Association Management FAQ

Running a good association is a lot of work. Developers are in the business of selling lots, not running associations. Further, boards consist of volunteers who don’t have the free time, amongst their job/family/other commitments, to focus on everything that goes into running a good association. Hiring a professional management company with years of experience ensures the proper oversight of your greatest investment…namely, protecting your property values. Studies have shown homes in communities with well managed homeowner associations hold their values, and many times increase their values, compared to those who have no association or a poorly run association.

CMGT provides a fully functioning website for residents to log in (once you have requested and been provided log in information), where you can review all community documents, including the annual budget and monthly financials. This is all in an effort to provide the most information to residents at all times in an effort to keep everyone up to date on what is happening in your community.

Every association’s financial trajectory is guided mainly by the annual budget, approved by the Board of Directors. A copy of the budget can be found on the website CMGT creates for each association. Further, CMGT posts monthly Income and Expense Statements, as well as Balance Sheets, so every resident can easily see what is being spent and how much is being collected.

CMGT sends out periodic email blasts on a monthly basis to those residents who have provided their email address. These emails are to keep residents informed about everything going on in and around their communities, providing updates on work orders, offering friendly reminders about events in the area, and other useful information. Further, CMGT provides a monthly email, as well as posting on the community website, with the Income/Expense Statements from the previous months, as we believe strongly in being transparent to all residents.

CMGT also sends out periodic physical mailings regarding such things as upcoming meetings, community events, as well as individual correspondence to residents. Once the opportunity presents itself, residents may be able to sign up for all electronic communications, which will help cut down mailing cost for the community.

Inspections are done a minimum of twice a month. A Site Visit Specialist drives though the property to inspect the common areas, amenities, and each home for compliance with the governing documents. Further, the Community Association Manager (CAM) will drive though to inspect common areas and amenities. There may be times where a CAM is on-site more often meeting with vendors and/or inspecting common area problems

In order to keep the management costs affordable for the average community, CAMs split their time between a portfolio of communities, thus they do not work solely on-site for one community. The number of communities an individual CAM oversees is carefully monitored to ensure he/she is not overloaded and unable to maintain oversight of each community.

There are two ways convenient ways:

1. You can email our customer service department at info@cmgt.org and we will work to address your concerns/questions in a timely manner.
2. When you call in to the office, we have an automated answering service to better allow residents get to the department/person they are looking for.

Because CAMs spend many days in the field, inspecting properties, following up on work orders, as well as communicating with vendors and board members, CMGT has created a structure where different departments and team members assist association members with various requests and concerns to ensure each person’s concerns/questions are addressed quickly. There is a dedicated customer service team to provide faster answers to residents, who can be reached by emailing info@cmgt.org or calling the office.

No. CMGT did not create the association. As a 3rd party vendor, CMGT is hired to assist the controlling entity (whether it be the developer/builder/resident board) in the day-to-day tasks to ensure the association is run smoothly.

No. CMGT is a separate entity who has no ownership interest in any development company for any association. Further, no developer/development company/builder has any interest/ownership in CMGT. We are an independent vendor hired to carry out the directives of the board and governing documents.

No. CMGT is hired as a vendor, just like a lawn maintenance company, a pool company, etc. We are hired to perform the administrative tasks of the community, as outlined by the governing documents (which can be found on the association website under Documents), and directed by the Board of Directors (who may be the developer, builder, or residents). We advise our boards based on our years of experience, but ultimately, the board is making the decisions for the betterment of the community.

The developer (or, if the developer has sold the majority/all of the lots to another party, then the new declarant) has money at stake in regards to being able to sell remaining lots/homes at top dollar. To ensure this happens, the developer/builder (sometimes referred to as Declarant) retains control of the association to ensure the property is upkept and rules are followed, all to keep property values at their highest. Also, during the development phase, the declarant may still be contributing money towards the property and thus has a personal stake in making sure money is spent correctly.

No. First, CMGT does not create the governing documents and resolutions dictating if there are late fees, interest, or fines….this is done by the Board of Directors. Again, CMGT is hired to carry out what is in these documents. Second, all the fees, interest, and fines go directly back to the HOA budget, not CMGT.

CMGT does not choose. When we visit a property, we have a copy of the restrictions with us and we look for any property who may have an issue/item in need of corrective action. There may be times we miss something, but we work to be thorough. We fully understand you may, or may not, be aware of all the restrictions, thus the first letter serves as a friendly reminder, even referencing the part of the restrictions for you (further, in the Documents section on the website, there is a Quick Reference Guide of all the restrictions, for you to review). There may be times the letter we send is in error, and, as the first letter states, if this is the case, please call and we can discuss and rectify the situation if necessary. These letters are not meant to be a threat, but rather a reminder.

Unfortunately, the association, nor CMGT, can intercede in resident-to-resident issues where there is no clear violation of the governing documents. However, if you ever feel someone in your community is in violation of a rule, please do not hesitate to contact us. We do visit the property and notate any items in need of correction.