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Congratulations! Being elected to serve on an HOA Board can be a great opportunity! At the same time, however, it can be a nightmare if board members fail to take their position seriously enough to effectively prepare and properly execute their duties. The key to any successful homeowners association is a strong and committed board of directors, made up of members that understand their role and pursue it with passion. Effective directors are not only intimately familiar with their community’s needs, but they know the association’s history and what must be accomplished to ensure its future well-being.
This article addresses some things folks can do to make sure the time as a director is meaningful and enjoyable.
As a newly elected director, the first thing one should understand is that running a homeowners association is tough work and will require a substantial amount of time. Be prepared to spend hundreds of hours reviewing records, attending meetings and listening to homeowner complaints. Still, directors also need to know that, while they will find that being a director is demanding, they’ll soon find out that few things in life can bring satisfaction like that satisfaction directors will feel when hundreds or thousands of homeowners brag to their neighbors about how wonderful their association is. When directors hear all these positive comments, they will know it is because of their efforts that homeowners feel the way they do. So, that is any director’s primary goal … to make their association one that neighbors will brag about.
It is extremely important that directors know what the purpose of an association is and how it should be run. An association acts through its officers and agents. While the board of directors makes the policies for the association, the officers and agents carry out these policies. Some of the officers’ duties are clerical, while other officers’ duties include carrying out substantive functions. Each and every director and officer has an affirmative obligation to act in good faith. They cannot make decision based on personal biases. Nor should they implement self-serving policies or rules.
The first thing anyone notices when they enter a community is the landscaping. It should come as no surprise then that the fastest way to make a community happy is to keep the common areas looking sharp and attractive. In fact, the primary role of a board of directors is to maintain the common area. Keeping the parks clean and the roads well maintained will boost the community’s trust in the board and its efforts. A caveat … one of the fastest ways that a board can lose the community’s confidence is to spend too much to maintain the common areas. For large jobs, it is always best to get three bids. That way, boards can be satisfied—and the community can be confident as well—that the association is not paying too much.
Next, make sure association financial records are in order and that it can account for every penny spent. Hire an independent CPA to conduct a review, compilation or audit. Believe me when I say that thousands of the lawsuits in this country are brought because a homeowner thinks that their association’s directors or managers have stolen money. Not only that, but some studies show that a lot of embezzlement cases come from homeowners associations. If directors see that their association’s records are out of order, it and the rest of the board need to take action right away to straighten them out. Associations will save hundreds of hours and dollars if they clean up the mess now rather than later. Waiting may mean that the association’s problems will snowball out of control until, one day, it finds itself in court.
My HOA recently was elected after being transferred from the builder to the residents. If I wish to become a board member at some point, how can I accomplish this? What steps need to be taken? What qualifications are required? Thank you.