Glossary: Understanding condo association lingo

A primer on terms you will see in discussions of the property management industry:

Association management company: Private company hired by a condominium association to manage property. Such companies carry out the association's duties as laid out by the board of directors. Common duties include financial and administrative work, including contracting with vendors to maintain the property. While these companies might have an offshoot that rents property, they are normally not responsible for renting or leasing condo units.

Condominium association: A group of property owners represented by an elected board of directors. The association collects regime fees to pay for repairs, maintenance, finances and administrative work for the condominium's common elements, such as decks, pools, sidewalks, driveways and green space.

Condominium regime: A group of property owners -- be they owners of apartments, townhomes, houses or condos -- who have a shared interest in the maintenance of the physical buildings and outside areas of their properties. A regime often contracts with an outside organization, called an association management company, to maintain the shared property. That can include cleaning pools, cutting grass in common areas and paying the trash collection company.

Property Administrators Inc: An association management company that worked for 21 condominium regimes and associations on Hilton Head Island.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Glossary: Understanding condo association lingo."