New Smyrna Beach startup focuses on customer service, technology to meet a need in the market
07/25/2023
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (July 25, 2023)—When Tim Smith permanently moved from New York to his vacation condo in New Smyrna Beach in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t long before he experienced frustrations facing the condominium association’s management company.
“I joined the board and realized that the association management companies in this area weren’t operating in the 21st century,” Smith said.
That first-hand realization, coupled with a background that includes 25 years in the real estate and mortgage space, building businesses with a focus on combining five-star customer service with best-in-class technology, motivated Smith and his team – including Managing Director James Lurkins, CAM – to launch BlueWave Management Group.
Based in New Smyrna Beach and serving homeowners and condo associations from Volusia County west to Orlando, BlueWave Management Group offers full-service association management services with a personal touch. Industry-leading technology and a company structure that features robust customer support in addition to the expertise of licensed Community Association Managers (CAMs) sets BlueWave Management Group apart from competitors in its market.
The company began onboarding clients in March. Fifteen full-time and part-time employees currently work for BlueWave Management Group, and the company is seeking candidates to fill two more positions. Leadership’s goal is to eventually manage 100 associations.
“Our goal is to grow to a level where we can make a difference in protecting homeowners’ investments and give the people who love to work in this space the support to do the work they love to do,” Lurkins said.
Smith and Lurkins acknowledge the support of others in the successful launch of BlueWave, including technology partner CINC Systems and banking partner American Momentum Bank.
CINC Systems is the first cloud-based, bank-integrated accounting and property management platform for the community association industry. CINC’s state-of-the-art software includes banking software integration with American Momentum Bank. CINC partners with premier banks throughout the country, including American Momentum, to support community management companies with its integrated banking features.
“We met with a few of CINC’s partner banks, and they all seemed to know their space,” said Smith. “But Heather [Karamitsos] at American Momentum provided value from day one, telling us what we should look out for and offering advice, investing in us with no commitment that it would return to her in the future. But it did.”
American Momentum’s association banking team has more than 60 years of combined experience serving associations. The bank offers a variety of competitive deposit products, specialized lending programs for capital improvements and insurance premium financing.
“Heather and her team have been phenomenal to work with through this transition,” Lurkins said. “At other management companies I’ve worked for, I didn’t even know who worked at the bank. Being able to have a real relationship at American Momentum brings peace of mind for our team and the board members we serve.”
“We’re proud to work with Tim, James and their entire team as we watch them launch and grow BlueWave Management Group,” said Heather Karamitsos, Senior VP/Director of Association Banking at American Momentum Bank. “They have the business acumen, technology and first-hand experience to bring top-notch service to communities on the East Coast and in Central Florida.”
About BlueWave Management Group
BlueWave Management Group is a locally owned, full-service, association management company that has a team who has been serving the needs of condominium associations and homeowners associations in the area for many years. We are a small, family-owned business, and we take pride in our personal approach to service. Our combined experience and customer service sets us apart from other companies in the industry, and we are dedicated to providing the highest level of satisfaction to our clients. Learn more at www.bluewavemgt.com/.
About CINC Systems
CINC Systems, the largest provider of software in the association management industry and the innovator behind accounting and banking integration, was founded in 2005 by a banker as the industry’s first SaaS offering. In 2019, Spectrum Equity joined CINC to support the company’s accelerated growth and innovation through CINC, the core software platform for real estate management, and TresRE, the banking and payments solution for real estate management software providers.
CINC software supports over 30,000 associations across the United States, reaching more than 5 million homeowners. Through CINC, real estate managers can leverage technology to serve boards and homeowners. CINC offers deep accounting functionality to improve financial transparency, property management solutions to drive efficiency, and custom-branded homeowner portals and mobile apps to increase engagement.
TresRE banking and payments solution is the middleware between banking and accounting. Through integrations with CINC and other software providers, TresRE processes over $6 billion in annual payments at a match rate of 99.74%. In providing the real estate industry with an industry-focused treasury solution built on the rails of banks, TresRE changes the way real estate banks.
