December 19, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

The majority of our HOA members in our network live in HOAs that are property managed, which means they have a contract with a management company that is experienced in finances, vendor contracts, vendor management, and so much more. The world of property management has really changed over the past five years, with technology rapidly influencing how HOA residents interact with their managers on an efficient and accurate level. At the November meetings of our network chapters, Shaun Zavadsky of FirstService Residential gave an insightful presentation on these fast-moving changes in his industry.

FirstService also understands the human element that’s necessary in answering resident questions and fielding their inquiries where no onsite manager is available. I’m certain it can be a daunting task. We asked FirstService to provide us with some information on how they remotely support resident inquiries, and their answer was provided below.

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Building Stronger Communities: The Role of Resident Support Services 

For Hunter Armstrong, aside from the positive interactions he has with homeowners, the most rewarding aspect of working as a Resident Support Services team lead is working with the team and watching the department grow. 

First started as a pilot project at FirstService Residential Minnesota, Resident Support Services (RSS) was created to fill a gap in customer service for HOA and condominium associations that do not have an on-site manager. Its intention, to be a resource where residents and homeowners can go to get answers to questions on day-to-day association living, while helping remove these often-duplicate inquiries from the inbox of the manager. 

As team lead, Hunter oversees a group of local experts who spend their days focused on answering resident inquiries about account balances, capital projects, maintenance requests, seasonal questions related to snow removal or landscaping, and more. In fact within the last 3 months RSS has resolved 78% of resident inquiries without the managers involvement. 

Behind the scenes: Meeting the need 

What’s important for homeowners and residents to understand is that when they are interacting with members of the RSS team, they are interacting with associates of their property management company. Daily, RSS connects with teams from across the organization to get answers to resident inquiries, often removing the need for the association manager to be involved. 

Understandably, working in a customer-facing role, there are times where you’re navigating an emotionally charged situation. In an effort to ensure clear and empathetic communication, Hunter leans on active listening. “Taking the time to listen to the resident and fully understand the request or the issue that’s being presented is the first step,” Hunter says. “I’ll repeat questions back to the resident to ensure that I really understand what’s going on and they know I’m actively listening to them. I also make sure that I keep a positive tone when I’m communicating with them,” he continues. 

Scaling success: RSS across North America 

As RSS continues to evolve and is now available to all FirstService Residential managed properties across North America, the benefits of RSS are being felt nation-wide to not only residents but property managers as well. With the task of answering resident inquiries coming off the plate of managers, they can focus on board directed initiatives and helping the overall success of the community they serve. 

The work Hunter does, along with the RSS team, is just another way FirstService Residential is adapting to the ever-changing needs and expectations of homeowners and residents. And another way FirstService Residential is providing their clients, life, simplified.