New Smyrna Beach startup focuses on customer service, technology to meet a need in the market

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - July 26, 2023 - PRLog -- 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 21^st 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.