Our COVID-19 Update for Homeowners

Empire Management Group is humbled to continue managing your association, and we will continue to support the maintenance and operation of your community through this challenging time for our communities.  As this disease COVID-19 continues to spread, our thoughts go out to anyone who has been infected or already in isolation to prevent further contagions. I hope that you, your family, friends, and neighbors are safe and well and are taking the necessary precautions to stay healthy as we all are in this together to help lower the curve. At Empire Management Group, our top priority is the safety of our employees and the communities that we serve.  Frankly, we are working as diligently as possible to ensure it is “business as usual,” although we ask for some patience as we are receiving a very high volume of calls and emails during this time.

I want to make you aware of our company’s efforts to ensure you continue receiving the essential services for your community you’ve come to expect from your chosen management company.

We have weathered many hurricanes and storms, and despite this being very different, we take our role within the communities that we serve very seriously and are dedicated to providing continued service, support, and maintenance while protecting your health and that of our employees and their families. We are fully prepared to continue operations digitally and from our homes, as our employees have all been set up over the last couple weeks to be fully operational remotely.

Below are some updates to how we will be operating to help continue community operations and maintenance of your Association as well as some tips that can help you, as well as updates on our planning and services:

We are here for you by phone, email and updates at www.empirehoa.com  

• Customer service agents are available via phone at 407-770-1748 (Orlando/Kissimmee) and 352-227-2100 (Clermont), if unable to reach someone immediately, please leave a voicemail to receive a callbackor email us at hoa@empirehoa.com .
• Self-service options are available via your homeowner portal account at empirehoa.com in the homeowner portal tab.
• Our office locations are closed and locked until further notice for the safety of our customers, employees and their families. We will notify all when we have a clear idea when we will be able to open at a limited amount to the public and customers. We have certain employees in management that visit the offices as often as possible to review mail, scan invoices, scan payments left in the mailboxes, process closing documents, etc. We appreciate some patience in the processing of some of your documents during this time. UPDATE: We have limited numbers of employees working from office locations to ensure that on-site operations continue and all customers are served.
• Community Managers are equipped with laptops and iPads and secure access to your association’s records on the cloud. They can work remotely to handle the vast majority of the community operations and maintenance.  Empire Management Group’s major technology investments in the last couple of years are proving to be important as it is allowing our team to operate as remotely as possible while having access to all necessary documents for operation.
• All Office telephones forwarded to cellphones: All of our phones have been setup to forward to employee cellphones. For privacy some returned calls will be done using private number masking, so please expect a call back if you call into our office. Our operations team is monitoring call queues, voicemails, and returned calls multiple times a day to ensure customer support.
• All voicemails left in our phone system creates a digital copy and emails it directly to the employee for review and documentation.

Community visits and inspections will be conducted as directed/agreed with the boards, and as long as our managers are permitted through local government guidance for essential businesses.

Please see below some recommendations to make your requests and operation to go much smoother:

• Architectural ARC Applications: We ask that these items be mailed or emailed. Emailing will ensure quicker processing. Mailed items will be delayed.
• Payments:We would like to request that homeowners can pay through US Mail (Lockbox address) or electronic payment via the homeowner portal.
• Closings: We’ve been notifying and working with title companies to request that closings be sent to us digitally if possible, to ensure that they can be processed as fast as possible.

We are prepared for the potential challenges to come.

• Our company is no stranger to emergencies over the years, and our management team has been actively monitoring the virus and executing a plan for the past two months to ensure we were prepared ahead of time.
• We continue to monitor updates and abide by recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and other local, State, and Federal agencies.

We understand that this has impacted many of our customers.

• To assist our customers during this crisis, our property managers have reached out to boards to close common areas, pools, clubhouses, etc. Also, all board meetings as needed will be held via conference call if the board would like to continue reviewing ongoing business items that can be addressed despite this pandemic.
• We have verified that the vendors that provide services to your communities and ourselves are considered essential businesses for the maintenance of communities. So landscapers, pool maintenance, janitorial, repairs, etc. will continue to take place with all necessary precautions.
• In some cases, violations and new collections might be put on hold until further notice if the boards would like to do so.
• If you need to make payment arrangements, or have a specific circumstance due to COVID-19, please email us at hoa@empirehoa.com .
• We encourage you to stay as current as you can with your payments to avoid building up a large balance, even if late fees or due dates are pushed back. If you have issues to be able to make payments due to furloughs, layoffs, or firings related to the pandemic situation please reach out to us with evidence to provide your boards for authorization of any actions on your account.
• Please be advised that the USPS may be delayed in some areas and cause a significant delay. Any communications or payments made by mail need to be sent with additional time to meet deadlines and account for possible delays in delivery. We will process items as soon as they are received, however, we suggest, if possible, to take advantage of our online payment options, and our general email, hoa@empirehoa.com to communicate your needs.

We are making sure our employees are safe when performing essential duties in your community:

• To reduce the potential spread of the virus, we have moved swiftly so our employees who can work from home are doing so since we closed the offices on March 13^th, 2020.
• You may, however, see our employees visiting the communities to perform inspections as needed. To ensure safety first, we have instructed our employees and your community vendors to practice appropriate social distancing and follow all mandates regarding face coverings, or curfews, and we request that you extend the same courtesy to avoid any unnecessary contagions. 

Keep yourself informed on the latest developments and recommendations:

• Check for local updates with your county (links attached here for your convenience) Orange, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Seminole, Polk, Brevard. Most of these counties will share local testing facilities and procedures on their websites.
• Be aware of scammers who will try to take advantage of you during this unusual time. Our company will never ask for your personal information over the phone or demand payment using cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other methods not mentioned on our homeowner portal and website.
• Check for further updates from your local school districts for any changes regarding the public schools and online classes.
• Please be informed and aware of details shared by theCDC for Coronavirus symptoms, protection, and conditions.

Empire Management Group is proud to be your community’s management company, and we will be with you the entire way. Together, we will get through this and become an even stronger community as neighbors are helping each other and finding new ways to interact and support. Every one of our employees is committed to serving your communities during this time of need for all.