Realizing Your Community’s P...

When most people decide to buy a home and live within a community, the last thing that comes to mind are the possibilities that community association living offers. After all, any time a group of homeowners works together for a common goal, practically anything is possible.

From increasing your community's aesthetic appeal and eliminating neighborhood crime and creating a more influential voice in regional issues, the profitable opportunities that come from being a part of a community association are nearly endless.

The only limitations are community members who are unwilling to work together, which likely stems from not understanding how and why a community association operates.

When community members can grasp the theory that underlies governing documents and the reasons that a Board and management company must, at times, do what they do, then communities have no reason not to realize their potential.

Your community association is no different from any other organization. To succeed and reach its potential, it needs the support and involvement of its members.

Reach out to your Community Managers to find out what’s going on, get involved and attend community meetings. Be friendly with and get to know your neighbors, and ensure your community is in contact with your community’s management company.

Get involved, stay informed, and do your part.

Keeping Your Home Safe From Burglary

No matter how friendly the community you live in might be, there are still people outside of it that may want to lay claim to your belongings when you are out of the house.

Here are a few tips to help decrease the chances that your home is burglarized:

1. Give your home a lived-in look to deter burglars. Inexpensive timers set to turn on lights in different rooms at different times usually work best.
2. Close drapes and shades so that it's impossible to detect interior motion from the outside, especially in high-traffic areas, such as the front room and kitchen.
3. Place lamps close to windows to obscure the view into a room.
4. Leave a radio or TV playing. Noise signals to a burglar that someone is home. Also, turn the volume adjustment on your landline phone down so a prowler will be less likely to hear the ringing of an unanswered call.
5. Secure windows and doors with secondary locks.
6. Get to know your neighbors and let them know when you are going out of town so that they can help keep an eye on your home while you are gone.
7. Don't open your door to anyone you can't identify or can't verify.
8. If you notice someone walking around your community wearing a uniform, overalls, or a clipboard, and they (or the uniform) doesn't look familiar, don't hesitate to ask for identification. Many burglars will "research" prospective victims by using this approach, knowing that very few people will ever question them.