5 Tips for a Successful HOA Community

Volunteering to work for your homeowner’s association may seem like a good idea at the beginning, but there are always significant challenges to overcome. You will always come across some specific members who have demands that cannot be matched while the meetings may not always bring about a consensus between members.

Aside from the challenges that may arise between members, you have to operate on a strict budget or your HOA will run into financial challenges. Homeowners will need to see an itemized budget annually or they may dispute any fee increases.

Despite all these potential problems, you can run your homeowner’s association successfully to make a better community. There are some strategies that you can adopt in your management for a more successful community.

1. Incorporate Management Systems

In today’s world, you don’t have to run your homeowner’s association office with paperwork. All you need to do is get a management system that meets the specific needs of your association. There are many software solutions for association management businesses that can easily match the needs of your HOA community.

Introducing a management system in your HOA will bring about the following benefits:

• You will eliminate paperwork which tends to be expensive
• You will provide proof of financial management
• You can print statements from the system
• Other HOA members can remotely access the system
• The software will cut labor requirements in your HOA office

2. Put Community First

Many homeowner’s associations have failed to be successful because most of the people who volunteer do not put the interests of those involved first. This is a mistake that you cannot repeat if you want to achieve success in your operations.

Always work to achieve the interest of the individual members of your community. Sometimes you will face difficulties, but when putting the needs of other members first, you’ll always be satisfied with your work.

3. Get Homeowners Involved

As a volunteer board member, you’re explicitly working for the benefit of the homeowners. Therefore, you have to do everything necessary to make sure that their opinion is respected and that they get involved in every decision made.

Having meaningful committees that represent various needs of your HOA is one of the ways to get your members involved. You should set meetings that address multiple areas such as security, architecture, landscape, and recreational facilities.

4. Formulate Mission and Vision Statements

If you have the perception that mission and vision statements only belong to the large multinational organization, you are mistaken. Even your HOA needs to have these statements as they provide a sense of direction. Sometimes your community will be faced with extreme operational challenges.

It is the mission and vision of your community that keeps you going. Without a vision, there is no direction, and you might lose the whole community because you can easily lose sight of what you want to achieve.

5. Respect Final Decisions

There are many board members and HOA volunteers who feel that they should always get their way. This is the wrong approach and can breed dissent within the community, which can have devastating impacts on your leadership.

Sometimes committees and board members will vote against you. You have to respect their decision because they represent the larger community. Accepting and respecting their final decision does not demonstrate weakness. Rather it is a sign of strength given you’ll have to rally behind decisions that you were opposing.

Building a successful homeowners association does not have to be complicated. It is a simple process that has everything to do with how you view others and their opinion with regard to the management of the community. Although you have your perspectives, listening to others and implementing their decisions will ultimately build a successful HOA community.