HOA Management Blog

Homeowners associations offer one of the best opportunities for Americans to own their own homes. They are for the 21^stcentury what land grants were in the 19^thcentury, and what the New Deal and GI Bill were in the 20^th. Why?

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? That’s the easy part because we’ve spelled it out for you below.

The last time that you attended the HOA board meeting for your homeowners association the current board asked you and everyone present to consider volunteering for the board. These are the thoughts that went through your mind:

As an HOA board member, you should know what homeowners association documents your members are entitled to review. Association members are welcome to read official association documents. There’s nothing secret about the business of the association. In fact, you should already have copies of key documents like the bylaws or rules readily available.

Does your homeowners association have a neighborhood watch in effect? A common concern in any neighborhood is safety. Association members in general tend to look out for each other and there are things you should pay attention to as an HOA board member that signal it’s time to take action. If crime is up in your homeowners association, you’ve noticed more incidences of graffiti, received more requests from members to install a home security system, or have received complaints from members that they don’t feel safe, it may be time to do something about it. It’s time for your community to take it to the next level and implement a neighborhood watch program. The following article explains how to get started.

Does your homeowners association pay or compensate the Board of Directors? I recently learned of an HOA that compensated its board members for “volunteering.” Each month the board members would receive a credit on their accounts for their monthly assessments. The Board collectively felt that it was doing all the work and that it should be compensated for the time.

Are you abiding by the rules in your homeowners association? When you move into a homeowners association you become part of a neighborhood that is governed by a board of directors who enforce the rules of the Association. When you sign the Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CC&Rs) of the Association, you are entering into an agreement that you will abide by the rules of the Association community. This often means you’re limited to the improvements you can make to your property (like paint color of your home, landscaping, or decorative components), whether or not you can have pets, noise restrictions, etc.

As we close out 2014 we start to see top 10 lists, year in review videos, and resolutions being considered. As an HOA board member it’s the perfect time of year for you to sit back and reflect on what’s worked in your Association and what hasn’t. It’s also a good time to look ahead and start thinking about what you want to accomplish in 2015. We’ve made our own top 10 list based on what you and other HOA board members have been reading about in 2014. Take a look back at the most popular topics and give the posts a read if you missed them.

There is some basic information about homeowners associations that anyone considering buying a home should know about. How much do you know about homeowners associations? If you’re considering buying a home and you learn its part of a homeowners association, you’ll want to make sure you know what to expect when being part of an HOA community. Each Association community is unique, but they all have similarities such as requiring membership dues, following the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), and a board of directors that governs the Association. You can get answers from some common questions you may have – and that should you know – about homeowners associations in the article excerpt below.

All meetings of the HOA board, excluding executive sessions, are open meetings. A required part of every homeowners association Board meeting is the homeowners forum (also referred to as “open forum” or “open comments to the Board”). Homeowner forums are typically held at the beginning or end of meetings, and any owner attending a meeting has the opportunity to address the Board and may do so during the homeowner forum portion of the meeting.

Purchasing a home is a big deal, so when you do, you want to make sure it’s somewhere you can actually live. Just like in any neighborhood, living in a homeowners association has its pros and cons, but the positive outweighs the negative. That being said, it’s good to consider both.