HOA Management Blog

Whether you’re attacked while working in the garden, enjoying a picnic in the park or lounging by the pool, bug bites and stings are an inevitable summer annoyance in any homeowners association. At best, bites and stings can be uncomfortable for a few days; at worst, they can be a serious, life-threatening hazard.

This is the third post in a three-post series. Read the first post Real Questions from Members with Answers from an HOA Manager and the second post Questions Your HOA Board May Relate to Now or Later.

Your homeowners association probably has its share of complaints or concerns from members. It may be parking, barking dogs, or a defiant neighbor – the possibilities are actually endless. Below is a real question submitted by a member of a homeowners association relating to a rule about garbage cans. Learn how an HOA manager might handle the issue and think about how your HOA board would handle it for your community.

The homeowners association is a home and community. When you chose to be a member, you agreed to some unique obligations to the community and to other residents within it.

Deer browsing in the back yard is charming. Birds are beautiful, graceful and melodic.  Seeing coyote in the distance and hearing them calling to one another at night gives a sense of being close to nature and adds to the feel of your community. But too much of any one thing is never good, and the feeding and encouraging of wildlife in the homeowners association is not in their best interests, yours and especially the association’s.

Every homeowner’s association community always seems to have a lot going on, and that can sometimes include, among other things, a range of upcoming social events in addition to several important ongoing projects. Updating the website, writing an article for the association newsletter, and committee involvement on the budget, landscaping, road maintenance, election oversight or other committees, are all ways to volunteer. What are some of the things going on in your community?

Does your homeowner’s association allow pets? Many associations do and it goes without saying how much owners love their pets, so keeping them safe in the warmer months is most likely a top priority for those owners. See below for some friendly reminders to pass along to owners in your association - ways to help keep pets happy, healthy, and out of harm’s way…even on the warmest of days.

If you’re part of a homeowners association, you’ll find the following commonalities to be true just about anywhere you live in the country. It’s important to understand these ahead of time before becoming a resident in an association. While some people might find them controlling, they actually give members the opportunity to have a voice in their living community.

In this day and age, people are becoming more and more concerned about the threat of terrorism on their own soil. Within homeowners associations throughout the United States, residents are becoming more aware not only of their community’s surroundings but also of the persons who live at their community.

Are you looking for ways to save money in your homeowners association? After necessary repairs and upkeep, it seems like there’s never enough dollars to get all the jobs done. Your fellow HOA board members all agree that a last resort is raising monthly dues, so instead, consider some of these unique ideas that both help enhance the Association and get members involved too.

Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” In order to effectively run a homeowners association, an HOA board, even if it has a manager, can’t do everything. It needs the help of members getting involved and forming committees. While the Board is ultimately responsible for the decisions in the Association, it can give authority and responsibility in some areas. The key is defining clear guidelines for the committees and getting people involved in areas that interest them.

The most important thing to remember in any relationship is that it takes time and effort from both parties. The relationship between an HOA board and the manager of a homeowners association is no different.

Have you noticed that a reminder to owners in your Association is needed to tidy up their outdoor spaces? Does your homeowners association have items stored on patios and balconies that really shouldn't be there? Your Association is not alone!