On Sunday night, January 17,
I joined millions of Americans on the sofa to watch TV and discovered two
mega-hit CBS shows included one of my favorite subjects in their
storylines: homeowner associations.
However, I was disappointed to see that both Madame Secretary and The Good
Wife portrayed community associations in unflattering ways.
Each episode featured violations of association rules handled inappropriately
at best and downright badly at worst. Unfortunately, I know as a professional
manager of community associations who partners with the volunteer boards of
countless associations in NC and SC, that real life can be stranger than
fiction–and a lot unfriendlier. That’s why I do what I do: helping community
association boards create successful, happy communities begins–and ends–with
professional and courteous interactions with everyone, from visitors to vendors
to residents.
In Madame Secretary,
Secret Service agents were parked in the community association common area with
their cars running constantly as per their rules...and against association
rules. The Good Wife was running
a business out of her home, in violation of her community association covenants.
These are the kinds of complaints community associations get on a day-to-day
basis and, in both shows, the community association boards handled the
incidents aggressively and angrily. Sure, it makes great TV but it makes
terrible neighborhoods.
What My Favorite TV Shows
Taught Me About Community Association Governance and Problem-Solving
Those shows were a good
reminder of what should be a part of every community association’s primary
mission: to create a harmonious, happy, successful community. It’s just that
simple...and just that difficult, sometimes.
That’s an important part of our service at AMG: to counsel and train our community association
clients to deal with problems by, first, listening to gain an understanding of
what’s really happening and then, armed with information, move towards a
solution, together, with empathy, not nastiness. Community association
governance is a delicate balancing act of preserving the rights and preferences
of diverse people living close together. While conflict keeps TV viewers glued
to a show, in real life, it can drive residents away from a community,
decreasing property values and, ultimately, leading to community failure.
Yes, associations are
technically correct in prohibiting certain activities such as running an office
from home, yet the TV shows highlighted a common problem in community
governance: the parties involved often are unable to see the effects of their
actions on others. While I’m the first to support association covenants, I’ve
learned that doing so with empathy and kindness often delivers a better result.
The association representative who approached Madame Secretary’s family
rebuffed her initial efforts to have a friendly discussion. It’s our experience
that an open and receptive conversation has a high likelihood of solving the
problem. And, if discussion doesn’t work, other measures are still available.
From my perspective, there is never a good reason not to start resolving a
potential violation with friendly discussion.
The TV shows also reminded me
that, in many cases, this way of handling difficult situations is fiction,
thank goodness! The good news is, research from CAI, Community
Associations Institute, shows 90% of
homeowners believe their community association board acts with their best
interests at heart; 70% believe their association rules protect and enhance
property values. While these are impressive statistics compared to how citizens
feel about politicians, the people who govern our nation, that number could be
even higher if association leaders took the time to understand the nature and
details of the problem and, always, began from a place of kindness, courtesy
and understanding. Bottom line, if
community associations want to stop being seen as unreasonable, they need to
stop acting that way.
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