HOA Management Blog

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.

How would you define an effective HOA board meeting? Most people would see it as time spent efficiently, where issues are addressed, reasonable business decisions are made, and action items are assigned, in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration.

When you hear the word “meeting” do you want to run in the other direction? We’ve all been in meetings that drag on and on, feel like a waste of time because nothing gets accomplished, or are outright exhausting because board members spend the time arguing with each other. What if you had a few tricks up your sleeve to make HOA board members actually look forward to meetings? Okay, at least not dread going to Association meetings? Here’s what you need to do.

When you’re recruiting members to be part of your HOA board, it’s important to know how to reach them and to be prepared for common pushbacks you’ll hear when you ask a homeowner to join the Board. But once you find good board members, you don’t want to let them go. So how do you keep them on the Board?

Being a board member in a homeowners association is a difficult job. It takes a commitment of time and resources, but it can also be very rewarding. Sometimes you are asked to deal with tough issues that relate to your next door neighbor – maybe even your friend. It can be tough to tell the little old lady who’s just making it on social security, that a special assessment to fix something is going to be in effect. But, you can also use your role as an HOA board member to be the voice for people in the Association.

Your homeowners association needs to hold elections for Board members every so often. While it is important to refresh the leadership of the Association every now and then it is just as vital to make sure any election is held in accordance with the rules and regulations of the individual HOA and the state. Fair elections are a staple of any democracy, on a very large or  small scale.

HOA Board meetings can sometimes get pretty heated in homeowners associations. As a Board member it is important that you work toward keeping meetings orderly and flowing smoothly. Yet, there are times when meetings get stormy. In these eventful times try to stay calm and be a voice of reason for the Board.

In the proper course of governing the community, an HOA board has to conduct meetings of all kinds. Using a format to run these meetings insures an orderly gathering and makes sure that all parties have their say in any discussion. Although adherence to a particular parliamentary procedure is not required, it is the method most often used by Boards to discuss business at meetings.

Are you considering running for your California Homeowner Association board? If yes, ask yourself the following questions: