And there's a lot of work to be done. The firm, which formed last year when Jack B. Hanson, LCAM, and Ellen Lumpkin, LCAM, merged Melrose Management and Sovereign Residential, currently has more than 100 employees in offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Palm Harbor, Bradenton/Sarasota, Port Charlotte, and Fort Myers to manage properties for more than 150 developers, investors and owners throughout Florida, including Taylor Morrison Homes, Ryland Homes, LandMar Group, Emerson International, Harmony Residential Owners Assn. and Benderson Development Corp.
"We are the interface between community developers, home owners and vendors," Lumpkin explained.
As such, Melrose Sovereign specialists play a unique role in community management, a microcosm of democracy.
"Home owners are seeing their property values decline. And while they invest time and energy maintaining their homes, they see foreclosed homes with minimal maintenance adding to their problems," she said.
Adding to the dilemma, each homeowner who is not paying or cannot afford association dues is creating a mounting account receivable.
"It's a real crunch," Hanson said, "and we feel the pressure home owners are under.
We work very hard to find vendors and suppliers who can cut costs and maintain the appeal of neighborhoods but it gets harder every day," Lumpkin added.
"Home owners who invest in their own maintenance and upkeep don't usually want to pay extra to maintain other homes in the neighborhood, but as foreclosures mount and families move out, and as assessment accounts receivable rise, the burden of maintenance costs is falling on fewer and fewer home owners," Hanson said.
Knee-high grass and weeds next door affects nearby property values, Lumpkin said. The short-term solution is to seek maintenance workers who can do the job at lower costs, she said.
"There's no shortage of work out there to be done," Hanson added, "and with warm weather maintenance needs will rise."
For more information, contact:
Ellen G. Lumpkin, LCAM, Partner/Co-founder, Melrose-Sovereign Companies, 407-228-4181, elumpkin@melrose-
Jack B. Hanson, LCAM, Partner/Co-founder, Melrose-Sovereign Companies, 407-228-4181, jhanson@melrose-
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, Lvershelco@aol.com
