HOA Management Blog
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.
You ran for the board on the platform of remodeling the clubhouse that has become outdated. What you haven’t shared with the members of the association is that your daughter is getting married next year and the clubhouse would be the perfect place for a reception.
There is often a member of the HOA board who doesn’t recognize that the Association needs help beyond what the Board can do on its own. Sometimes the hard part is convincing other members of the board to invest the time and resources available to hire a manager and how it will benefit the Association in the long run. So, what will help make your case when making the suggestion to hire a management company? We’ve spelled it out for you below.
Many homeowners associations operate on the fiscal year (July through June). If your Association is one of them then hopefully you have your new and improved budget ready to go because July is just around the corner.
As an HOA board member you probably know the basics of HOA accounting, and that the process is reversed from the typical American’s household budget.
Your association board is planning for the big project on the horizon, and is currently reviewing how to finance it. For several reasons, you don’t believe you’ll have enough funds in the association’s operating budget or reserves to cover the project’s entire bill. What should you do? Split the project up over several years, levy a special assessment, or maybe get a loan?
Finding a contractor who will perform quality work at a reasonable price can be a daunting task for any HOA board. It’s always a good idea to use contractor caution and ask for references, contact the Better Business Bureau and your state licensing bureau to see if there are complaints against a prospective contractor.
In addition, the following warning signs can alert you to unscrupulous, disorganized, inexperienced or financially troubled contractors who may deliver broken promises, bad work and blown budgets rather than professional results.
Being a volunteer board member is a big responsibility. There are decisions to be made, meetings to attend, budgets to build, and concerns to address. If your HOA board is at a place where members are feeling overwhelmed and over-committed, then it’s time to bring in some help.
This is a guest post by: Drew Smithfield, a freelance safety and security writer.
Some of the best security advocates you can find are just yards away from your home – they're your neighbors. Introducing yourself to your neighbors and establishing a relationship with them not only helps deepen your ties to your homeowners association community but also helps increase the security of your family and home.
