Why People Choose to Live in HOAs People choose to live in communities guided by a homeowners association for a wide variety of reasons. Some are more common than others, but everyone who chooses a home in one of these areas has a reason for doing so. As a member of your HOA board, it’s important to think about why people might move into your community. You can talk these things up to prospective buyers and make sure you protect them when you’re making decisions for the community as a whole. Here are a few reasons why people chose to live in communities with HOAs. HOAs Keep Home Prices High ..read more

Choosing the Best People to Run Your HOA Whether you are part of an HOA board or you’re a homeowner who cares about seeing your association running well, you can understand the importance of making sure you get the right people in charge of the group. Even if that isn’t you, there are things you can do to try and ensure that you’re getting the very best people for the job every time. Finding the Talent You Need The first thing to do is to make sure you’re finding the talent you need for your HOA board. For instance, you probably want people with accounting experience doing the financials, a ..read more

Handling Unhappy Homeowners While there are many rewarding parts of being on an HOA board, one difficult aspect of the job is handling unhappy homeowners. Some people are always dissatisfied with those who have authority over them, but others might be legitimately upset or have something to say that you can hear and empathize with. Here’s how to handle this difficult situation so everyone feels satisfied in the end. Hear the Complaint Start by making an effort to truly hear someone’s complaint. This means listening to understand, without having an agenda of your own. It means taking time ou ..read more

Financial Responsibility in Your HOA Sometimes, the stars align and everyone agrees about who should pay for what in an HOA. More frequently, though, people disagree about whose finances should cover what. This is particularly true when homeowners think that the HOA should cover a cost and the HOA thinks that the homeowner should cover it. Ideally, these responsibilities will be outlined clearly in your governing documents. However, there are almost always situations that either arise as technology develops or extenuating circumstances that aren’t addressed in the documents. In these situat ..read more

It’s one thing when your HOA votes to change its own laws. When that happens, board members are almost guaranteed to understand the changes that are occurring and how they affect the HOA and the way the board works. However, changing municipal, state, and federal laws can be more difficult. Not only do you need to be aware of the laws, but you also need to understand how to implement them and what they mean for your particular association. This can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to stay on top of the laws and make sure you are integrating them into the way your assoc ..read more

Most of the time, sticking to an HOA budget isn’t difficult. After all, most associations face generally the same expenses every year and they have ample notice when prices are rising or something else is going to change with how they spend their money. Sometimes, though, emergencies come up. If this is happening to you and it’s not something covered by insurance, there are a few things you can do to cover the difference. Use Your Reserve Fund Most of the time, the funds you keep in reserve are earmarked for something. They may be for putting a new roof on the condos or replacing an old swimm ..read more

Many HOAs go all out when it comes to decorating for the holidays. However, others don’t have the desire or the budget to do this. If this describes your HOA, or if you’re looking to save money even on a lavish holiday display, there are some ways to lower the cost of decorating for the holidays. You can still have a display that everyone will love, without breaking the bank. Get Quotes on Lights Start by getting quotes on your lights. Different companies may charge drastically different prices for this service. Make sure you know what each quote involves, too, because some will ask you to pr ..read more

Most homeowner’s associations are built on the backs of a number of volunteers. These people do everything from running the board to keeping the books to making special events happen and more. Without them, the association wouldn’t be able to do much of anything at all! Finding the right volunteers for your HOA can be difficult. After all, many people are so busy that the thought of adding one more thing to their plates is too much. Thus, it’s important to find the right people and show them that working for your HOA is worth their time and effort. Make Your Needs Known When recruiting volunt ..read more

One of the best ways to build community in your homeowner’s association is to help people get to know each other. That way, they can form connections and, because they live close to each other, they’ll be better able to sustain that connectedness. While there are many ways to connect homeowners to each other, one great option is to highlight different homeowners. You can highlight them for their service to the community or for special awards or achievements they receive. You can also highlight people with different skills so their neighbors can send business their way. Highlight Their Success ..read more

When an HOA board member is departing, it can be hard to know how to say goodbye. After all, this is someone who has given a significant amount of time and energy to the association and it can be difficult to know how to acknowledge that appropriately. Whether you are another board member or a community member, there are a few things you can do to show how much you appreciated someone’s service on the board. These don’t have to be big things because even a small gesture can mean a lot. Publicly Recognize Them Acknowledge board member service at meetings and other gatherings. When you recogniz ..read more