HOA Management Blog

Power failures can be one of the most annoying and disabling occurrences in your HOA. Whether caused by summer storms, power lines crippled by winter ice, equipment failure, an overloaded regional grid or an animal disrupting a power line, electrical outages can be costly, uncomfortable, and without forethought sometimes even dangerous.

Association homeowners can face many hazards when a power failure occurs, usually without any warning, including losing refrigerated and frozen foods. Some food items can be salvaged, however, if you’re prepared.

Common area lighting, pools, club houses, and laundry facilities are just a few areas that a Homeowners Association can find themselves spending lots of Association dollars on quickly. No one likes it when their HOA dues increase so how do you help conserve energy and manage costs?

Energy bills, like the temperature, always rise in the summer. While there are big fixes an Association can incorporate to make common area electricity more energy-efficient, there are also many inexpensive energy solutions, as well as some simple and free steps that you can take to cut down on costs and save money.

Unclear or unenforced parking rules can wreak complete havoc in your HOA community. Many reasons contribute to this: Communities built with poor planning for parking, poor signage or lack of clarity on parking rules, owners NOT using their garage as their primary parking spot as stated in the Governing Documents, owner having more vehicles than allowed, owners storing vehicles in the community and in doing so losing a valuable parking spot.

Whether your homeowners’ association (HOA) is large with a correspondingly large budget, or small with limited financial resources, there are ways to get outside help. Regardless, your board of directors will face the same challenges and responsibilities every board faces. Getting an expert to consult can help the board navigate those challenges. Often, large HOAs can afford a full-time HOA Manager, in smaller HOAs you may not have the budget for that, but you can still afford consulting services to set you on the right path.

HOA management firms like The Hignell Companies can assist a board of directors in preparing for those challenges and responsibilities. These firms provide professional knowledge and expertise in a wide variety of areas, such as:

Almost every homeowners association in the country feels the highs and lows of the housing market. Drawing on our years of experience consulting and managing HOAs, here are a few common misconceptions about what contributes to the rise and fall of HOA property values.

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.

You wouldn’t dream of inviting an unverified contractor into your home to make repairs...let alone the homes under your care as a member of the HOA board.  The results of a third-party contractor’s work will ultimately affect tens to hundreds of fellow homeowners.  

Make the process easier and more effective for your HOA board by following a well-planned checklist.  That way everyone’s on the same page from start to finish.  Here are 10 tips your HOA board can use to hire a third-party contractor.

More precisely, does an HOA’s Board of Directors have authority to make important decisions for the community without seeking input from their homeowners – either 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.

When your community is recruiting new HOA board members, there are certain qualities to look for in prospective members and good strategies for getting these individuals involved.

Good Attention to Detail and the Big Picture

Good candidates for your HOA board are people who can delve into the details while keeping an eye on the big issues. Board members must be willing to spend time reviewing and understanding the details of their governing documents. They also should be people who commit to frequently evaluating and refining their HOA's big picture plans for the community.

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.

Successful communities, governed by successful Home Owners’ Associations (HOAs), typically have strong, effective boards of directors.  An effective HOA board of directors conducts their HOA’s business in a professional manner, including having regularly scheduled meetings.  Problems can arise, however, when one or more directors fail to attend those meetings consistently.

Sometimes, a director is absent frequently because of medical or family emergency issues.  In the short term, these can be tolerated or special arrangements (like attending by speaker phone) can be made.  In the longer term, when the director’s absence impacts major decisions such as budget-setting or major projects or legal matters, it may be necessary to ask the director to step down.