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For community association managers

Know the association before you propose.

A management proposal is only as good as what you knew about the property when you priced it. Brain shows the association's record beside the page you are on, and sits alongside the software you already use.

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Free for Chrome and Edge. Listed in the Chrome Web Store as Common Elements Insight while Brain features roll out; it updates in place.

Before the proposal

Researching an association before you bid on management

Six checks, how to do each yourself, and where Brain helps.

  1. 1

    Is the association an active corporation?

    How to check: Search the state corporation registry by name. Note the status, the date of the last annual report, and the registered agent. An administratively dissolved association needs reinstatement before much else.

    Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: registration status, from the state record, with its source and date.

  2. 2

    Who manages it now, and is that firm licensed?

    How to check: Ask the board, then confirm the current firm's license where your state licenses them (in Florida, the CAM firm license with the DBPR).

    Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: the management firm of record and its license status, where Common Elements holds it.

  3. 3

    What size and age is the property?

    How to check: Unit count and year built drive staffing, reserve exposure and how soon major components come due. Check the county property appraiser for the parcels.

    Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: unit count and year built where the record has them.

  4. 4

    Where does it stand on structural inspections and reserves?

    How to check: For Florida condominiums three stories or taller, ask for the milestone inspection report and the structural integrity reserve study, and check their dates against the statutory deadlines.

    Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: milestone inspection status where Florida law requires one. Our Florida tools help with the reserve math.

  5. 5

    What do the governing documents require?

    How to check: Pull the recorded declaration, bylaws and amendments from the county recorder. Look for approval thresholds, insurance obligations and rental rules that change how the property is run.

    Where Brain helps: Coming in Brain: on the association's own website, the documents Common Elements already holds for it.

  6. 6

    Which vendors are already under contract?

    How to check: Ask for the vendor list and the contract terms (term, auto-renewal, termination notice). Inherited contracts are a common first-year surprise.

    Where Brain helps: Coming in Brain: vendors of record on the association's page, and each vendor's profile on its own website.

For reserve and milestone math, use the Florida tools. To compare firms in a market, browse the management company directory. More for managers on the managers page.

Status

What you get, and when

Available today

What works today

  • Works on property listings on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Trulia.
  • Finds the association behind the listing, or offers likely matches to choose from.
  • Shows registration status, management firm of record, milestone inspection status where Florida law requires one, unit count and year built.
  • Links to the association's full Common Elements record.
  • Looks nothing up until you open the panel. Your first 10 lookups need no account; a free account continues.
Coming in Brain

Coming in Brain

  • On an association's website: its full record, including management history, documents held and vendors of record.
  • On a vendor's website: reviews, credentials and service area, with Request a quote and Create an RFP.
  • Later: management company websites, with portfolio of associations of record and Compare firms.
  • Later: state registry and licensing pages linked to the record they belong to.

Not available yet. This page will say so when each one ships.

Privacy

What Brain reads and sends

  • Recognized on your device

    Brain works out what a page is about inside your browser. It does not send page text, page HTML, images or form contents anywhere.

  • Only the minimum leaves it

    For a listing, the address, ZIP, state, the property's approximate map position, and an association name if the listing shows one. That is what is needed to find the match, and we do not keep it in our database.

  • It runs where you say

    Today the panel looks nothing up until you open it. Brain will ask no site access at install: you click the icon on a page, or allow it site by site.

Full detail on the Common Elements Brain overview and in our privacy policy.

Questions

Managers ask

Is there a browser extension for HOA management?
Common Elements Brain is a free one for research. Today it shows the association behind any property listing on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Trulia, with registration status, the management firm of record and Florida milestone status. Association and vendor website support is coming. It is a research layer, not management software.
Does Brain work inside my management software?
No. Brain does not run inside association management software. We will not add that without the software vendor's agreement and a design that keeps everything on your device, and we will say so on this page if that ever changes.
Will a prospective client see that I looked up their association?
No. Lookups are not shared with the association or anyone else. Common Elements records anonymous usage events, such as "panel opened", without addresses or web addresses, and you can turn those off.
Is it free for managers?
Yes. Your first 10 lookups need no account, and a free Common Elements account keeps them going.

Other ways people use Brain

Price the property you actually found.

Install it free today for association records on listing pages. Association and vendor website support arrives as updates.

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