What is your company’s mission statement and vision?
“Partnering technology with customer service and education to provide state of the art community association management. Professional management dedicated to ethical practices, forward planning, teamwork, responsibility and education.
How long has your company been in the association management business?
Paradigm was incorporated in August of 2007. The Paradigm staff has over three decades of common interest development management experience.
What experience, qualifications and credentials do your staff and principals have?
All members of the Paradigm staff hold industry certifications.
Krisi Davis, Jan Esterhuizen, and Frank Juaregui hold CCAM (Certified Community Association Manager) designations from CACM (California Association of Community Managers.
Michelle McCracken hold the CMCA designations from Community Association Institute (CAI).
Paradigm Association Management Group holds a Certified Management Firm designation from CACM.
Krisi Davis will complete her MBA from the University of Phoenix in June.
Does your company or staff belong to any industry related organizations?
Paradigm Association Management Group is a member of Community Association Institute (CAI), California Association of Community Managers (CACM), and Chambers of Commerce in Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Simi Valley.
The staff at Paradigm Association Management Group is proud to volunteer for Project Home-Aid at the Project Playhouse demonstrations at The Lakes.
The staff at Paradigm Association Management supports The Wellness Center, The Nicole Parker Foundation and Habitat for Humanity through donations and local volunteer opportunities.
How many associations does your company manage in total?
There are currently 34 associations represented in the Paradigm portfolio. The Paradigm clients are representative of all types of common interest developments from the custom home enclaves (Lynn Oaks Estates, 8 units) to the master planned community (Big Sky, 780 homes) and all facets in between.
How many employees does your company have? How many of them are Community Managers?
Paradigm Association Management Group employs five full time managers in the Thousand Oaks Office and two full time managers in the Brea office, with a third joining the team soon.
Paradigm Association Management Group employs four full time administrative assistants and a full time graphic designer / webmaster.
In an effort to provide the best financial management, Paradigm Association Management Group outsources accounting to Mission Management, a financial management firm. There are no additional costs associated with Mission Management; all fees are part of the monthly contract with Paradigm.
Is there a limit as to how many associations are assigned to an individual manager? Is the number based on number of units or what type of communities (condos-single family homes etc.)?
Manager portfolios are limited to 7 associations under 100 homes and 5 associations over 100 homes.
What type of industry education program does your company offer for its Community Managers? Board Members?
Paradigm provides for manager education through CAI, CACM and local business education through the Chambers of Commerce.
Paradigm provides for Board Member education through CAI. The contracted management fee includes one annual CAI membership (additional memberships can be purchased for $100/year).
Paradigm will notify all Board Members of local educational opportunities offered by CAI and DVD educational courses offered by HOA-DVD.
What is the primary type of software that your company uses to manage associations? Is there a separate system that manages the accounting system? What type of accounting system is used? Does your company offer customized processes and if so what types?
Accrual accounting software: Avgar
Property management software: FullFocus and SmartProperty.com
Customized process: Custom designed spreadsheets to track community activity such as architectural activity, violation activity and correspondence.
ConstantContact e-newsletters are sent to all community members advising them of website updates, meeting times and locations and community updates.
All managers utilize laptops that are brought to Board meetings so that all Association information is available at all times.
All managers are provided with a Blackberry so that e-mail messages are read and responded to whether the manager is in the office or not.
Please describe your company’s architectural and violation processes and provide a sample report along with your proposal for services.
Correspondence is logged upon receipt. All correspondence is immediately copied to the unit file and the master HOA file and then sent to the agency issuing approval via FedEx. The package is tracked through the FedEx website and the date of receipt is entered into the log. The information contained in the log is maintained through the Outlook Calendar so that ‘tickler’ messages are sent alerting the manager and agent for approval of sensitive timelines. A letter of approval is prepared in advance and sent to the owner who submitted the architectural request the same day that approval is granted. The letter is sent to the applicant electronically for immediate notification and a hardcopy sent USPS with the approved plans and filed in the unit file. The entry is closed out in the log and a copy of the log and all correspondence is included in the Board packet.
Logs are accessible by managers on laptops and Blackberry’s so that all necessary follow up can be noted during site reviews.
Reports are available to the Board of Directors on a weekly basis via e-mail and included in the board packet.
Please describe what particular information and documents are brought to a board meeting by the manager to ensure a smooth meeting.
The manager will bring a copy of the Board packet which is distributed to Board members one week prior to the meeting both electronically and hardcopy via mail. The packet contains all business items, meeting minutes, correspondence, financial report, service proposals, annual calendar and agenda. Copies of the agenda and a draft copy of the previous month’s minutes are provided for attendees.
The manager will bring the laptop which can sync into our office system to provide instant access to all Association records: SmartProperty data, Full Focus reports and data history, Accounting records and contact information. Laptops have internet cards so that the manager and Board members have immediate access to accounting information, community web sites and e-mail correspondence.
Modern technology is a blessing- but it doesn’t do much good in a power outage so managers will also bring the community binder which contains hard copies of key documents: budgets, minutes, governing documents, insurance information, plot maps, annual financial records, homeowner roster and any other pertinent information.
What is the timeframe before a meeting that the board will receive a Directors Report?
Board packets are e-mailed to members one week prior to the meeting and a hard copy is mailed in advance of the meeting.
What information is provided to the board members after a meeting and within what timeframe? Please provide a sample with the proposal for services.
Within 48 hours of the meeting Paradigm will provide the Board of Directors with a draft of the meeting minutes, an action item list and timeline for completion and copies of any information requested at the meeting.
Please explain your company’s philosophy on how an association should be managed; how information should be communicated to the board in between meetings. Please also explain what you feel the expectation of the manager should be by the board.
Our philosophy on management is simple: treat others the way that you expect to be treated. We are committed to providing exemplary customer service. We’re nice people and we appreciate our clients. Every call is important, every question deserves an answer and every owner deserves to be treated with the upmost respect.
The manager works at the direction of the Board but is responsible to provide the information needed to maintain a well run corporation. The manager’s focus is on forward planning and current compliance.
Communication is key to the success of any corporation. We acknowledge that and have put methods in place to ensure that phone calls are handled the same day that they come in, e-mails are returned promptly and written correspondence is opened and read daily. By ensuring that e-mail messages sent to the office are also received on the Blackberry the manager is able to read and respond to e-mails swiftly. By installing a state of the art telephone system messages are forwarded to our cell phones for a prompt response.
Our combined three decades of experience allows us to understand the industry and structure our company with a true Paradigm shift! Our office is open from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. which allows us to balance our lives and avoid burn out. Our commitment to the number of communities in a manager’s portfolio allows us to balance our professional life and avoid becoming overworked. Our commitment to our clients and the association management industry ensures that education materials and newsworthy events are communicated. Our commitment to the communities in which the Paradigm accounts are located and their Chambers of Commerce allows us to keep the association’s informed of important community information.
Does your company provide website creation and maintenance? If so, please provide address information for 2 that can be visited.
A customized website is included in the management contract. The website is updated monthly and may include documents, newsletters, minutes or any other information that the Board wishes.
Websites can be accessed through visiting the Paradigm site at www.Paradigmhoamgt.com.
Please provide 3 references from currently managed associations including contact information for at least 2 board members from each association.
References are available upon request.
