To stay up to date on the latest about the Cornovirus in Maryland, visit https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/.

At Sentry, our highest priority is the safety of our employees and our communities.  We also have the goal of ensuring the work of the community continues during these difficult days so that your neighborhood continues to be a great place to live.  In short, we are working to make sure it is “business as usual,” although we know the work cannot be done in the usual manner.

Below are some updates to how we will be conducting our work.  I recognize that this communication will not answer every question, nor cover every scenario, and suggest you contact your Community Manager if you have additional questions about the ongoing work we will be performing for your community.

Limited Sentry office access:

The doors to the office are now locked with employees working inside on their day-to-day responsibilities.  With Managers working remotely, each office is limited to essential personnel during traditional business hours.  We do this to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  We appreciate your patience as we limit the exposure to those employees that need to be in the office.

Some homeowners come to our office to make payments, get information, or submit paperwork.  For the period that COVID-19 effects the way we do business, we urge the following:

Architectural review: We ask that these items be mailed or emailed, if possible.  Typically, send this information to the Community Managers. If not, deliver the information to the office and call when you arrive so that a staff member knows to accept the materials.

Payments: We are asking that all homeowners make payments through US Mail or electronic payment.  While we love to see and meet our homeowners, we hope folks will appreciate the desire to limit office traffic.  Sentry Management has worked with our electronic payment processor to suspend any one-time fee they typically charge for eCheck and telephone assistance.  As always, should homeowners decide to sign up for our Autopay solution, there are no eCheck fees.  (Note, should someone want to pay with a credit card, there will still be transaction fees.)

Contact us: Should homeowners have questions, we encourage them to contact their respective Community Manager, or contact Sentry Management through our website, or our Customer Service department at 1.800.932.6636 (Ext. 32000).

Community Managers will work remotely:

Community Managers are equipped with laptops and secure access to your association’s records online. They can work remotely to handle operational details.  Sentry’s technology will certainly be important as we all do our part to stop the spread of the Novel Coronavirus.  Managers are now performing their functions remotely.  Below are some of the technology and operational changes that our managers will use:

• Office telephones forwarded: All of our Managers can forward calls from their office phone to their cell phones.  We have asked them to make this switch during business hours.
• Voicemail to email: All voicemails left for a Manger on the phone system will send a copy of the voicemail to the Manager in their email inbox.
• Community visits/drive-throughs: It is safe for our Managers to complete community visits and drive-throughs just as they have done in the past.  These are generally done in their vehicle, or in an open-air environment and pose little risk to health when completed with the proper precautions.

Payment options: We urge homeowners to use electronic payments for the immediate future. To understand your easy payment options, go to www.sentrymgt.com and use either the MY ACCOUNT or the MAKE A PAYMENT button on the top of the page. There you can:

• Pay Electronically by eCheck
• Pay Electronically by Credit/Debit Card
• Pay Electronically—Register for AUTOPAY
• Pay by Phone by calling 24/7 toll-free 1-888-786-6496 to make a one-time, same-day payment.
• Pay by Mail Coupons with the return address are mailed annually to homeowners. Mail to: P. O. Box 105302, Atlanta GA 30348-5302. Make check payable to your association. Use your coupon or write your 16-digit account number on the memo line.

We are committed to helping the communities we manage to function as normally as possible during the next few months. I pledge we will communicate often with you as we all adapt to social distancing.

Stay safe, and as always, we appreciate your confidence in Sentry Management to be there for your community.

Sentry Management is a community management leader serving homeowner associations, HOAs, and condominiums. We are agents for all community types including condos, townhomes, mid-rise and high-rise buildings, single-family homes, and large master-planned communities. Sentry has achieved Accredited Management Organization status for our high operating and financial standards. We are also accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. Each office has deep expertise, professional processes and uses advanced technology to serve communities in the states of Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. View our full list of services here: http://www.sentrymgt.com/for-association-boards/services/.