What functions does the administrator of a homeowners' association perform?

Hello again to the blog of Southern. Today we are going to talk about the functions, management and occupations of a property administrator who is in charge of a community of owners. These are of great importance and essential for the proper functioning of the community.

Communities and administrator

We all know that it is essential to keep an exhaustive control of all those issues and matters that concern the day-to-day running of a neighbourhood community. From dealing with public administrations to maintaining the good condition of the property or supervising the economic solvency of the community, there is no one better than a property administrator to attend to all these issues of great importance for tenants and owners of the building with the utmost professionalism and rigour.

What is a property administrator?

So, how can we define a property administrator? Although we can get a general idea from what we said at the beginning, it is good to be a little more specific so that we can understand it better.

In this way, we can say that property administrators are in charge of working on the financial and regulatory matters that are essential for the maintenance and management of communities, at the request of the owners of municipal or rural properties, or by resolution of an owners' assembly.

In short, they are those professionals who are dedicated to the general management of homeowners' associations.

These administrators must be compulsorily registered with the provincial professional bodies where they exercise their function.

What does a property administrator manage?

Within a homeowners' association, there are numerous areas to attend to in order to ensure the smooth running of the property. We will therefore subdivide all the tasks performed by a property administrator into three main areas, which are described below.

Economic-accounting and consultancy

As the community's account manager, he/she is responsible for the invoicing and collection, usually by direct debit, of the ordinary and extraordinary fees set by the community.
 

It is also responsible for the custody of community funds, preserving them at the disposal of the community, in the persons authorised by the Governing Board.

As the person in charge of dues payments, he/she must control, claim and manage the receipts generated for any concept and pending payment.
 

He must also keep the accounts of the community of owners up to date by opening them in accordance with the usual standards and economic rules. Of course, he must provide the president of the community with access to these accounts where appropriate. In addition to the control of expenses and income, he/she must also be responsible for the preparation of the annual community budget.
 

As manager of the community, his functions also include the execution of the agreements adopted by the Owners' Meeting and the drawing up of civil or commercial contracts necessary for the normal development of the activity of the owners' community (contracts for works, supply of services, renting, etc.).
 

Finally, the community manager provides advice to the community of owners on condominium matters as often as required.

Community Secretariat Area

When a community of owners hires a property manager, the latter normally takes on the role of secretary of the community. As a consequence, he/she will be assigned a series of competences that will be delegated to them for their management.

One of the things he/she must carry out is the preparation and sending of the notices for the meetings, both ordinary and extraordinary. In addition, he/she will be in charge of providing the neighbours with the information attached to the notices, according to what has been agreed with the community.

As Secretary, he/she will attend the ordinary and extraordinary meetings, and will take the minutes of the meetings with a detailed transcription in the corresponding book, sending a copy to each and every one of the owners.

It will also be responsible for drafting and sending any necessary circulars, letters, letters, etc. to owners, public bodies, private entities, etc. E both to the owners and to public bodies, private entities, etc.

The role of secretary empowers the administrator to keep and safeguard the minutes book, ensuring the conservation for five years of the notices, communications, proxies and other relevant documents resulting from the meetings.

Property Management and Conservation Area

To conclude, we will give an account of those functions related to the management and maintenance of the community which are usually carried out by an administrator.

It is responsible for the contracting or replacement of services and supplies, as agreed and authorised by the Community of Owners.
 

It will also attend to warnings of breakdowns and accidents, establishing what is necessary to resolve the situation, either through the different technical services contracted or through those that the owners' association designates as its trusted ones.
 

As an extension of the above, it will monitor any incident that occurs in the building, in addition to the community's own insurance company. It can also process those reports to the police for crimes of damage, theft, vandalism or malicious acts, and any other criminal offences that cause damage to the property of the residents' association.
 

On a day-to-day basis, he/she will be in charge of the execution of works and ordinary conservation and maintenance works, managing the budgets of the services with the different suppliers.

Finally, and in addition to all these management tasks, the community administrator may, if so agreed with the neighbours, substitute the president during meetings in which the latter is absent or unable to act as such.