Professional Community Association Management Since 1984
customercare@ciaservices.com
Houston 713-981-9000
San Antonio 210-490-0000
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Archived Newsletters

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.

January 2015
eNews Monthly
Company News
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2014 by the Numbers

2014 is now behind us and it was another busy year at C.I.A. Services. Great management flows from a foundation of doing all the small things well. Our dedicated staff members kept up with the thousands of daily details associated with managing communities. Here are a few statistics from the past year.

  • Our maintenance coordinators issued and tracked 4,480 work orders and projects for our communities. That is an average of 18 per workday. A work order can be anything from having a sign fabricated & installed to developing specifications & soliciting bids for a contract to having a new roof installed on a clubhouse.  Each work order includes a large amount of communication with contractors in advance and as follow-up.  That is an impressive amount of work.
  • Home improvement coordinators processed 5,521 home improvement and new construction requests for our communities. That is an average of 22 per workday.  Many requests entail multiple communications with the homeowner to ensure that the request is complete before passing on to the committee for a decision.  Each request finishes with a letter to the homeowner documenting the decision. That number includes 955 online submissions through our new online home improvement application system that was released in early 2014.  We anticipate that number to significantly increase this year.
  • Our accounting department prepared 13,298 checks and coordinated 28,056 bank drafts for our communities. That is an average of 165 per workday. Even more impressive is that those disbursements covered 30,971 separate vendor invoices. That is an average of 124 per workday.  It takes great organization skills to coordinate that many bills, obtaining reviews and approvals while meeting the due dates.  All that while keeping impeccable records that CPA auditors love to see.
  • Our customer service staff helped 2,029 owners set up payment plans for their delinquent assessments. Throughout the year, our accounting staff monitored each payment plan and issued 1,175 follow-up letters to owners.
  • Our community managers, administrative assistants and inspectors tracked and resolved 70,604 deed restriction violations by issuing 80,499 letters. Our deed restriction management efforts continued to be successful with 92% of all violations getting resolved before a certified letter was needed. 
  • In December alone, our accounting and administrative staff received and deposited $13,102,859 in assessments in 26,651 individual payments. January is projected to be another big receivables month with 11,499 payments processed during the three business days on either side of December 31st.
  • Over the course of the year, we received 183,491 incoming phone calls!  Although we get calls 7 days a week, the majority come in on business days. Based on our total, the average number of incoming calls each work day was 734.  Our busiest month was December with over 18,000 incoming calls.   

All of these little details and small things equal up to great management.  We pride ourselves in providing excellent service at every level.  We look forward to another successful year in 2015.

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Giving Back - Noble November
by Alicia Adams

What a better way to end 2014 then to make it a better year for others. The employees at C.I.A. Services, Inc. show that they truly care by giving back.  

Each year, our company employees participate in an event we have dubbed "Noble November".  During this time, each office picks an organization to which they wish to donate food and goods.  This is one of the ways that our employees have a chance to give to those less fortunate.  

There was an abundance of non-perishable food items, toys and toiletries donated!  The Humble office collected and donated over 1,500 items to the Humble Area Assistance Ministries (HAAM). The Southwest Houston office collected and donated over 1,000 items for the Star of Hope – Women’s Shelter.  The folks in our San Antonio and Bandera offices joined forces and not only donated over 200 items to the San Antonio Food Bank, they sponsored Christmas for several kids through Boysville. The organization provided a wish-list for several of their kids which all of the employees fulfilled. 

Thank you to all the employees who helped countless families this season!

Seminar Series
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Our 2015 schedule for the C.I.A. Services Seminar Series will soon be released.  We will again present seven classroom seminars and one webinar throughout the year - each at multiple locations for a total of 28 training sessions. 

Our core group of seminars will be back. Each seminar concentrates on the practical aspects of the topic and provides board members with background knowledge to help them in their decision making. We consistently receive positive feedback on the content and presentation.

  • Board Member Orientation
  • Advanced Topics for Board Members
  • Meeting & Records - The Legal Requirements
  • Understanding Collections & Financial Reports
  • The Super Budgeting Process
  • Practical Deed Restriction Management
  • Essentials of Architectural Control
  • Community Website Administrator

Each two-hour seminar begins at 6:00 pm and we provide deli sandwiches in case you come straight from work.  You’ll leave with a wealth of practical information and a notebook for future reference.

The complete 2015 Seminar Series schedule will soon be delivered to your email box! 

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Meetings & Records - The Legal Requirements

This is a critical seminar for understanding the legal responsibilities of board members and their associations under the laws enacted in the 82nd legislative session. This seminar deals with board and members meetings and how those meetings must be announced, conducted and documented. We’ll review what can be done in board executive sessions and unannounced meetings. We’ll cover elections and voting. And finally, we’ll explain members’ access to Association records. This is an extremely important seminar for all board members.

Space is limited and advance registration is required.  To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

02/11/15 - Wednesday

6 – 8 pm

Humble

02/19/15 - Thursday

6 – 8 pm

Southwest Houston

   Coming Soon!

6 – 8 pm

San Antonio

 

Community Spotlight
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The Lakefront Association

We are proud of every one of our communities so it is always hard to find just one to highlight. We start by having each of our Community Managers write a nomination for one of their communities. We then read them and take a vote. Here are our most recent selections:

  • January - The Lakefront Association - Southwest - Gina Victor
  • December - The Lakes at Edgewater Estates Homeowners Association - Southwest Office - Nicole Toland
  • November - Kenswick Trace Homeowners Association - North Office -Jennifer Northington
  • October - Fairfax Village Homeowners Association - North Office - Sandy Castro
  • September - Belleau Wood Civic Club -North Office - Colline Chavera
  • August - Eastpoint Subdivision Homeowners Association - North Office - Kim Cowart

To see the full story on these communities and to see the past winners, visit the Community of the Month page on our web site.

New Communities

We are very pleased to welcome our first new community in 2015.  So when do new communities join C.I.A. Services?  The graph below gives an indication of when changes occur.  Winter is generally slow with the holidays and the new year assessment collections underway.  There is mid-summer slow-down as board members take a bit of a break after schools let out and the pools open.  Many associations come to us in the spring to help with collections, deed restrictions and preparing the community for summer.  Most communities have made the change in the fall to help with budgets and business planning so the new year can provide a fresh start for their community. 

From our perspective, spring is a great time to welcome new communities.  That gives us an opportunity to impact visual issues for owners (appearance of the common areas, deed restriction management), handle major projects and gain valuable background for drafting next year’s budget and business plan.

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Colonial Lakes Office Park Owners Association, Inc.

We would like to welcome our first new community of 2015!

Colonial Lakes Office Park is a Condominium Office Park located in Missouri City.  It has 56 condominium units in six buildings. Kim Moore will be their Community Manager.  We are very excited to be managing this unique community!

Community Anniversaries
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Every month we appreciate the communities that are celebrating their anniversaries with us. Here are the clients that started with us in January.

  • Hunterwood Village II Association — 29 years
  • Homeowners Association of Timber Forest — 18 years
  • Cumberland Community Association — 7 years
  • Eastpoint Section 4 Homeowners Association — 4 years
  • Subdivision of Spring Crossing Community Association — 3 years
  • River Park Ranch Property Owners Association - 2 years
  • Elian Condo Association - 1 year
  • Elian Commercial Association - 1 year

Our goal has always been to create a positive, long term relationship with all of our client communities. We are very proud to be managing all of these communities.

Employee Corner
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Anniversaries

Charlotte Bulcken is celebrating 19 years with the company!  Charlotte works out of our north office handling multiple special projects and is our go to person working with governmental agencies.

Liz Holliday, the senior team member in our home improvement processing department, celebrates 18 years with us this month!  Over the years, Liz has worked hard and helped us develop the department that it is today.

Read Past Issues of eNews Monthly

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.