Association Walk-Thru vs Inspection

In this video we wanted to talk about how PMI Service Group approaches a typical inspection for an Association. We are heading out to a new Community we manage to conduct a walk through. This walk through will be different than a typical walk-through. Normally on most walk throughs, we will simply be looking at the Association property from a perspective of rules and regulations to identify homeowner violations. A standard monthly inspection like this takes less time and is designed to make sure that the community members are aware of, and abiding by, the Association rules to preserve a sense of uniformity to preserve property values.

Walk-Through vs Inspection

The inspection we're doing today is an investor inspection. When a unit in the community is being sold and will change hands to a new owner, if you were the owner, you would get a packet of information on the financial state of the Association. That packet will give the incoming owner an indication as to the financial health of the common Association accounts. For example, as you'll see later in the video, the condominium Association we are visiting is comprised of what's typically referred to as townhomes. These units have shingled roofs that are the responsibility of the Association. So maintaining a proper, healthy financial situation is important because if you were an incoming buyer and the roofs had only a few years of life left, and there was nothing budgeted in reserves to pay for it, as an incoming buyer, you might be subjected to a large special assessment only a few years after moving in to pay to replace a roof the prior owner used, but didn't "sock away" any money to eventually replace. It just so happens this community is in a similar situation. They only started a reserve account a few years back and as the incoming Manager, we want to have a clear financial picture.

Now, sometimes we see members of the Board who are not financially savvy or perhaps don't know much about construction. So here at PMI Service Group, as real-estate investors for many years, we want to utilize the knowledge and skills we've gained to treat an inspection like this as a full financial review of the property, so to speak. As if we were going to come in and buy the property, so we know if it "makes sense". We are essentially documenting the condition of this property at a certain moment in time, and comparing to a reserve study (if one exists) to determine the best way to move forward in assessing homeowner responsibilities for the next upcoming budget. We'll work with the Board of directors to indicate all these different areas of concern, some cosmetic, some functional or structural, to put the best foot forward in managing the finances for this community. Of course, your community may differ, but the thoughts and concepts remain the same.

So in this first photo we can see the grass is not ideal. This is a cosmetic situation and depending on more serious items, their cost, the finances and goals of this community, we would place this on a lower priority but we should still identify items like this moving forward so we can plan accordingly.

Same thing for this edging around many of the mailbox areas, it's largely cosmetic, although one can make the argument it is also a tripping hazard for older community folks. Something to mention but likely not at the top of the priority list.

Now this is an exposed and dangerous cavity in the ground were we can see some electrical wires. This is going to be a priority. We are in the early fall months and winter is coming. We should get this secured.

As mentioned before there are some older community members here and we want to look for tripping hazards. This is a lifted section of the walkway which people directly walk across. This should be presented to the board for rectification.

Here we see a wood fence dividing an unsightly area from public areas. However, we can see there is some mildew and potential rotting of the boards because whoever installed this has the boards resting directly on the concrete. The installer should have placed a 1/2 inch space, or so, between the boards and concrete to allow for better drying. To stave of potential replacement of the entire fence, the Board might consider having someone come and rip the lower 1/2 off the boards with a saw.

Here we see another cosmetic issue, a downspout is smashed. This could get clogged in the spring and fall due to leaves and tree seedpods falling. This property has a lot of trees that shed materials onto the roof. Longer term large trees can fall, damaging structures, cars, etc.

See our other video on what an HOA should consider regarding trees on Association property.

One common area of concern is public driveways which are usually community responsibility and for some reason, regular maintenance to seal these areas is often neglected. Here we can see a severely depressed area which collects water and will be subjected more heavily to the freeze-thaw cycle. In fact, the other side of this drive already was cut out and replaced. Redoing asphalt is a lot more expensive than seal-coating it. Something to consider.

What am I taking a picture of here? The roof has streaking indicating wear. This is a visual indication the roof is losing it's granules and can give an indication of it's expected life-span moving forward. Of course, an independent roof inspection by a qualified company will be necessary at some point in the future. But after many dozens of roof replacements on investment properties, you can develop a good sense of approximately how long a roof will last in the future.

So here we see a collapsed sewer that appears to have been covered by dirt and grass. We'll be calling the village township right away to make them aware and see if they can come and fix this since it involves a sewer system.

Some landscaping is being done here where earlier this week we had the irrigation company come and mark the lines and sprinkler heads. We want to double check and make sure they came like they said, and marked items correctly. It's always good to check on your vendor work. We see two different flag colors indicating lines vs heads. The small cost to pay the company to come mark with hopefully eliminate a much larger cost to repair irrigation lines should the landscapers accidentally damage the system.

So here we see another issue, more of a tripping hazard. It's in the back area of one of the multi-unit structures where likely there isn't much foot traffic. But again, we want to present all these areas to the HOA Board of Directors so they are aware of them.

Now here behind another building we can see a significant change in grade. What that means is the ground level changes between this multi-unit townhome structure and the property immediately behind it. When this was constructed 50 years ago, the builder installed this retaining wall to not have a very steep area yet promote water run off away from the property. These railroad ties, over the course of many decades have pretty much exhausted their usefulness. This retention wall is quite long, as well. So this is going to be a priority item that will need consideration in the near future. Nothing is collapsing but repair and maintenance is going to be required soon.

As a property manager for Associations and commercial properties, as well as a residential rental management company, we are going to put the same care and level of detail into all properties we manage. If you're in the Dupage County area wondering if there's better community management out there, please give us a call. We also serve Will County, Kane County and Kendall County. Let's discuss how we can help your community association! (630) 912-8742