwater grasses and promote algae blooms.   ∙ Remember warnings not to run barefoot outdoors or suffer "worms"? While as kids our imagined version of the offending critters might not have been entirely accurate, round- and hookworm can thrive for long, long periods in waste and surrounding grass, and can transmit to humans.   At CAMS, we thank you for picking up after your pet and know your neighbors appreciate it too.