Is it time to ask vendors to cut rates?

The short answer is Yes, kind of, When Dan Greenstein brought the subject up yesterday about freezing contractor prices for 1-3 years or doing an outright cut, there were nervous coughs from the vendors in the audience. Can I afford a bidding war this year? No, Will my service come in as low bid most of the time, No. Do I make a ton of money, No, so there's no room to cut, right? My cost for fuel, tires, fertilizer, salt all doubled last year, but there was no room to double the prices. Here are 2 areas where cuts could be made. I'll focus on lawn and snow because it's the biggest part of your budget, but it could apply to anything. Here are 3 quick areas that you could look at: 1. Cutting services in your contract. We talked to a large office park last year that needed cuts. We already had a contract in place, but we went through the specs and cut out an edging, pruning and one application of fert and weed control. 2. Standard bid specs. I'm the #1 advocate for standardized bid specs. (If you don't have them, I'll send you one) Here are a few specs that can be cut that will have minimal effects on quality and minimal impacts on contractor profits. 1. Apply much around all trees (whether it's needed or not) Too much mulch is BAD for trees 2. Rough Cut 7 times per year. There's a site I'm looking at now, where I can save them $4000 if I cut it 4 times per year. There is a segment of the market that will likelyy either put off landscape care or reduce their maintenance programs. We are working closely with all our clients to prioritize the work that cannot be put off, and giving them a program tailored to their budget. It's important to maintain open, honest communications with each other. Someday we'll talk about hybrid snow contracts.

Half the room, all the assessment in Roseville

By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER, Star Tribune Last update: January 25, 2009 - 10:48 PM what you do not know What was not in the article, there are 47 units of the 47 five are small, about half the size as the larger units. The Board members all … read more live in the large units. Many of the large unit owners have been here for 40 years. I am an owner in a small unit and I did read and understand the documents, however, when this project began the Board decided to change the documents and with 42 large units, they shepherded thru the change in documents to cut their costs. The Board was responsible to keep up the housing units and now want the small units to subsidize their large units which they have neglected, and are asking Roseville to subsidize the larger more expensive units at a great financial loss for the less expensive units owned by the elderly. One of the members of the HRA (who is recommending this project) lives in Westwood Village 1 in a larger unit. The homeowners in the larger units also knew what the Declarations said when they bought. Her 796-square-foot home was assessed at $32,000 for roofing and siding improvements -- the same amount as her neighbors with more space, she said. She also doesn't understand why Roseville has declared her middle-class condo building a "housing improvement area'' and given it a $1.5 million loan for the exterior repairs. "If the city is lending them $1.5 million, you'd think there would be some kind of oversight for fairness,'' said Dalnes, who will take her case to the City Council tonight. A growing effort As Twin Cities suburbs work to maintain quality housing, older condos and townhouses are showing up on their radar screen. Dalnes' experience points to one financial option that many suburbs are tapping to repair those buildings -- and raising questions about what the law intended. DISCUSS IT HERE, and Read the rest of the article at: http://townhomeassociation.blogspot.com/

truthseeker said... What was failed to be mentioned in this article is that all town homes in Westwood Village 1 are approximately the same foundation size of around 800 square feet. The difference in size as it refers to this project is the number of VERTICAL levels. Under the new declaration, in order take the difference in the number of stories into account, the cost for each town home for the siding project is calculated in square footage for the front and backs. Sides, garages, etc are calculated 1/47th (47 units in association)for each unit. Maureen Dalnes has been trying for 3 years to make a case of unfairness when the board members and other residents have gone to great lengths to make changes in the declaration to account for the differences in town home sizes. Her own attorney even agreed to the new calculation but later reneged on his word when she heard about it and wanted an unreasonable discount for her unit. She failed to disclose for this article that her town home is currently listed for sale for $229,400 and described as 1592 finished square feet. Prices for what she refers to as the larger homes with double the square footage (as stated on the tax statements) are not marketed or sold for twice that amount! So using the method of square footage on tax statements (in this case 796 square feet for her unit)as Maureen Dalnes wants to do to calculate for a project such as this, is woefully inaccurate. Fortunately, the mayor of Roseville and four of the council members (Amy Ihlan dissenting,as expected) agreed that the way the declaration correctly calculated the cost of the project for each resident. Bravo to them as they did their homework and listened to reason! Maureen's continued efforts to delay this project is just adding additional costs to the project for all residents. January 28, 2009 9:11 PM

VACANCIES SPIKE, PRICES PLUMMET

For renters with leases about to expire, it's time to negotiate. Landlords are working extra hard these days to keep units filled. More from BusinessWeek.com : • Rents Drop Nationwide as Vacancies Spike • The Best and Worst Housing Markets of 2008 • How Much Home You Can Buy for $500,000 Of course, your ability to hold on to an apartment—especially a luxury unit—depends on how secure you feel about your own job. Americans lost about 2.6 million jobs in 2008 (mostly in the final quarter of the year) and are likely to lose millions more this year. They are losing money on stocks and other investments and are cutting back on costs by downsizing and moving in with family members or roommates as they hunker down for a deep recession. Landlords, as a result, are forced to offer discounts to fill vacancies. Apartment vacancies spiked in September after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the eruption of the financial crisis. Go for a Long Lease "If you've got job, it's a great time to be a renter and to sign the longest lease possible," said Ron Johnsey, president of Axiometrics.com , a Dallas apartment data company. BusinessWeek.com worked with Axiometrics to come up with a list of 25 large metros where rent declines accelerated most at the end of 2008. In Salt Lake City, where the economy had been holding up better than most cities, effective rents (including landlord concessions) fell 2.3% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter. By comparison, rents were climbing 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2007. The New York metro area, including New York City and its New York and northern New Jersey suburbs, saw a 3.7% drop-off in effective rents in the fourth quarter (compared with a 0.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2007), according to Axiometrics, which surveys landlords across the nation once a month

JOIN LINKEDIN. It's Free and it's great for business

The CIC industry has need for a lot of knowledge and a lot of contacts.
Joining LinkedIn is free. Sign up at the site, then lookup Steve Hoogenakker and link with me. You can look through my list of other property managers, and link with them.
You can also go to groups. There are 3 groups that serve your community.
1 Townhome and CIC site, THIS SITE IS YOURS
2. CAI - Minnesota
3. CAI - National
At least link to 1 and 2. You can post questions, or solutions online for free.

Preparing your townhome association for spring part I

YOUR LANDSCAPE – WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW COULD KILL MILLIONS PART I

That’s right. As a homeowner, you’re responsible for millions of living organisms. You’re the “Jack Bauer” of the show “24” protecting millions of innocent lives!Grass plants, ornamentals, trees, annual flowers and shrubs. Your decisions also affect insect and biotic populations. Most importantly, you’re in control of how your landscape affects you and your family personally. The best way to make the most of your living investment is knowledge and of course, action!

At the end of this article, I’ve included a link to www.Townhome.Pro, where I’ve added links for your lawn, landscape, trees and garden. This website is dedicated exclusively for MHA members at this time.

Let’s get started!
“Da Lawn”
We’ll start with the lawn. It’s very important to have a thick, healthy lawn. Why? My daughter plays soccer and I shudder everytime she gets knocked down. (I never cheer when she knocks someone else down.) When kids play on your lawn, or when elderly residents walk in it, a thick lawn protects their skin and joints. A thick lawn also prevents weeds from coming up, reducing the need for pesticides. So, what can we do in the spring to get there?
First, write down your thoughts about last years’ turf. What improvements would you like to have seen? Then “spring” into action. If you have a lawn contractor, discuss fertilization options with him/her. Are they applying 2-3 pounds of Nitrogen per year? Nitrogen has a direct relationship to the color of the lawn. If the lawn isn’t thick and green, ask them to do a soil test, or you can do one using the easy instuctions on the website. (Cost $15.00 plus postage) Do they use slow release or fast release fertilizer? Quick release fertilizers give the lawn a quick greenup and are cheaper, but they lose their color after 2-4 weeks. If you’re getting 3 applications per year, with normal release fert, you get 4 weeks of food and rapid growth followed by 4 weeks of partial starvation. Using slow release feeds gradually, and keeps the lawn growing at a more regular pace. Ask your contractor if he likes double cutting and bagging grass clippings, if he says yes, I owe you a $5.00 gift certificate to Caribou Coffee. When he says no, tell him that using slow release will cut down on rapid flush growth, and cut down the need for a lot of extra labor. Everybody wins!
There is bound to be some winter salt or plow damage too. These areas need to be seeded or sodded right away. I recommend bringing black dirt in if needed and if using seed, use blends, such as kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye for sunny areas, and fine fescue, perennial rye and bluegrass for shady areas. If seeding, expect weeds. Crabgrass control can’t be applied to these areas unless you use Siduron (Tupersan), but broadleaf controls can be used after the seeded area is mowed twice. Seed or Sod, water a couple of times per day for short periods of time.
This article may be reprinted as long as the author information below is included.
Steve Hoogenakker, Steve@Landscape.Pro
CAI Minnesota, MHA, CICMidwest, Steve Hoogenakker, Showcase Landscape, Taylor Made Landscape,