How would you define an effective HOA board meeting? Most people would see it as time spent efficiently, where issues are addressed, reasonable business decisions are made, and action items are assigned, in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration.
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When homeowners start to notice an increase in crime in the homeowners association, it's not necessarily the fault of the HOA, but the fault of the individuals who make bad choices and seek a location to carry out their dealings with easy access that allows for a quick exit. There are ways the the Association be proactive to help the community remain a safe place to live.
If you think hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods or polar vortexes won’t happen to you or that you don’t need to insure against these disasters in your homeowners association, you’re among the nearly half of U.S. homeowners and renters who lack the insurance coverage to deal with potential losses, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
As a Board member of a homeowners association you may be faced with making decisions to foreclose on homes in your Association. This is not a pleasant task, but it is a necessary one at times. Some homeowners may challenge the entire process and you and the Board should know what you are doing and why.
When you think of an age-restricted homeowners association, you might conjure up a picture of elderly couples in Hawaiian print shirts and khaki shorts, riding on golf carts, sipping drinks by the pool, or playing cards in the clubhouse. While sometimes this isn’t far from the truth, age-restricted Associations are much more than that!
If you’re a member of an HOA board, one of the reasons you chose to hire a property manager to help your community association is because you can’t keep up with all of the information you need to know. New and updated laws, reserve studies, annual meetings, trends, and resources are all things you need to have in your board member resource bucket, but can be very overwhelming. You trust your HOA manager to give you good and accurate information, but how do you know it really is legit?
Board meetings, executive sessions, and membership meetings are the most common in an HOA. They require a quorum to be present to qualify as an official meeting. The governing documents for each association define a quorum, typically in the Bylaws.
A hot topic among homeowners association members is knowing who is responsible for certain maintenance items in the community -- the homeowner or the Association? There are often assumptions on both sides, and when an issue arises and it’s not the outcome anticipated, disputes follow.
Whether your homeowners’ association (HOA) is large with a correspondingly large budget, or small with limited financial resources, there are ways to get outside help. All boards face the same challenges and responsibilities. Getting an expert to consult can help the board navigate those challenges. Often, large HOAs can afford a full-time HOA Manager; in smaller HOAs you may not have the budget for that - but you can still afford consulting services to set you on the right path.
An HOA management company can help homeowners association boards in many ways and work with nearly every budget. Two of the most obvious are assisting with financials and collecting delinquent HOA fees. There are also some ways your board members may not have thought of.
