OUTSTANDING PRODUCTIVITY
With Affirmative Management’s help and advice in the past two years we have installed new insulated roofs, repaired the exteriors, painted the complex, fixed all the fences in the community, and installed new mailboxes. And since we hired them, Affirmative has gotten more done than a series of property managers did during the previous 25 years. In a nutshell, AMS’s productivity has been outstanding. As a result, the community is in top shape, our curb appeal is excellent, and every now and then a resident even thanks other board members and me for all the improvements.
Mary D, Treasurer – Sunnyvale
PROJECTS HAVE IMPROVED CURB APPEAL
During the past two years we have completed several major projects including painting the complex with more modern colors (first color change in 30 years); doing a major landscaping upgrade; installing new, secure mailboxes and moving them to a more convenient location; and implementing a set of fair & reasonable rules designed to address resident behavior and community esthetics. As a result, the complex looks great, our ‘to do list’ is small (and shrinking), and IMHO every resident’s quality of life is better.
While it has been a team effort, all of the improvements described above were suggested by our Affirmative Management property manager. As board members we have been happy co-pilots, but we couldn’t have done it all – indeed we couldn’t have thought of much of it – without his guidance and ability to execute.
Pierre K, Treasurer – Santa Clara
GOVERNING DOCUMENT REWRITE PAYING DIVIDENDS
Since our AMS property manager helped us update our Bylaws and CCRs board meetings are spent discussing topics that will improve and beautify the community versus refereeing disputes, deciding who should pay for a repair, and preparing for elections and annual meetings. Being a board member is simpler than it was before we hired Affirmative Management; meetings are less frequent and shorter – yet we are getting more done!
None of this would not have been possible without AMS’s creative and practical advice about how to rewrite our governing documents
Kathy G, President – Sunnyvale
PARKING CONTROL SYSTEM IS WORKING
A few years ago our parking problems had become a crisis because our complex has fewer open parking stalls than units and a few residents were creating a lot of pressure by parking more than one vehicle outside. Then we adopted a parking control system at our property manager’s suggestion and the difference has been night and day. The key elements of the program were distributing parking tags with serial numbers, occasionally issuing warning tickets, and (very rare) letters threatening to tow people who aren’t complying with the system. The result has been near-100% compliance… and we haven’t had to tow anybody yet.
The best parts of the system are that it is simple and our residents have accepted it with zero pushback. I am happy that the board is almost completely out of the parking enforcement business and stress over this issue has disappeared.
Thad G, President – Santa Clara
DOING MORE, WORKING LESS
With the help of our Affirmative Management property manager we have changed the culture by continually improving the community. In the past five years we have installed new roofs on all of the buildings that are now warmer in winter and cooler in summer. In addition, we are about halfway through our first major landscaping upgrade in 40 years. And even though we are not big, we have a nice website that residents can use to find out about current events, get forms, and report problems.
In addition, thanks to our AMS property manager’s focus on getting things done we now meet quarterly instead of monthly as we did in the past; despite this, we are getting more done in less time. It’s true – we are meeting less, but being more effective. Nobody expected that.
Diane E, President – Santa Clara