UCOM publishes a quarterly newsletter, UCOM Reporter, containing original articles and condensed or reprinted articles from other professional periodicals.

A comprehensive range of topics is presented over the course of each year. Articles are designed to improve condominium governance and provide information on both common and special interests. In most cases, articles are not readily available from other sources. Older articles are provided under the Newsletter Archives section of this site.

The quarterly issues are mailed directly to each member association's officers, directors and newsletter editor. The UCOM Reporter encourages members to publish their own newsletters as part of the important process of communicating with co-owners. Periodic newsletters serve to keep the co-owners informed of important actions taken by their association boards, thus contributing to better relations between co-owners and their boards and managers.

Outstanding member newsletters are honored during the annual seminar for their communications achievements and contributions to improving the quality of their communities.

Experienced association directors accept the fact of life - that not all times are easy, not all decisions are accepted by co-owners, not everyone believes that their directors are acting with wisdom, foresight and prudence. Through its newsletter, seminars and other activities, UCOM works to advance the process.

Summer 2008 Vol.XXXI No.2

In This Issue:
Newsletter Award Winners 2007
Changes in The Board of Directors
You Want Me to Vote – For What?
How to Deal With a “Bad” Director
Updating Your Reserve Study

Fall 2008 Vol.XXXI No.3

In This Issue:
Newsletter Awards
I Have a Headache My Proposals Are Never The Same
Natural Disasters Happen All The Time – Are You Properly Prepared??
UCOM 2008 Seminar Photos
Selecting the Right Reserve Study Professional for You

Advertising in the Reporter

Advertising in the Reporter is available to UCOM Professional Members and Non-Members. There are two different advertising price schedules.

See:
Reporter advertising order members
Reporter advertising order non-members

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CHANGES IN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

This has been a summer to remember. It is with great sadness that we report the death of Director Emeritus and past Vice President Dick Kuschinsky. The next issue of The Reporter will run an article in tribute to Dick and his many contributions to UCOM, to his beloved Manor Homes of Troy on whose Board he served, and to all of you whose lives he touched....

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

YOU WANT ME TO VOTE - FOR WHAT?
(are you delusional?)
By John M. Rickel

If you have just been elected to a Community Association Board of Directors, or if your Association has not had the experience of significant Association Dues Delinquencies, you as a Member of the Association Board of Directors might not have a knot in your stomach, wondering where cash will come from to pay the next Association Accounts Payable check run....

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

How to deal with a “bad” director
By Robert M. Meisner
www.meisner-law.com

As I suggest in my book, Condo Living; A Survival Guide to Buying, Owning and Selling a Condominium, there are frequently a “cast of characters” on the Board of Directors of a community association. Some are leaders; some are followers; some are aggressive; some are passive and, indeed, some are undermining the best interests of the association. How then is the best way to deal with directors who do not understand their fiduciary duties and are out looking for their own self serving interests as opposed to the members of the association as a whole...

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

Updating Your Reserve Study
By Sally Conley

You know what they say, change is constant. This old adage even holds true when it comes to Reserve Studies. Your association is constantly changing and continues to change after the Reserve Study is conducted. Change is the reason why it is so important to have your Reserve Study updated.

Let’s refresh, a Reserve Study consists of two key components:

• A physical or engineering analysis of the common elements
• A financial analysis to determine a long-range funding plan for repair and replacement of the common elements

A reserve analyst bases the Study on certain assumptions that will change over time. There may be additions or deletions to the association’s common elements, fluctuations in construction costs and unpredictable events, such as harsh weather. All of these can significantly affect the accuracy of reserve funding levels. A board may also change its maintenance practices (particularly from board member turnover) on the timing of repair or replacements...

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

I Have A Headache. My Proposals Are Never The Same!
By Tom Engblom

I have a headache my bids are never the same because I never prepare a “REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL” (RFP) then take two aspirin screams Dr. Engblom “AKA” Condo-man!

There are several factors to consider before developing a general bid specification or a request for proposal (RFP), which is an announcement that an organization is interested in receiving proposals for a particular project. The bid request or RFP includes many detailed instructions about the products or services requested pertaining to the association the contractor will need in order to prepare a bid including insurance coverage’s. Secondly, requests for information about the contractor that will help the association evaluate the contractor’s ability to perform the work and meet the specifications. Since the amount of effort is enormous for the bidding process from the community association and the bidders, typically RFP’s relate to larger jobs or purchases as well as on-going services...

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

Natural Disasters Happen All The Time – Are You Properly Prepared??
By Scott Breslin

A disaster plan begins with assessing your needs. What is the potential for loss and who will be affected? If you live in a multiple unit building and you sustain a loss, typically that loss will affect another unit owner. An insurance package that properly covers the association and the unit owner is just the first step...

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)

Selecting the Right Reserve Study Professional for You
By Sally Conley

Community associations have undergone explosive growth in the past few decades. It is estimated that over 50 million Americans now live in a planned community compared to almost none only 30 years ago. This growth is accelerating and, as is often the case, progress is accompanied by confusion.

It is important that every community association board know what a reserve study is and the pivotal role it plays in the future of the association. A reserve study is the physical and financial analysis of all common elements that the board is responsible for maintaining and details a repair and replacement schedule over the next thirty years. A reserve study is critical for many reasons, of which the most influential may be that it is a key financial tool that helps the board to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to maintain the common property of the association......

(Members can read the entire articles in their copies of "The Reporter". Join UCOM now go to: Membership Information.)