HOA Management Blog
You’ve been the treasurer of your homeowners association for 8 years, and have continually warned your fellow HOA board members that without saving for reserves they’ll be headed for real trouble - and now that day has come.
You’ve been elected as Board President and face two large special assessments back to back within the next two years. There’s no way around them. The pavilion, signs, tennis courts and other assets are all shabby, outdated and on the verge of becoming hazards. These projects must be done for safety reasons. Not to mention they make the Association look like an uninviting place to live.
One of the benefits of living in a homeowners association is having access to common areas and certain maintenance responsibilities covered for you as part of the HOA fees you pay to live in the Association. Do homeowners in your Association know the maintenance items they’re responsible for and the items the Association is responsible for?
An important role of a homeowners association is to maintain and enhance property values by enforcing neighborhood covenants and maintenance of common areas. For this to happen the Association must have a strong Board of Directors and each person who sits on the Board must perform their job. This will also help homeowners find value being a part of the Association community.
Does providing security measures, such as cameras, security guards or security companies, make the association liable for security breaches that cause harm to others? Is there a price for your safety? Many homeowner’s associations hire private security patrol or contract with the city they live in.
An HOA board has three significant roles: to protect, maintain and enhance the Association. Everything the board is responsible for in a homeowners association can be placed into at least one of these three categories.
You don’t want to be bored with numbers, spreadsheets, dollars and cents. You already know that’s what a budget is made up of. Instead, what actions are the most important for you to actually do to ensure financial success in your homeowners association? There are a lot of pieces and parts that come into play, but following this advice will help you get started in the right direction of financial health for your community.
You don’t want to be that guy (or gal) do you? You know the one – unreliable, uninformed, and unmotivated. It seems like every Association or organization has this type of person that everyone just puts up with or secretly doesn’t like at all. Do yourself a favor: look at the following list and be honest with yourself. If you do any of these things, maybe it’s time to change or step down. If you can think of a fellow HOA board member who does this, maybe you could help them!
It’s a Wednesday evening in spring. As you walk the few blocks from your home to your monthly HOA board meeting you find yourself smiling at what you see. The sun is setting, giving just enough light for residents to finish walking their dogs. You hear the giggles of kids playing catch in their front yard. The smell of freshly cut grass, coupled with someone barbecuing, is in the air. Amidst the mundane details of budgets, laws, rules, and maintenance waiting for you at your meeting, you're reminded that you are an HOA board member because you value your community. You care about the quality of life in your neighborhood, and making it a safe place for residents.
From time to time it’s a good idea for the HOA board to evaluate the homeowners association by giving it a check-up so to speak. Consider using the performance measures below to be filled out among board members. Take it a step further and send it out to the membership, requesting their anonymous participation. It may give your Board some great insight!
Every HOA's number one priority is the legal fiduciary responsibility to enhance and maintain their property. The only way to do that is by collecting HOA fees. That's why a clear collection policy is a must-have for your HOA board.
Sounds like fun, right? Maybe not. However, it's important to communicate a detailed collection plan for HOA fees. By managing homeowner expectations about fees and the need for timely payment, you can help your board (and especially your treasurer) meet their goals and reduce the need for costly fee collection.
