HOA Management BlogRecent Posts
When an HOA board is hiring or evaluating an HOA management company it’s important to look at the big picture. The skill set that your homeowner’s association is looking for or may need will differ from others, but in general an HOA manager should possess leadership skills, communication skills, administration skills, and also be backed by a company who offers support in these areas.
The HOA board is responsible for protecting, maintaining, and enhancing the Association, but this is difficult to do on its own. Board members willingly volunteer their time and resources to make sure their community is a pleasant place to call home. If it’s not run effectively, then it won’t be a pleasant place at all.
Since HOA board members are volunteers, they don’t always have the time or expertise to make sure the Association is being run properly. This is where an HOA management company comes in.
Community associations have a lot in common with municipal governments. As members of a governing body -- and typically also members of the homeowner’s association -- HOA board members should meet regularly to discuss and vote on important community issues, like paying the Association’s bills, funding reserves and contracting with vendors to keep community amenities in good repair. The Board makes decisions about these and other important topics using a democratic process.
There is some basic information about homeowners associations that anyone considering buying a home should know about. If you’re considering buying a home and you learn its part of a homeowners association, you’ll want to make sure you know what to expect when being part of an HOA community. Each Association community is unique, but they all have similarities such as requiring membership dues, following the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), and a board of directors that governs the Association. You can get answers from some common questions you may have – and that should you know – about homeowners associations in the article excerpt below.
A common question homeowners in an HOA ask is, "What Does the HOA maintain in our Community?” Usually, this comes with a bit of anger behind the question. Unless the CC&Rs provide otherwise, the homeowners association is responsible for repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common areas, while owners are responsible for maintaining their separate interests and any exclusive use common area.
If you’re a member of an HOA board, you probably know that having insurance for your homeowners association is a necessity to protect the HOA and its members. But do you know what type of insurance you need to have or what the Association is responsible for and what the individual homeowner is responsible for? It can be a confusing topic to understand, especially if you have outdated CC&Rs – or haven’t even read your CC&Rs.
Have you ever driven through a neighborhood and notice how run down it looks with unkempt yards, peeling paint on structures, and bumpy roads? It's unappealing to potential buyers and frustrating for homeowners.
The risks of not having enough HOA reserve funds for your community are as serious as the risks of not having enough emergency savings for your family. Imagine needing to pay for college tuition increases or costly medical expenses without having enough money set aside to do so. Now imagine fellow homeowners having their family budgets crushed by emergency assessments because there aren't enough HOA reserve funds for repairs. They’ll likely call you as a board member to complain!
Why not avoid these situations altogether? Having HOA reserve funds readily available “just in case” offers you and your fellow homeowners financial peace of mind.
How is your homeowners association holding up? Do you have buildings in need of repair? Has the HOA board set aside funds for inevitable future repairs? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, then it’s time to find out. Why? Because it’s the Board’s job to protect and maintain the association and keep it safe. Sometimes, the safety of lives is even at stake. You don’t want to wait for something bad to happen before taking action, like one homeowners association did in Florida. Read more in the article excerpt below.
The staff or volunteers you may see occasionally walking around the community with clipboards or tablets are the homeowners association’s covenants enforcement officers. They’re inspecting the property to ensure that everything is working properly, that conditions are safe, and that nothing is reducing property values or the quality of life in your community.
