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About
ACM
American
Community Management, Inc. was founded in 1986, in response
to the need for more comprehensive management services for Community
Associations in the Chicago suburbs.
Since that time we have made a number of innovative changes in the
way those services are provided in the Industry. So unique are these
systems and procedures, that they are copied repeatedly by our competitors.
We are proud to have made such a positive impact on the industry
at large by setting higher standards and developing innovative programs. And, we keep pushing the envelope.
We looked at every aspect of the association management business
and have developed the necessary systems
and procedures that keep an association in step with the demands
of the Owners, the expectations of the Board, and within sound accounting
and business principles and practices.
First, we consider your business as a whole of a Community
- not just another "property", as most other management companies
do. Just as every Community is unique, so are ACM's
customized management services designed to fit your needs and exceed your expectations.
We view your problems, operations and challenges as unique
and address those issues with appropriate action that fits within
the philosophy of the Community.
Our team approach to management is more than
just glitz in a proposal. We have assembled a team of talented
and dedicated employees who take a personal interest in the way
your Community is run. Your Owners will never get a recording
or voice mail when they call our offices during business hours.
From the personalized response in answering
our telephone calls to resourceful ways in which our Community Managers
respond to your needs - you always sense that we are your partner
in the successful operation of your business - the administration
of your Community.
Our Customer Care staff is always willing to go over and above to
meet the demands of your Owners. We consider the Owners within one
of our managed Communities our Customers. Their treatment,
perceptions, response and happiness is our utmost concern. Their priority is to exceed your expectations. Our unique ACM Customer 1 system integrates the key elements of of our service hub. It fosters fast response and well-informed answers so our Customer can get on with their lives.
Our Community Managers are experienced, professional and committed.
They can quickly grasp and understand your Association's needs and
will help your Board set priorities and make sound business decisions.
Community Managers manage the day-to-day operation of the Association's
business. From ensuring that appropriate letters are mailed to Owners,
to ensuring that work by contractors is completed correctly and
invoices are paid on a timely basis. The Community Manager
is the Board's advisor, strategist, confidant, and partner in correctly
administering the Association's business matters.
And, an important business it is. Not only do the homes and
units in a Community represent one of the largest single investments
of the Ownership there, Owners are concerned with continuity of
increasing asset value and a solid return one of their greatest investments.
The Community as a segment must remain viable within the whole
of the municipality and its status continually enhanced.
ACM is prepared and committed to take your Community Association
through the 21st century. Following is an overview
of the basic services one can expect from ACM.
FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT
Headed by a degreed Master of Business Administration, our accounting
department, systems software and technologies combine to generate
the finest, and most accurate financial management and reporting
in the industry.
Assessment collection is fully automated, interfacing coupons and
bank lock boxes, and we offer direct debit to our Clients for Owner's
automatic payment of assessments. Most financial transactions are
handled electronically via the Internet so transactions are made quickly
resulting in the highest returns on investment accounts while ensuring
that operating accounts maintain balances sufficient to meet expenses.
Our financial accuracy, record keeping and attention to detail repeatedly
draws praise from the financial community, in particular, the independent
Certified Public Accounting firms that audit our records on behalf
of our Clients. For confirmation, contact your Association's CPA
firm and see if they have done business with our Accounting Department.
Your
Association's financial planning and administration can be left
in no better hands.
STAFF
We
have assembled some of the most talented, competent, and truly great
people in all of our industry. We extensively search out and review
the qualifications of our applicants to ensure that we
are
interviewing only the best in the business. We instill in our employees
a "can-do" attitude that permeates the organization. We cross-train,
develop, refine their talents, and have created a comfortable and
cooperative atmosphere within which they perform their most important
function - serving the Customer.
Every job, and every task in our company, regardless how menial,
is considered the most important job at hand, because every job,
and every task serves the Customer.
Our Staff Members understand that the Customer is number one, and
a Customer of ACM deserves nothing but the best.
Most of our employees possess some type of
certification, be it a PCAM, CPM, CMCA, AMS, ARM, college degree,
or a certificate of accomplishment in a particular area or field.
They are encouraged to continue their education and training, and
are provided with every opportunity for internal education and training.
Each understands the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of those Communities.
They are dedicated to service, and have a deep desire to ensure
that our Client business is attended to fully and completely.
In short, our Staff is the key element that permits American
Community Management, Inc. to provide the first-class management
programs that others cannot.
CUSTOMER
CARE
Our well-trained Customer Care staff plays a pivotal role in the
daily operation. All callers to our office are greeted by
a personable, friendly and helpful Administrative Assistant, who
is equipped to respond to a full 98% of all inquiries. Callers
never receive a recorded message or voice mail response when calling
ACM during business hours. Our 'voice mail' consists
of a live person.
From work orders and their status, to Owner's occupant ledgers or
upcoming meeting dates -- Customer Care gets answers to Owners fast via ACM Customer 1.
The Customer Care objective is to handle inquiries on the first
call and to avoid engaging callers in 'telephone tag'. All
Customer Care Assistants are equipped with computer workstations,
extensive databases and have hard copy resources readily at hand
to answer Customer questions. Every
ACM Customer Care Staff Member will have visited each and
every Community we manage. We do this so they can familiarize themselves
with the Community and better understand the inquiries from our
Customers.
Plus, ACM live Customer Care hours extend from 7 am to 7 pm - the longest live Customer Care hours in the Industry. Our office hours, too, are the longest in the Industry - 8 am to 6 pm.
ACM has a local numbers in the 630 and 847 area codes for Customer convenience. Value added services that are only available from ACM.
Another important aspect of Customer Care is the processing of Owner
work requests. Be they e-mailed, snail-mailed, faxed, or called-in
to our office, work requests take a high priority and are dealt
with immediately by our Maintenance Manager and Technicians. By
the way, ACM was the first Community Association Management
Company that accepted work requests via e-mail, and through our
web site. We can be reached 24 hours per day.
Judge for yourself. Give Customer Care a call to see how quickly
the telephone is answered and how warmly you are greeted. Then,
compare that call with any other 'property' management company
- you'll be pleased with the difference. It's a difference you can
expect only from ACM.
COMMUNITY
MANAGEMENT
The key to any successful community management program is the Manager.
His or her attitude, education and training, knowledge of the industry
and experience combine to make the important job of being a Board
member easier.
ACM Community Managers are proactive by nature. They
come to us experienced, undergo continual, rigorous training and
represent the Company and the Client well in all aspects of the
business. ACM is not a training ground for inexperienced
managers as are many of our competitors.
All Managers attend a weekly meeting with the President, to discuss
and share opinions on alternatives and the best approach to resolve
Client issues. Guest speakers are frequently brought in to
address such topics as condominium law, insurance, finance, accounting,
and a multitude of maintenance related products and solutions -
all intended to keep ACM Community Managers at the cutting-edge
of the latest advancements in the industry.
Managers perform regular site inspections, check on contractors
working on the buildings and grounds, provide the Board with a monthly
Management Report and assemble a Board Packet to prepare the Board
for its meeting. Managers also attend each Board meeting as scheduled.
Our Managers' salaries are among the highest in our market, which
helps attract and retain genuinely talented staff. Their analytical
approach to management ensures that matters are thoroughly researched
and alternatives are developed and reviewed. Unlike many "property"
managers that continually bring the Board problems - ACM
Community Managers bring their Boards solutions.
From technical issues to financial matters; from decorum questions
to innovative, problem-solving ideas: ACM Community Managers simply bring more to the Board
table - - they make things happen.
RECORD
KEEPING
Although past history is seldom an indicator of the future, it helps
to be able to go back and review events of the past to assist in
making future decisions. ACM maintains a unique Unit File
system that records the maintenance, expense and occupant history
of every unit under our management. Other companies
may say they keep unit files - but seldom are able to produce the
records.
Although extensive record keeping is expensive because of the computer
hard disk and physical filing space it uses, being able to track
the number of roof leaks a building experiences or when it was last
painted, assists immensely in planning for the future of the Association.
We believe that history is a good teacher, so we maintain
a hard copy folder on each unit as a reference point for future
actions and decisions. In the long term, the expense pays remarkable
dividends.
Every ACM Client Board member receives an Executive Portfolio
- an organized compilation of important documents relating the the
Association's budget, contractual obligations, insurance, governing
documents, maintenance, reserves, and a home owner list. The
portfolio also serves as a repository for monthly financial statements,
reports and correspondence that comprise the monthly management
report. The portfolio is a valuable tool in keeping each Board
member informed and up-to-date on Association matters of business.
MAINTENANCE
The greatest assets in any Association, aside from its people, are
its buildings and grounds. The manner in which they are maintained
and improved directly affects the overall value of the Community,
its character and status in the broader municipality, and most important
- the return on the Owner's investment at resale time.
Anyone can let a property run down, not plan sufficiently to meet
future reserve expenses, and generally cut corners on building and
grounds maintenance. The astute Owner and Board Member will
expect Management to establish plans that ensure that future challenges
are met head-on. ACM highly recommends future planning
as an integral part of its management programs.
Solid preventive maintenance plans are vital to the future of a
Community, and become even more important in older Communities that
may require partial or full rehabilitation. ACM also has a highly qualified, fully-equipped in-house maintenance staff to provide the fastest response time to your maintenance and work order needs. Our vans are on the street 7 days a week to service immediate needs of our Clients and Customers.
Investments in buildings and grounds appreciate in value. Consider
a tree at today's cost of $500 that, in a few short years, will
be worth thousands. Or, an elevator rehabilitation that may
cost $30,000 but could save twice that over five years of otherwise
increasingly extensive repairs.
ACM is readily equipped to assist Associations in sound planning
for maintenance that will pay dividends in the future. We
can offer various cost effective alternatives for current and preventive
maintenance including utilization of our own, highly skilled, in-house
maintenance technicians who can handle anything from changing a
light bulb to million dollar renovation programs. Whatever your
needs, ACM has a maintenance option that is prompt, professional
and dependable.
Managers monitor and inspect the work of maintenance and other contractors
to ensure that specifications are met and that the work is done
satisfactorily. On larger projects, architects and engineers partner
with ACM Managers to ensure that projects run smoothly and
correctly. Be it project planning, project execution or project
management, ACM Managers will win your Board's confidence
and admiration.
FACILITIES
Our offices are located in one of the most modern and productive
facilities around. We incorporate environmentally controlled
rooms for staff, record keeping and equipment. Our offices are equipped
with monitored burglary and fire detection systems and are handicap
accessible.
Within the computer room are our two main network servers as well
as high-speed digital photocopiers and postage equipment. A HP®
G3/Novell® network server ensures fast data
retrieval and immediate answers to our Customers questions when
they call . Few management companies provide their staff with
a work station at every desk, but we do. We believe that instant
data access and retrieval by all staff members is essential to great
Customer Service.
Our HP® G3/Windows 2003 Enterprise® server
permits 24-hour communication, via high speed broadband with the Internet.
It provides access to our networks by our Client-based, off-site
Managers and staff. This network puts Internet email capability
on every desktop in our office so Clients can reach their Community
Manager direct. All ACM employees can retrieve their email
from any computer with Internet access.
Our network servers' data is automatically backed-up each evening
and the tapes are stored off-site. In addition to this data
protection, we utilize RAID 5, redundant, hot-swap hard drives in
the servers to ensure absolutely no loss of data in the event of
an equipment failure. All server and telephone system equipment
is provided with uninterruptible power supplies and battery back-up
and emergency procedures are in place in the event of a power failure.
Our twin Kyocera Mita® 6230 digital copier/scanners
produce 62 copies per minute will full collating, stapling,
punching, zoom and reduction, and electronic editing capabilities.
A second, identical 6230 is used for backup as well as to ensure
efficiency and limited delays. Both copiers require access codes
representing our various Client numbers to ensure accurate accountability
of copies processed.
Our Pitney Bowes® Mail Center, mailing system is likewise
computerized requiring operator access codes and Client numbers.
Similar to our photocopiers, accounting records are generated
at the end of each month and Clients can be assured of accurate
billing.
We also have specialized equipment that folds letters and stuffs
those letters into envelopes, binds reports, affixes labels, as
well as numerous high-speed, state-of-the-art laser printers.
We utilize specialized filing systems to provide for efficient use
of space for the tens of thousands of files we maintain. Archive
records are dated, boxed neatly and stored on site in our expansive
warehouse.
Our main office is an open-office design where office management
can remain attuned to the quality of service being provided by staff.
Work stations are arranged to increase efficiency and speed of data
retrieval so callers are on line for the minimum amount of time.
Accounting too, is organized similarly, but also incorporates limited
access files and dedicated laser printers.
Our Board Room was designed for the utmost in comfort during Board
meetings. The conference table seats 10 in leather upholstered,
high-back, Lazy-Boy® executive seating, with room for 30 guests
around the perimeter. The room is equipped with telephone conference
equipment, computer station, overhead projector, erasable marker
board and tablets, and a 45" screen television with video cassette
and DVD players and digital projector.
The Board Room also doubles as a meeting and training center for
ACM employees and is stocked with tapes covering a multitude
of customer service and community association related topics. Refreshments
served during meetings are located right across the hall in our
fully equipped and stocked Staff kitchen. ACM Client
Boards of Directors and their various Committees enjoy the
use of the Board Room for regular, special or annual meetings, at
no additional charge.
Our offices are conveniently located at the intersection of Irving
Park Road and Wright Boulevard, just North and across from the Schaumburg
Regional Airport, and two blocks South from the Elgin-O'Hare expressway.
We
invite you to come in for a personal visit and tour, and encourage
you to visit the offices of your current management company, or
management company candidates, if you are currently searching for
a new service provider. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the unique differences
between ACM and other companies.
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