300 Biscayne is PMG's first South Florida multifamily development.

MIAMI—It's that time of year again—a time when we all strive to work smarter and more effectively. With competition rising for property management firms, some are making a few New Year's resolutions of their own.

Christine Lentz, president of FirstService Residential Missouri, is among them. Her goal is to help managers at her firm go above and beyond to deliver exceptional service and value to residents.

Resolution 1: Communicate more clearly, consistently and quickly

As Lentz sees it, today's work and lifestyles are all about mobile accessibility, and the same approach can be applied to keeping homeowners abreast of the goings on in their managed community. She tells GlobeSt.com smart software solutions are part of the path forward on the communications front.

Resolution 2: Save through innovation

“A strategic focus for the new year will be to reduce operating costs for our associations through energy audits and preventative maintenance programs,” Lentz says. “Audits are usually a time-consuming undertaking that association boards wait to act on until their completion. Employing drones to regularly document current property conditions and search for maintenance needs that may not be visible from the ground level can be used in the interim between audits to get ahead of potential problems areas before they worsen into more expensive problems down the road.”

Resolution 3: Professional development for associates and associations

The policies and regulations that govern the property management industry evolve as often as the management practices themselves, according to Lentz. She says regular training for property managers highlighting legislative activity, reserve studies, collections, liens, foreclosures, product development, recent case law, audit procedures, and more will be a priority for the new year at her firm.

“By the same token, we're committed to educational programming designed specifically for association board members to help them develop the assessment and decision-making competencies to govern effectively in such a complex position,” Lentz says. “Hosting quarterly educational roundtable events for our volunteer community board members will promote a better understanding of their fiduciary duties and reduce potential liability exposure as a board member.”

Resolution 1: Communicate more clearly, consistently and quickly

Resolution 2: Save through innovation

Resolution 3: Professional development for associates and associations

Instant Insights /

Three Top New Year's Resolutions for Property Managers

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