A Management Model That Works

The management team assigned to your association at Connected is far more specialized than you will find at other companies. One of our fundamental beliefs is that expertise makes all the difference.

With other management companies, the property manager performs virtually all of the work required to support the association. This includes maintenance oversight, engineering tasks and performing the onsite inspections of your building.

This is a clear example of where the "traditional management model" fails to provide a comprehensive level of support. The fact is, a true construction expert is required to provide these engineering-related services in order to produce any level of real value.

Management companies have property managers perform onsite inspections and related tasks for one simple reason: it is less expensive and makes them more money. It should come as no surprise that the results are elementary at best. Yet this is the management model followed by almost all management companies. Not so with Connected.

At no additional cost, Connected provides your association with both a dedicated business expert and a building inspector working as a team, with each person dedicated to their areas of expertise. The results are a level of protection and guidance that are truly valuable to the board.

Meet your Management "Dream Team"

As a Connected client you will have the following experts assigned to the support and guidance of your association:

Click any of the resources below to view more details.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Your association will be assigned a skilled, licensed Operations Manager who is responsible for leading the overall management of your property. The Operations Manager performs many critical roles in the support of the association, including but not limited to:

	Quarterback. Monitor, lead and coordinate all aspects of running the association.
	Consultant. Provide leadership and guidance to facilitate the decision making process of the board. The board makes the final decisions, but they are guided all the way.
	Strategist. Responsible for recommending and implementing short and long term plans for building maintenance and financial stability.
	Resource Controller. Coordinate, dispatch and oversee internal and external service providers. This includes internal Connected-resources such as the Building Inspector, along with all outside resources performing services for the association.
	Protector. Guide the board on decisions to ensure compliance with the Illinois Condominium Property Act and all association governing documents. Keep the board updated on changes to the legal landscape and regulations.
	Compliance Officer. Oversee and coordinate the enforcement of association rules and regulations. Provide support for the board and unit owners to ensure a structured, governed community.

Single Point of Contact While you have multiple experts at Connected involved in supporting your association, your board has a single point of contact, the Operations Manager, who orchestrates the entire relationship.

BUILDING INSPECTOR

One of our Building Inspectors will also be assigned to your association. Our unbiased inspectors work on behalf of the association to protect your interests. Whereas the Operations Manager is focused on the business aspects of running the association, the Building Inspector provides oversight and guidance for maintenance of the building and grounds.

The Building Inspector performs many roles in the support of the association, including:

	Inspector. On a regular basis (you choose the frequency) your assigned Building Inspector will visit the property and execute a thorough inspection of the building, grounds and all common areas. Among other items, the inspector will focus on code violations, safety issues, and building deterioration. The result of each inspection is a detailed report including photos of all relevant issues.
	Evaluator. The Building Inspector evaluates all recent work performed by vendors and provides the Operations Manager and board with feedback. If any short cuts were taken, or any fixes required, they are caught early and able to be addressed before the final payment is made to the vendor.
	Unbiased Advisor. The Building Inspector's main job is to know your property. It is invaluable to have someone qualified and unbiased working on the side of the board to provide advice on proposals, contracts and the health of the building.
	Fire Safety Expert. Our Building Inspectors are trained and licensed fire safety equipment experts. We are licensed to install, maintain and service your building’s fire extinguishers and related safety equipment.

Multiple Resources, One Contact Don’t worry about having to interface with multiple people at Connected. Everything flows through your main point of contact, the Operations Manager.

FINANCE TEAM

While your Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing the finances of the association, much of the day-to-day financial processing work is performed by our Finance Team.

Strict internal processes and monitoring ensures that financial transactions are performed and recorded accurately, consistently, and on time, and Connected’s internal checks and balances catch potential errors before they happen.

Below are a few of the finance-related components that fall under the responsibility of this team:

	Accounts Receivables. All payments received from unit owners are processed, recorded and credited to the appropriate owner ledgers on a daily basis. Payments are recorded consistently, quickly and correctly, minimizing owner complaints.
	Delinquency Treatments. Our internal delinquency treatment process, which includes contacting unit owners via phone, email and mailed letter is managed by this team. Late fees are added to ledgers based upon your association’s late fee rules, if applicable.
	Accounts Payables. Your Operations Manager specifies which of the association’s invoices are to be paid and the amount of the payment. The Finance Team executes and records the outgoing payments.
	Monthly Reconciliations. At the end of each calendar month a complete reconciliation occurs to ensure that all financial transactions that appear on the association’s bank statement are accurately recorded in our accounting system. By rule, and to guarantee the integrity of our accounting records, the reconciliation must be completed by a member of the team that does not execute financial transactions for the association.
	Financial Reporting. Our suite of eleven financial reports, provided in both accrual and cash versions, are automatically produced and published to the Owners Forum each month. Since the reports are fully automated and do not require the involvement of your manager, they are never late or delayed.