How an HOA Manager Can Set Up A Board for Success
As a community volunteer serving on an HOA Board, the experience can be a rewarding one, BUT also has the capability to be an angry bull trying to knock you off and stomp on you at every turn. It’s scary, but true, as running an HOA is akin to managing a small business full of “employees” who often want everyone to follow the rules but themselves.
Effective management of an HOA takes significant amounts of time, work and experience with the intricacies of HOA law, governing documents, conflict resolution, compliance enforcement, basic understanding of different construction trades, and much more. This can be daunting and depending on a Board Member’s past or current career experience, they may not know where to even start.
Enter a professional Community Manager, who can help a Board “Tame the Bull” and set the community up for success. Below are some simple steps to follow to get your Association prepared to work with a manager.
1. Provide Association Records
Many communities are self-managed, and the first step a Board hiring an HOA manager should undertake is a deep dive into all the Association’s records. These should be catalogued, organized and provided to the new manager upon hire, and should include the most recent and complete Owner and Vendor Database on hand. This is a vital first step in the process of your new partnership, so the HOA manager can officially notify the community about themselves and/or their firm, how assessments will be paid moving forward, contact information for questions, and any other important messages the owners will need to know during the transition.
2. Explain Community Specifics
Following the first step of records transfer, the Board should clearly explain to their new manager pertinent history regarding the community, the Board’s current and future goals, details regarding any contractual obligations the Association is under, upcoming projects, and instructions for compliance and enforcement procedures.
3. Set Expectations During Transition Period
With all this, transitioning to an HOA manager is a time-consuming and involved process, and will take several months for all the pieces to be in place. Remember, a Board of Directors hires a manager for a specific reason, typically because Board members do not want a volunteer position to become full-time, lack the understanding or experience to handle the Association’s day-to-day business, or have goals they are having difficulty obtaining. An HOA manager can help the Board with all this, but expectations of the Board should be tempered during the transition period. Please don’t expect your new manager to solve all the community’s problems in the first few months!
4. Understand the Role of the HOA Manager
The Board needs to understand their new manager does not make decisions for the Board or community! An HOA manager is an agent and partner of the Board, but all decisions still ultimately fall on the Board of Directors. However, your manager will make sure you have the proper insurance in case the Board really messes up!
Lastly, Board members need to be engaged with all the communications, reply with votes or feedback when requested, and read provided materials. A manager’s job is already difficult but becomes exponentially more so when the Board does not give guidance or feedback.
So all this is a lot of work, and Board members might be asking themselves, what is the payoff? Try shorter, more effective meetings; a neutral third party to provide information and recommendations; improved relationships with neighbors when it’s the manager making uncomfortable phone calls and sending accounts to collections; assurance your Association is being run legally; appropriate planning and funding for replacement of community assets; comprehensive monthly reports; additional leverage with vendors; and so much more!
If a Board follows these steps, that angry bull can be tamed, and all can hopefully look forward to a successful and rewarding partnership with their HOA manager.
Effective management of an HOA takes significant amounts of time, work and experience with the intricacies of HOA law, governing documents, conflict resolution, compliance enforcement, basic understanding of different construction trades, and much more. This can be daunting and depending on a Board Member’s past or current career experience, they may not know where to even start.
Enter a professional Community Manager, who can help a Board “Tame the Bull” and set the community up for success. Below are some simple steps to follow to get your Association prepared to work with a manager.
1. Provide Association Records
Many communities are self-managed, and the first step a Board hiring an HOA manager should undertake is a deep dive into all the Association’s records. These should be catalogued, organized and provided to the new manager upon hire, and should include the most recent and complete Owner and Vendor Database on hand. This is a vital first step in the process of your new partnership, so the HOA manager can officially notify the community about themselves and/or their firm, how assessments will be paid moving forward, contact information for questions, and any other important messages the owners will need to know during the transition.
2. Explain Community Specifics
Following the first step of records transfer, the Board should clearly explain to their new manager pertinent history regarding the community, the Board’s current and future goals, details regarding any contractual obligations the Association is under, upcoming projects, and instructions for compliance and enforcement procedures.
3. Set Expectations During Transition Period
With all this, transitioning to an HOA manager is a time-consuming and involved process, and will take several months for all the pieces to be in place. Remember, a Board of Directors hires a manager for a specific reason, typically because Board members do not want a volunteer position to become full-time, lack the understanding or experience to handle the Association’s day-to-day business, or have goals they are having difficulty obtaining. An HOA manager can help the Board with all this, but expectations of the Board should be tempered during the transition period. Please don’t expect your new manager to solve all the community’s problems in the first few months!
4. Understand the Role of the HOA Manager
The Board needs to understand their new manager does not make decisions for the Board or community! An HOA manager is an agent and partner of the Board, but all decisions still ultimately fall on the Board of Directors. However, your manager will make sure you have the proper insurance in case the Board really messes up!
Lastly, Board members need to be engaged with all the communications, reply with votes or feedback when requested, and read provided materials. A manager’s job is already difficult but becomes exponentially more so when the Board does not give guidance or feedback.
So all this is a lot of work, and Board members might be asking themselves, what is the payoff? Try shorter, more effective meetings; a neutral third party to provide information and recommendations; improved relationships with neighbors when it’s the manager making uncomfortable phone calls and sending accounts to collections; assurance your Association is being run legally; appropriate planning and funding for replacement of community assets; comprehensive monthly reports; additional leverage with vendors; and so much more!
If a Board follows these steps, that angry bull can be tamed, and all can hopefully look forward to a successful and rewarding partnership with their HOA manager.