HOA Management Blog
Finding members in your homeowners association who want to volunteer on the HOA board can be hard – finding a member to step up and become the board president is even harder. So, what do you do when the current president passes away, you don’t have a lot people in your community involved with the board, and your current board members are concerned that hiring an HOA manager will only cause the company to take over the Association?
The Board of Directions of an Association is responsible for protecting, maintaining and enhancing the community. Knowing who the members of the Board are and having a basic understanding of what they do is a good way for all members of the Association to stay informed.
As a member of an HOA board you have many responsibilities. One of the most important and least understood by many Board members is the Executive Session. A good understanding of this matter may save headaches in the long run and keep the Board out of thorny situations.
Since a new year is about to begin, this may be a good time for the HOA board to communicate with the Association members about several ways they can help make the community an even better place to live in the next year and beyond. See the list below for ideas to get you started.
As Thanksgiving approaches many of us have many things to be grateful for. Volunteering as an HOA board member of your homeowners association is sometimes a thankless job -- but there are a few things you can be grateful for. Your HOA does good things for the community and makes it a better place to live.
Some associations have extra space for various amenities. Some have parks, tennis courts, or even lakes and water features. One amenity that’s a feature in some associations is playgrounds for children. There are many different types of playgrounds and play apparatus for associations to choose from. Whether your association has had a playground from the beginning or it’s considering the addition as a capital expenditure, there are certain things an HOA board should keep in mind.
As a volunteer HOA board member or homeowner within an association, elections, quorums, secret ballots and things related can be very confusing. They can even be confusing to those trained to work in this industry. If nothing else, you should understand that not all elections are equal.
There’s a lot of talk, along with articles and commentary these days about online bullying. This can take place on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. It can take the form of inappropriate pictures that someone secretly takes of others and then posts on the internet or just in the mean and inappropriate communications that seem to be an all too often occurrence. But this is not the only place that bullying is taking place. Bullying can and is happening in the realm of homeowner associations as well. In fact, it seems to have escalated greatly in recent years. In what forms can we see it manifested?
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.
All members of the HOA board are responsible for the Association’s overall financial health; but the treasurer has specific duties to protect the Association’s assets. These duties—and the authority to exercise them—are found in the homeowners association’s governing documents and also in state laws. It’s a big responsibility, but fortunately an HOA manager can help with many of the details.
