Our Blog

No matter if you’re new to HOA management or you’ve been on the board for years, chances are you’ve been met with the opportunity for board member training. Perhaps you’ve brushed it off until now; after all, the internet is full of HOA information—our blog is only a testament to that—and as long as you read your HOA’s documentation, you should be good to go, right?

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Treasurers, presidents, vendors—there are so many roles to learn about when you move into an HOA, so it might frustrate you to learn there’s another: the architectural committee! Rest assured, though, that this committee’s purpose is not only an easy one to grasp. It also plays a huge role in the high standards of living HOAs are known for.

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For HOAs lucky enough to have one, the community pool often is the neighborhood’s pride and joy. Aside from its immaculate appearance thanks to your hardworking board and vendors, it can serve as everything from a calm community gathering space to the go-to spot for parents to let their kids run off steam in the summer.

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Any plant that grows in Minnesota has to be made of some seriously tough stuff. From late April snows to scorching summers, our state’s climate isn’t for things that tend to wilt quickly! And neither is your HOA—as we covered in our HOA management blog, resident satisfaction should be a high priority in your neighborhood, and it’s a bit hard to make a content community if your “greenery” looks all yellow instead.

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If you’re like many HOA management pros, dues can be a somewhat sticky subject for you. Because they’re tied so directly to resident happiness and neighborhood success in many ways, you may even be hesitant to increase or decrease them, lest you disrupt the careful financial and social system that the board before you has worked to construct!

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Lush, springy lawns are the hallmark of a thriving HOA—so when your neighborhood turns up brown and scraggly, it can be a major blow to the ego, not to mention resident satisfaction! Your board no doubt needs practical, followable advice to get things looking green again, and Gassen, as providers of property management services, is here to help. Below, you’ll learn a few tips for pulling HOA lawns back from the brink of despair, as well as what can make them that way in the first place.

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It’s all too common to see puddles upon puddles of rainwater standing around this time of year, but when it comes to the health of your lawns and sidewalks, that doesn’t mean it’s harmless! Indeed, as any exterior renovation pro will tell you,standing water can lead to a number of issues, including premature concrete decay, brown patches in your lawns, and soil erosion—which makes maintaining landscaping in the long run nearly impossible.

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All HOA neighborhoods are individuals, and so are all providers of property management services. Matching one to the other is critical to community harmony and the board’s reputation in the long term. After all, if your hired HOA management is constantly making decisions that disappoint or upset the community, that reflects poorly on both that management company and the board, as the latter is supposed to serve as the voice of the community as a whole!

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Is your HOA management board up to its neck in terms of to-dos? Are residents complaining of poor responsiveness and a lack of communication between HOA officials? Are your finances objectively flagging? All of these situations and more can benefit from the help of property management services like Gassen.

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If you’re like any forward-thinking HOA, you’ve invested in online property management technology—most notably, a website—for the purpose of making your residents’ lives better and your board’s jobs easier. On top of that, a good website can also help your neighborhood draw in new residents!

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