New Development
Association Management
For developers, managing a community’s association is a necessary part of the project, but it’s not the part they want consuming their time. Time spent managing association affairs leaves less time to focus on developing projects and selling homes. At Empire South Association Management, we take the headaches of association management off the developer’s plate.
We provide association management services for developers throughout the Eastern U.S., Texas, and Oklahoma at any point in development. We help transition the association to homeowner control and can continue managing it after the transition.
What is new development association management?
New development association management helps developers operate a POA or HOA while the community remains under developer control.
Empire South Association Management provides the day-to-day association management services developers need throughout that process, including:
Owner communications
Assessment collection
Financial management and budgeting
Covenant and deed restriction enforcement
Architectural reviews
Vendor coordination
Policy and operating procedure development
Board, annual, and turnover meetings
Transition planning and support
State Specific compliance requirements for the association
Decisions made before the first call comes in
Before we take over the association’s duties, we meet with the developer to outline how their association should function. We discuss:
Architectural requests
Fee waivers
Purchase approvals
General issues that arise in a new community
These discussions help us limit the time developers spend answering day-to-day management questions. We document client preferences from the start and turn them into repeatable protocol.
Communications and Collections
removed from your desk
Two of the biggest concerns developers have when managing an HOA are owner communications
and collections. Empire South Association Management removes both of these burdens.
Other day-to-day
matters
Access to the
owner portal
Assessment
payments
Gate
Codes
Collections
Empire South Association Management facilitates the collections process based on the governing documents recorded for the associations because timely receipt of assessments is essential to the success of all associations.
Association management at every stage of buildout
We serve clients from community conception to mature communities that are entirely built out.
Depending on the community’s size, developer control can last anywhere from a few years to 20 years.
Budget preparation
Empire South Association Management provides expert guidance to help developers establish comprehensive initial budgets tailored to each community’s unique infrastructure and amenities. If a budget has already been established prior to partnering with us, we seamlessly adapt to and operate within your existing framework, ensuring a smooth transition and continuity in financial planning.
Taking over community operations as development progresses
As the developer transitions responsibilities to the association, Empire South Association Management assumes them. When landscaping, utilities, or other community services are transferred from the developer to the POA, Empire South Association Management:
Solicits bids
Presents proposals
Coordinates vendors
Transition process
The recorded covenants outline the criteria for when a transition will occur. Those criteria can be based on either a specific period of time or a threshold tied to homes sold. Empire South Association Management monitors progress toward those requirements and prepares for the transfer as the community approaches them.
Preparation includes:
Sending candidate solicitations to the membership
Issuing the formal meeting notice required by the applicable state property code
Facilitating the transition meeting
As part of that process, we review the relevant governing documents concerning transition, coordinate with association counsel as needed, and perform the administrative tasks necessary for the transfer. After the transition process is complete, the homeowner board assumes control of the community.
Speak With Us About Your Project
If you have a project under construction or are preparing to begin one, Empire South Association Management can take association management
off your team’s plate so you can stay focused on developing the community.
Contact us to discuss where your project stands and how we can manage the association through developer control
and the eventual transition to homeowner control.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a developer engage the services of an association management company?
Empire South Association Management can assume management of your community at any phase of development, from projects with no homes built through communities that are nearly sold out. We can step in early to help establish association operations or take over later when the development is already underway. Developers nearing transition can also hand the turnover process over to Empire South Association Management.
Will I still need to make decisions regarding the association?
While you may still need to make certain decisions, most routine decisions will not require your input once our services begin. Before starting service with Empire South Association Management, we meet with you to clarify how you would like us to handle certain requests and other recurring issues. We document those preferences and use them as the protocol for handling similar routine matters once services begin.
If I have already developed an initial budget for the association, will you use it?
Yes. Often, developers engage Empire South Association Management after already developing an initial budget for the association based on the community’s infrastructure and amenities. We will use your existing budget as a baseline. Where no existing budget exists, we work with you to develop one.
What are the criteria that determine when the transfer of control occurs? Who conducts the transition meeting?
The criteria determining when transfer will occur are detailed in the recorded covenants. Those criteria may be based on either a fixed timeframe or a threshold tied to homes sold. We track progress toward fulfillment of these criteria as they relate to your community. As the community approaches those thresholds, we prepare for transition by sending candidate solicitations, issuing the formal meeting notice required by applicable state property code, coordinating with association counsel as needed, and facilitating the transition meeting, whether conducted in person or virtually.