‘Tastings & Trends’ Explores Changes in Homeowners Associations, Delinquencies, Foreclosures and Active Adult Lifestyles

Complimentary educational symposium to be held at the Indian Ridge Country Club

Palm Desert, CA – October 29, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — MERIT Property Management, a leading provider of professional community association and rental management services, is hosting a complimentary evening of ‘Tastings & Trends’ on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 for Coachella Valley homeowners, association board members, vendors and media. The evening will feature wine tasting and hors d’ oeuvres from 5:30 pm-7 pm followed by presentations covering trends in homeowners associations, delinquencies, foreclosures and active adult and community lifestyles. Speakers include MERIT CEO and Founder Melinda Masson, Vice President of Finance Andrew Schlegel and Vice President of Active Adult Communities Scott Hysler.

Since founding MERIT in 1980, Melinda Masson’s vision and innovation has led the company to over three decades of continuous growth. She is a prominent influence in defining the community association management industry and establishing its professional and ethical standards. Her breadth of industry knowledge spans over thirty years and she is a well versed on current trends influencing Coachella Valley homeowner associations during today’s unstable economy.

Andrew Schlegel is responsible for MERIT’s com¬munity association accounting and finance services and has become a leading industry expert on managing delinquencies and foreclosures. He offers counsel based on lessons learned from assisting over 300 communities throughout California and provides creative solutions to conserve and manage an association’s money for the short and long term.

Scott Hysler has been instrumental in designing and opening lifestyle communities on the East Coast and was responsible for developing the first active adult community in the country. He offers communities an industry leading series called the “Active Adult Adventure Program” which can include Wii rooms, skydiving, mountain biking, white water rafting, on site college programs, medical/health seminars, etc. He specializes in developing ways to help energize residents through exploring current community lifestyles and developing innovative tailored solutions to each community.

The event will be held starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Indian Ridge Country Club located at 76375 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211. Please RSVP by November 11, 2009 to MERIT’s Palm Desert office at (760) 834-2482 or visit www.meritpm.com.

About MERIT
Since 1980, MERIT (www.meritpm.com) has grown to be one of the foremost providers of professional community association services in the Western States. MERIT specializes in the forward planning and management of master planned, single family home/condominiums, active adult, and urban high- and mid-rise communities as well as rental property management for investors (www.meritrental.com).

MERIT is a part of FirstService Residential Management which manages more then 3,700 communities, representing more than 1,000,000 homes/units in 18 states. FirstService Residential Management is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSRV).

For additional information on this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact Amy Sarti at asarti (at) meritpm (dot) com or visit www.meritpm.com