HOA Management Blog
You've tossed your hat into the ring to become an HOA board member for your association. The ballots have been counted and you've been selected. But, what are the responsibilities of a new board member to their community? You owe a duty of good faith and fidelity to the homeowners association.
People and organizations are often afraid of evaluation because they’re afraid of failure. If we don’t fail we can’t learn, and if we aren’t given the opportunity to learn, we can’t grow. It’s in the best interest of the association for the HOA board to take the time to intentionally evaluate the HOA manager, ask questions, give honest feedback, and decide how the relationship can improve or if it’s time to part ways. Below are questions to help guide the evaluation process.
Whether you’re out of town or out of commission, you can still attend the homeowners association board meetings by tuning in online. This is not to be confused with a meeting via email - this is not allowed.
As a homeowners association member, it’s important to understand that committees are an integral part of the operations of your community. Committee members help keep a community vibrant; and by augmenting paid staff, they can save an association hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year.
It’s important for an HOA board to work on ending the year well. It doesn’t matter if your homeowners association plans around the fiscal or calendar year, the questions below apply to both. It’s not too late to ask yourself some of these questions and make a resolution to do these things in the New Year to come.
Preparing next year's budget for your homeowners is one of the most important undertakings for the HOA board. Fiduciary responsibility is something you pledged to look after for your community and this is an area where that really comes into play. There are a few things the Board should consider for next year's Association budget.
Homeowner associations are sometimes faced with special circumstances that arise even when they’ve done an excellent job of planning for replacement costs. Large-scale repairs, emergency situations, or capital improvement projects may occur that put their reserves dangerously low. Special HOA assessments, in addition to monthly HOA fees, could then be the best option.
Does an HOA board have authority to make important decisions for the community without seeking input from their homeowners – either by informal consultation, a survey or a formal vote?
The short answer to the question is “Yes.” The HOA board is established to oversee the governance of the association on behalf of the homeowners/members. While HOAs are quasi-governmental in nature, they are not pure democracies in which members vote on every issue. The long answer to the question is more complicated.
There’s a lot more to managing a community association effectively than you may realize. It’s much more than property management; it’s also about governance—enforcing rules, conducting elections and more. Your home and your ownership interest in the common elements represent a huge asset—possibly your largest asset. Doesn’t it make sense to have a knowledgeable, trained, professional community association manager watching out for your interests?
A well-focused board of directors is efficient, productive, and in most cases, a pleasure to work with. The board of directors sets the tone for how things get accomplished and how the HOA is maintained overall. But what happens when one, or more, of your directors has personality issues with the rest, or even worse, what if he/she has a hidden agenda and is self-serving? Bogged down in disagreements, nothing really ever gets accomplished. Sound familiar? Read on.
Here are 6 Signs your board member(s) may be a problem:
