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Home Cooling Tips – Beat the Heat this Summer in Houston, Texas!

Home Cooling Tips – Beat the Heat this Summer!

SUMMER – The heat is unbearable, humidity bogs you down, your only solace is your home, but wait – your thermostat shows the temperature inside is in the upper 80’s with your AC running!? This is actually a common occurrence that can result in wasted money when an AC repair team is called out unnecessarily. Before calling out a company here are some home cooling tips that can save you wasted money and time in the heat!

Items to check inside the home

Check the air from a vent
- Is it cold? Proceed to check the other items.
- Is it hot/warm? STOP – Call an AC professional.
Air Filter – A clogged up air filter prevents proper airflow which can affect the temperature in your home. Be sure to change the filter regularly.
- If your intake is near the ceiling – Replace filter ever 1-2 months
- If your intake is near the floor – Replace filter sever 1-2 weeks
- If you have animals it’s always a good idea to replace your filter more often, no matter where your intake is located!
Window Coverings – Not covering your windows during the day can significantly increase the temperature in your home. Below are some items that can lessen the solar heat in your home.
- “Black out” curtains – Medium Cost to implement
  - Using these will require lighting to be on in the home, and bulbs can also generate heat. The impact is typically less and can be adjusted by changing your bulb to a lower wattage.
- Solar screens – High Cost to implement
  - These will reflect solar heat and still allow light into the home, so interior lighting is not needed as often.
- Solar window coating/film – Low-Medium Cost to implement
  - You can purchase these from a local home improvement store, and cost will vary, but results are similar to the solar screens above.
Weather Seal – Doors and windows without a proper seal cause the cool air to leave the home AND the hot outside air to come inside!
- Check around your doors – faulty seals around the doors are the most common cause. Check around all your exterior doors and replace as needed.
- Check your windows – if you feel a draft you will want to caulk around the windows. Drafts are more common in windows that have multiple panes like the image below.

Items to check outside the home

Is your outside fan spinning? If so, continue to the next step. IF NOT – Call an AC professional.
If the span is spinning it’s possible that your condenser coils are dirty and need to be cleaned.
- TURN OFF your AC before cleaning.
- If possible, open the top so you can more easily clean the coils.
- BE CAREFUL – Never spray water onto the coils at high pressure, this can bend the coil fins!
- A quick cleaning can be done by simply spraying water from your hose onto the coils, BE SURE to use a lower pressure setting on your nozzle such as “FLAT“.
- Any other type of cleaning should be done by a professional to ensure the fins, unit, etc. are not damaged.

ashokalion

Posted on: August 15, 2017

Posted in: Uncategorized

HOA Board Meeting Agenda Tips

HOA Board Meeting Agenda’s

HOA Board Meeting

An HOA Board Meeting can be stressful in communities and Board members are volunteers, so many are not trained or experienced in some of the tasks that they are expected to accomplish. One of the biggest concerns for Board members is regarding Board Meetings. How to conduct it, prep for it, and more. This month we will discuss some of the common items that Board’s typically struggle with. Today our topic will be Agenda’s!

Creating an HOA Board Meeting Agenda and sticking to it can be difficult. What should be included or not included? How specific should you be? Should they be provided to the community before the meeting? The questions can seem never ending, but below are some tips that can help resolve many of the common questions AND you can find our sample Agenda HERE!

Agenda Tips

What should be included on our Agenda? Main categories need to be included with general information. For example, if you plan to discuss bids received for a pool pump replacement the agenda should have something similar to the following: Review Pool Pump Estimates from 4 vendors.
Does the Agenda need to be shared with the community prior to the meeting? YES. Depending on your specific HOA governing documents/policies, you can provide the Agenda in several ways – digitally, posted in the community, by mail, or posted online. Some of these must be done in conjunction with each other, for example if you have a policy that allows you to announce meetings electronically you can provide a copy of the agenda digitally (such as on a community discussion board or web page) but you must also provide a physical copy by posting it in an easily view-able area of the community (such as on a bulletin board at your club house, pool, etc.). If you don’t have a policy that allows this you must provide a physical copy by mail to all community members.
How detailed should my Agenda be? There is no required level of detail for an Agenda. You can be as detailed as you prefer, but to save on space we recommend keeping your Agenda simple like the sample version. ESPECIALLY if you have to provide a physical copy by mail!
Is there a required format my Agenda needs to follow? No, there is no required format for Agenda’s. We do recommend using a format like the one provided in the sample to keep the Agenda from being cluttered.
Why do we need to have an Agenda? Agenda’s are a great way to keep the meeting moving smoothly and on topic. Without an Agenda meetings can take significantly longer and, in many cases, important items can be missed!

We hope the above tips and our sample Agenda help provide you with an easier HOA Board Meeting prep! Remember to bookmark our site and check back regularly for more HOA related articles. Ashoka Lion is happy to serve our local communities!

ashokalion

Posted on: August 15, 2017

Posted in: Association Management

July 2017 HAR Market Report Analysis – Houston, Texas

July 2017 Houston, Texas Home Sales Statistics

Home sales continue to rise in Houston, TX, and the luxury market (homes prices $750,000 and up) saw the strongest numbers! While sales have increased in the Houston, TX market, pricing has begun to level out after almost a year of steady increases.

Below is the July 2017 Market Comparison Chart from HAR.COM:

CATEGORIES	JULY 2016	JULY 2017	CHANGE
Total property sales	8,439	8,821	4.5%
Total dollar volume	$2,331,210,355	$2,505,395,252	7.5%
Total active listings	37,965	44,299	16.7%
Single-family home sales	7,083	7,440	5.0%
Single-family average sales price	$292,095	$299,131	2.4%
Single-family median sales price	$230,357	$230,000	-0.6%
Single-family months inventory*	4.0	4.5	0.5 mos.
Single-family pending sales	7,233	7,940	9.8%

July 2017 Houston, Texas Rental Statistics

July marked an increase in the number of rentals, but a drop in the average monthly rent. Here are some statistics from HAR.COM:

Analysis Recommendations

Average rent has decreased steadily. If you have a rental property up for lease on the market you should invest in a more aggressive marketing plan to get your property rented out faster.
Number of rentals are increasing, if your property is sitting on the market still after several months try getting a market analysis report customized for your specific property and area. Ashoka Lion can easily provide you with one!
If you have an investment property still on the market after several months now might be the time to employ a management company. Ashoka Lion lists your properties on over 50 websites to maximize your visibility and get your property rented FAST! Ashoka Lion also screens tenants, saving you the time and costs of multiple background, credit, rental history, and employment checks! And finally, save yourself the hassle of coordinating repairs by having a management company with dedicated staff to coordinate and follow up on all repairs. Contact Ashoka Lion today for more information on managing your investment portfolio!

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