There is an old saying that goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Nothing is truer when it comes to community associations. If your association does not already have one, forging an Annual Planning Calendar will be an enormous step toward solving many nagging maintenance and administrative problems.

What goes into an Annual Planning Calendar? All significant maintenance and administrative events should be included. Basic categories include:

• Maintenance Deadlines like pool permit, elevator permit and backflow valve inspections.

• Non-routine Maintenance like carpet cleaning, window washing, gutter cleaning.

• Major Repairs & Replacement like roofing, painting, pool replastering.

• Administrative Events & Deadlines like board, homeowner and committee meetings plus filing deadlines for federal and state reporting.

There are several major reasons to implement an Annual Planning Calendar:

1. Efficiency. It is important to spread the work load out as much as possible so that board volunteers are not stretched to the breaking point. First make a to do list and consider the amount of volunteer time that will be involved. Distribute volunteer items over time to spread out the work. Oversight of contractor tasks can be divided up by committees like maintenance, budget and landscaping if you do not have a professional manager.

2. Conservation. The Annual Planning Calendar will help conserve your homeowner association's money. By planning your major maintenance projects ahead and getting proposals early, you can often take advantage of off-season pricing. If nothing else, you may have first crack at the contractor's schedule. More importantly, by doing preventive maintenance when it needs to be done, asset life can be extended to its fullest, thereby conserving capital.

3. Communication. The Annual Planning Calendar should be sent to all members since they have the right to know how money is being spent. Since everyone will know when things will take place many inquiries can be eliminated. If members are "in the know," they will be more willing to cooperate with its implementation. While there are similarities between homeowner associations, yours may have some special items that should be included. Meetings should include the date and place if the location is not usual.

What is the best time to prepare the calendar? Ideally, it should be put together in conjunction with your annual budget but it if you don't already have one, the sooner the better. It is simple to put one together and it need only be one page in length.

Like a budget, once there is a history to look back at, the Annual Planning Calendar can be refined and improved. By planning ahead, the progressive Board of Directors can put an end to "squeaky wheel" maintenance and management by crisis. It is a powerful tool that the "pros" use and so can you.

For a sample Annual Planning Calendar and more HOA planning strategies, see www.Regenesis.net.