HOA Boards Need The Cooperation Of The Community

The HOA Board needs the involvement, participation and support of the entire community to be successful. The board operates and functions for the betterment of the community and to assist residents.

Committees are a necessity in any business or organization. They are created by the Board to provide a way to offer participation and involvement from community members. The community association selects leaders to work with the board. Homeowners must then abide by those rules and decisions. Homeowners can have an impact on decisions by letting their voice be heard through volunteering to serve on committees.

Joining a committee is a rewarding opportunity. Homeowners should share in the responsibility in their association. Owners also have a responsibility to comply with legal obligations within the community. They have an obligation to pay assessments when they are due in order to permit the association to meet its financial obligations. Timely assessment payments save the association, and you, the owner, the added costs of collection activity.

Finally, owners can cooperate and support the association board by encouraging their neighbors to get on board and adhere to the rules and regulations. Residents have influence with their neighbors both positive and negative. When everyone in the community is working together in full cooperation the community morale begins to change. When all homeowners adhere to the HOA guidelines it saves the association the expense of more formal enforcement.

How can you support your HOA Board and influence your neighbors to do the same?

The HOA Protects The Neighborhood's Property Values

Living in a community with an HOA has many positive advantages.  One of the primary roles of the Association is to preserve enhance property values. The Association performs this task by implementing a set of guidelines that the entire community must adhere to.
 

Many homeowners think of their HOA makes rules and regulations to limit personal freedoms. On the contrary, the rules and regulations are set in place to protect and preserve the investment we have in our homes. Your CC&R's (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) are there to set a standard for the entire neighborhood.

First and foremost, our Association is not just made up of the Board, Committees and a few interested owners. It was established as a corporation in which ALL owners are members. What that means is the, as an owner, you have committed yourself to become business partners with every other owner in the community. But, in order to achieve the primary goal of the Association (to preserve, protect and enhance property values) certain Covenants, conditions and Restrictions had to be established in order to achieve that goal. In those CC&R's, the Board is given the authority to establish Rules & Regulations that compliment the Association's purpose. When we follow the CC&R's and the Rules & Regulations, we are doing part of our duty as members of the Association.

Architectural controls and guidelines and procedures for gaining architectural approval were established in order to promote esthetic conformity and eliminate architectural changes that threaten the investment other members have in the Association. By following

the architectural guidelines and obtaining approval from the Association before any exterior architectural changes are made, we are doing part of our duty as members of the Association.

Our Board of Directors is given the charge of overseeing the operations of the Association and to see to it that the CC&R's and Rules & Regulations are followed by the Association's members. The Board is made up of owners, other members just like

you. They volunteer their time and energy to serve the Association because they care about the investment they have in it. Committees are formed to assist the Board with their charge. These committees are made up of volunteer owners, just like you. When you volunteer to serve on the Board of Directors, or you volunteer to serve on a committee, you are doing part of your duty as a member of the Association.

Monthly assessments are necessary to protect and maintain our community assets and to help provide professional management to assist our community. When owners fail to pay their assessment on time, the Association is unable to meet all if its financial obligations. The result: The degree of property value protection the Association provides is reduced. In other words, even one owner who does not pay their assessment on time can adversely effect how Association business is conducted. When you pay your assessment on time, you are doing part of your duty as a member of the Association.

Finally, the Board of Directors meet on a regular basis in order to make decisions, keep up-to-date on Association business and to hear from other owners in order to make proactive business decisions. As owners, keeping abreast of association matters and  contributing during Open Forum is only good business . When you choose to attend the Board meetings, you are doing part of your duty as a member of the Association

What Do Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions Do For Homeowners

When our community was developed, the developer filed with the state a series of documents designed to uphold the integrity of our community and spell out the duties of our association, and the responsibilities of each of us, the owners.

Those documents are often referred to as the governing documents are made up of the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and the CC&R's (Conditions, Covenants & Restrictions).

The Articles of Incorporation are a one-page document that must be filed with the

Secretary of State. It simply states that a non-profit corporation is being formed (our community association). The Bylaws dictate the powers and duties of the Board of Directors (when meetings occur, how the Board is elected, etc.)

The CC&R's dictate the powers and duties of the corporation and regulate both the physical characteristics of our development and the lifestyles of our residents.

Of all of the governing documents, the CC&R's are often the least understood but

inarguably the most important.

In order to close escrow on your home, you signed a series of papers, one of which stated that you had read the CC&R's and agree to abide by them. When escrow closed, you entered in to a contractual agreement with the other owners in our community to conform to the dictates of those CC&R's.

This is where some owners get confused. The confusion, however, is easily cleared up once the CC&R's are read, or re-read as the case may be. After all, how many of you actually read and understood the CC&R's before closing escrow?

Those that did are to be applauded. The rest of us have had to take a crash-course on the CC&R's through trial and error. Often we have found out that we are in non-compliance to the CC&R's or Rules & Regulations through correspondence received by our management company. So, we dust off that old copy of the CC&R's (it took me half a day to remember where it was) and, sure enough, there it is in black and white, the exact restriction that we

completely forgot about. Being responsible owners we correct the situation and, armed with a new-found knowledge of our CC&R's, we continue with our lives, undisturbed (that is, until we "forget" something else and have to go through the process once again).

Often we focus on the "pain in the neck" aspect of our CC&R's, but by doing so we miss the real beauty of their purpose. The CC&R's provide a structural framework to help residents of different backgrounds, ideals, and perceptions to live toget her in harmony and by doing so, the community and our property values benefit.

If we had no architectural controls (as spelled out in the CC&R's) or no ability to correct violations of the Rules & Regulations (also spelled out in the CC&R's), then there would be no harmony and ultimately our community and our property values would suffer. In other words, the CC&R's are good business...they he

lp ensure that our property values are maintained and our investments protected.

Example:

What would the impact on your property values be if your neighbor decided

to repair automobiles in his parking area as a part-time job and decided to advertise with a big sign he nailed to the roof of his building? Furthermore, in order to attract attention to the sign, he painted his building bright red. This example may be a little over the top, but it applies equally to the neighbor who doesn't maintain his/her living area. The bottom line is that your property values would suffer. No one would want to buy your home and have to live next to such "chaos". Since market values are affected by the law

of supply and demand, if the demand (or attractiveness) of your community is poor, then the supply (or cost) is reduced. When the demand is high (the community is aesthetically attractive) then the supply (or property values) are increased. The CC&R's promote conformity, which encourages harmony, which has a positive impact on the value of our community.

So, the next time you get a note from the management company explaining why you are in non-compliance with the CC&R's or the Rules & Regulations, take a moment to remember what the spirit of the CC&R's embrace (protection of your investment) and be thankful that our Board of Directors are taking their job seriously and are working to protect, preserve and enhance our property values.

Why Homeowners Should Volunteer To Serve On The Board

There are many reasons why homeowners volunteer to be a part of your Board of Directors. Below are 10 reasons to Volunteer for your Board of Directors. Our community is constantly looking for dedicated and talented homeowners to join our Board of Directors. Give it a shot!

Why volunteer to be on the Board?

1. To protect your property values and maintain the quality of life you expect in your community.
2. To correct a problem within your community. Perhaps parking is an issue, or maintenance has been neglected.
3. To give back to your community and neighbors.
4. To be sociable, meet your neighbors, and make friends.
5. To advance your career and build your personal resume by including your leadership capacity and community volunteer service.
6. To have fun accomplishing things around your community together with your neighbors.  Being on the Board doesn’t always have to be negative.
7. To get educated on the many facets of running a community association such as; the many laws and regulations, maintenance and repair, and understanding financials.
8. To express yourself and be creative while offering your opinion on solutions to your communities day to day problems.
9. To earn recognition from your peers for your contributions to the community.
10.  To advance the ‘givers gain’ mentality of improving society as a whole while assisting your neighbors throughout the community.

As you can see, joining your Community Association Board of Directors can be rewarding in many ways. Give it a try!

Ten Reasons To Volunteer To Serve Your HOA Board

Ten Reasons To Volunteer To Serve Your HOA Board

There are many reasons why homeowners volunteer to be a part of your Board of Directors. Below are 10 reasons to Volunteer for your Board of Directors. Our community is constantlylooking for dedicated and talented homeowners to join our Board of Directors. Give it a shot! 

Why volunteer to be on the Board?

1. To protect you property values and maintain thequality of life you expect in your

community. 

2. To correct a problem within your community. Perhaps parking is an issue, or

maintenance has been neglected. 

3. To give back to your community and neighbors. 

4. To be sociable, meet your neighbors, and make friends. 

5. To advance your career and build your personal resume by including your leadership

capacity and community volunteer service. 

6. To have fun accomplishing things around your community together with your neighbors. Being on the Board doesn’t always have to be negative. 

7. To get educated on the many facets of running a community association such as; the

many laws and regulations, maintenanceand repair, and understanding financials. 

8. To express yourself and be creative while offering your opinion on solutions to your

communities day to day problems. 

9. To earn recognition from your peers for your contributions to the community. 

10. To advance the ‘givers gain’ mentality of improving society as a whole while assisting

your neighbors throughout the community. As you can see, joining your Community Association Board of Directors can be rewarding in many ways.