Chrissy's Views

Because of all the complexities involved in creating an accurate budget, it requires time to thoroughly research each item, review supporting data, and make a projection for next year. At the very least budget preparation should start 3 – 4 months prior to the beginning of the new fiscal period.

However, as you will soon learn on the following pages, the thought that goes into creating an effective budget, the research, and the making of notes, really is a continual process. Many community managers keep a folder on their desk or readily available in a drawer that says “Budget Notes” and into it they constantly put things that they notice throughout the current year. This may be a note that something needs to be included in the budget next year because they noticed a shortfall this year. It may be an adjustment to an income category due to a mid-year Guideline change (late fee increase, for example) or policy change (elimination of application fees, for example).

Other items that need to be included in this “Budget Notes” folder will become more apparent to you as we continue to progress through the creation of the budget. Once you have created a budget, you will spend the rest of the year more aware of the things that are needed, and this folder will be a great place to put them. The more organized you can be when starting the actual creation process, the more effective your finished budget will be. And, that makes it a more valuable tool for you.

The creation of a budget has often been referred to as someone looking into a crystal ball and trying to see the future through clairvoyant methods. In reality, that is fairly close to the truth. The one additional thing you have going for you in this effort, however, is the historical knowledge of the community performance. The next two posts will show you how to use this as the foundation for creating an effective budget.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 11:57 am and is filed under Community Finances, MHC Investment, Manufactured Home Community Management, Maximizing Income, Mobile Home Park Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.