HOA Management Blog
Breaking up is hard to do. After evaluating an HOA manager, a Board may decide it would like to change managers, change to a different management company, or it just doesn’t need the services of a manager at all any longer. Before parting ways the Board should ask: are we willing to sacrifice service and take on more responsibility?
Everyone wants a safe place to call home, and your homeowners association should strive to make all residents feel secure. While the HOA board is diligent in your efforts to reduce possible dangers in your community, you cannot do it alone. It is up to everyone to pitch in to keep crime rates down. Thankfully, taking a few simple steps can go a long way in keeping theft, vandalism and other felonies and misdemeanors out of the association.
How well a homeowners association functions is directly related to how well HOA board members fulfill their roles on the board. If each person understands the responsibilities of their position, and executes well, then the Association will run like a well-oiled machine.
There are many different ways to keep the members in your homeowners association safe. If your Association attracts a significant number of senior adults, or you know of specific residents in your Association who suffer from dementia, you can help by having a plan in place to protect them in the event they are confused and wander off.
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 The pavilion, signs, tennis courts and other assets are all shabby and outdated and on the verge of becoming hazards.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.
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.
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.
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?
As an HOA property manager you never want to see a rise in crime at a homeowners association you oversee, and that is exactly what I am experiencing at one of the properties I manage.
