HOA Management Blog
As a member of your HOA board you have a big responsibility to enhance, maintain and protect your homeowners association. You also have the legal authority to carry out your role, but where do you get this authority?
You have many responsibilities as an HOA board member that require you to make decisions and take action. Some of the most important decisions the Board of a homeowners association has to make are financial decisions. It’s challenging to try and remember what funds from the operating budget covers and what funds from the reserve budget will pay for.
There is always work to be done, especially in a homeowners association. It’s crucial that an HOA Board plan for general, ongoing maintenance and upkeep. This is important in order to keep the Association a safe place to live and keep it an appealing place to live. Members don’t want to live in a run-down neighborhood and potential buyers won’t give an Association a second look if it’s unkempt, dirty or in disrepair.
The Scenario
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 The pavilion, signs, tennis courts and other assets are all shabby and outdated and on the verge of becoming hazards.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.
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.
There are several individuals that bring value to your association. Your volunteer board, your manager, your interested members that may serve in other capacities, and your supportive and assessment-paying membership. Vendors also can bring great value to your association in many ways. Today, we are considering the value that your association attorney brings to your community.
Like your manager, your community’s legal counsel is one of the most important people, other than volunteers and residents, involved in your homeowners association. Not a volunteer, but a paid and crucial member of your association’s professional team, your attorney is one that is called on to give guidance in many aspects of the association’s ongoing business. And because community association law is complex and ever changing, your association’s attorney is likely knowledgeable in a wide variety of practice areas that can affect your association, including some of the areas mentioned below.
Association Attorneys Have a Vast Array of Knowledge in Matters Such As:
- Construction warranty
- Directors’ liability
- Real estate
- Contracts
- Architectural and design review
- Insurance
- Employment
- Environmental law
- Water regulation
- Collections and foreclosure
For homeowners associations with a January through December budget year, the time clock is ticking to develop a budget for the upcoming year and have the budget approved in time for the association’s year-end mailing. A budget committee can be comprised of HOA board members, members of your community association or a combination of both. How does the budget committee work and who serves on it?
If you are part of a California Homeowners Association, the time to send out your budget and disclosure package is 30 to 90 days before your new fiscal year begins. For those who have a January to December fiscal year, now is the time! Please see the following suggestions to get you over the hump.
You have tossed your hat into the ring to become an HOA board Member for your Association. After all the ballots are counted, you are now a new board member. What are the responsibilities of a new board member to their community? You owe a duty of good faith and fidelity to the homeowners association. Make yourself familiar with the governing documents of the Association, the Association’s Reserve Study, if applicable, and the Community Association Status Book (Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act) to assist you in making educated decisions for your community.
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?
