Leland Management, anassociation management company, has been open for over 10 years and is located at 10175 Fortune Parkway, Suite 906 in Jacksonville’s Southside area. The company is owned and managed by licensed community association managers.
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
Doug Harrier is the director of the Jacksonville division. The company’s corporate office is in Orlando and they have offices in Tampa, Ocala and Jacksonville.
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?
Leland Management handles association management, assessments, accounting, tax and association reporting requirements, association governance and maintenance of association records.
“We work for a number of developers in the very beginning stages of the whole layout of the association and then we work with homeowner controlled associations. All associations are a not-for-profit association. We are the licensed entity that manages them.”
WHAT DOES HARRIER DO?
“I oversee all the staff here. One of the things that Leland does differently is that we are continually educating and training our employees. My position before coming here was director of management development, so I do a lot of that in-house here. We just constantly update them on what we know about the business, the trends and make sure everyone is well-informed. In addition, I oversee the properties. I actually go into the communities and do inspections. I work with a lot of the boards in an advisory capacity and I am generally the person who sets up new accounts with builders, developers or homeowner associations looking to change.”
WHY DO ASSOCIATIONS NEED MANAGEMENT?
Harrier said associations are usually handled by volunteers from the community but they can only do so much. “The fact is that the scope of things that need to be done for the association are way too much for volunteers to do. It’s much more to their advantage if they have a paid entity that is not only keeping up with Florida Statutes and industry, but that is familiar with vendors and can make things happen for them.”
HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR BUSINESS?
Leland utilizes advanced computer software designed specifically for the unique requirements of community associations to process collections, disbursements and financial reports. The software electronically downloads cash receipt data on assessments that are deposited directly into the association’s lockbox bank account. The software also provides an advanced covenant violation tracking and reporting system.
WHO WORKS THERE?
Dee Lamoureaux, Amy Layne, Michael MacCulley, Michelle Brown and Sheryl Roussin are association managers. Rachelle Rowe handles architectural review processing, Alice Craig handles office administration and Jennifer Row is the Gate Coordinator.
WHO USES YOUR SERVICES?
Leland Management currently oversees over 350 communities in Florida consisting of condominiums, commercial condominiums, condominium conversions, POA’s, single family, and multi-family homes.
CLIENT LIST?
Beazer, KB Homes, Engle Homes, Woodside Communities and Matovina & Co. Communities they manage include Amelia National, Amelia Walk, Bartram Park and Il Villagio.
HOW ARE BUILDERS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“They are very important to us. Our goal is to get into these communities at the earliest stage as possible. We will help them prepare proposed budgets, which are important to the homeowners afterwards. We will go through their governing documents to see if there are any concerns that may be a problem for the association when it is turned over. It’s real important for us to be there as early as possible so we get to know the whole history of the community. The more history and documentation we have about the community the better it is for the homeowner when the association is turned over.”
THE MARKET?
“We hang in there with everyone else. We are hearing some good news from builders that they are seeing increased traffic, which is good news for everyone. We just keep in contact with the builders and developers and offer as much as we can as far as service to them.”
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE COMPANY?
“The team approach. We don’t have just one person assigned to a property. We have a number of individuals that are familiar with the property. We have a licensed manager, community administrator, an architectural review processor, collections department and accounting who are all involved in the community. So, you have a whole round of people involved in the community. Also, our administrative staff plays a very key role. They are very well versed on associations that they are very well educated on. So, they can handle typically about 60 percent of the phones calls that come in. With the association managers usually out in the field, when people call in, they still need answers. Our administrative staff is very well versed and can take care of a lot of those phone calls for the managers.”
WHERE DO THEY GET WORK?
“Most of it is word of mouth. Realtors, attorneys and just about anyone in the business refers work to us. Also, when we work with a developer, we will continue to get multiple projects from that developer.”
AREA THE OFFICE FOCUSES ON?
Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
WEBSITE
www.lelandmanagement.com
- by Michele Newbern Gillis