With longer daylight hours, warmer weather, and planting season just around the corner, it’s time to start prepping your HOA community for spring. By going through a spring to-do list for HOA’s, you are helping to boost curb appeal, provide an inviting environment, and ensuring the safety of the members in your community. If you are ready to jump in and do some spring cleaning in your community, here are some areas to check off of your HOA spring checklist.
Landscaping
During the winter, trees and bushes around the community may have grown a little wildly, so be sure to make plans with your landscaper to trim trees and cut back bushes. The winter storms may have also caused damage to the grounds, so do a walk-through of your community to see if there are any broken tree limbs, fallen branches, or an excess accumulation of weeds and debris in storm drains. Look for any trees, shrubs, flowers, or bushes that did not make it through the winter and prepare to remove and replace them for the planting season.
It is also good to take stock of what changes you would like to be made to the landscaping, such as adding more flowers for vibrancy and color, adding or replacing rock or wood chips in common areas, or planting more trees and shrubs for greenery.
Set-up Services with Contractors
Whether you are upkeeping the grounds, repainting houses, or resurfacing the asphalt, spring is a great time to take inventory of what will need to be done for the summer, and to start setting up service contracts. Grounds care is often something that a manager must arrange for every year, for services such as lawn trimming, weeding, pruning, planting, and overall maintenance. Make sure that your board has agreed on the areas of maintenance. Once agreed, ask some landscapers near your community for a quote. Once you have received bids from two or three landscaping companies, choose the one that has the best value and draw up your contracts!
Parking lots may also undergo damage during the winter months. If you see large cracks or uneven surfaces, you should contact a professional about resealing the surface. Get a few quotes and an estimate on the duration of the process. It can be quite an ordeal to resurface parking lots in a community, so be sure that the contractor can do a quality job in a short amount of time
Servicing Systems
Your community buildings may not have been running the AC much during the winter, so be sure to call your HVAC specialists to service your community areas, like an office, gym, or meeting spaces, to make sure that they are ready for the hot summer months. A professional can give your systems a thorough check to identify any current or potential problems, as well as provide solutions and make sure that your systems are in top-notch order. Also, ensure that homeowners are aware of the necessary steps to prepare their HVAC systems for the hot summer months
Prepare the Community Amenities
If your community includes access to a pool, playground, tennis court, barbeque pavilion, or another type of amenity that is often used in the spring and summer months, it is time to do a close inspection. Give equipment in the pavilions and playground and the cement walkways and court surfaces a good power washing to strip away dirt buildup and insect nests. Make sure that all equipment is safe, bolts are tightened, and that there are not any cracks or damage that need to be repaired.
For your pool, make sure to have a pool maintenance service that clears out any remnants of dead leaves or debris, and makes clear plans for it to be thoroughly cleaned and treated for use. Replace filters, remove plugs, and make sure that the chemical levels and products are within the recommended range.
You may also want to consider resurfacing the playground surface or replacing cracked cement or sidewalks.
Celebrate
Host a community get-together, BBQ, or other celebration to start off the spring season and have a little fun with your community. It gives you the chance to dust off the winter blues, get to know the people in your community, and show off your amazing amenities all at once. Make your community a little more tight-knit and include food, music, or games to encourage socialization.
While the HOA is working to spruce up the community and get it ready for summer, you can also encourage homeowners to do the same. Send out a newsletter or email update with some ways listed that homeowners can help upkeep their own property. Include items such as staining your fences, maintaining your back yard, setting watering timers, or clearing away any excess trash or debris on or around the property.
When you check off your spring to-do list for your HOA, you are contributing to a safe, clean, friendly and healthy environment for your neighborhood and community. If your HOA is struggling, Contact Slatter HOA Management today and get the help that your HOA needs so that they can function effectively!
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