If you’ve ever experienced frustration with your condo association or HOA, you might have considered joining the board to enact some real change.
But the truth of the matter is that HOA management is more complicated than it looks.
From resurfacing the tennis courts and enforcing community rules to prepping for an emergency situation, HOA management can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare. Not to mention that most board members are doing all of this in addition to a full-time job.
It’s no wonder that many communities turn to an HOA management company rather than handling everything in what little spare time they have.
What Does an HOA Management Company Do?
“Each resident is responsible for their own house…how hard can running an HOA be?”
If only it were that simple!
HOAs are responsible for a lot more than occasionally approving a paint color. There are board meetings to run, legal requirements to follow, dues to collect, reports to run, common areas to maintain…. The list goes on.
Here are some things an HOA management company can help with.
1. They act as a liaison.
Homeowners and condo owners may have questions, requests, and suggestions about the HOA management. They need approval for room additions, landscaping changes, paint colors, and fences. They might even want to vent about the way the HOA is being run or argue over a decision.
How comfortable are you with telling your neighbor that her new fence is against community regulations?
An HOA management company can act as the liaison between you and your residents, reassuring them and acting as a neutral third-party.
Larger HOA management companies do not provide direct access to residents, leaving most of the day-to-day work in your hands. At American Home Team Realty, we can put residents’ minds at ease by speaking directly to them, 24/7.
2. They manage the board meetings.
Condo associations and HOAs have a lot of moving parts to coordinate. As a result, board meetings can either stagnate or run off the rails.
Unless you have a professional on your side.
A professional management company can schedule the meetings, prepare the agenda, take the minutes, write up a formal report, and help you get more done. At American Home Team Realty, we’ve experienced firsthand the difference a well-run meeting can make in running an HOA.
3. They handle the finances.
No matter how small your community is, it can’t run itself for free.
In addition to paying vendors, sending invoices, and collecting dues, you also need to create and maintain detailed finance records and pay taxes.
And that’s if everything goes smoothly. If residents don’t pay their dues on time, this can throw a wrench in your careful planning.
A professional HOA or condo association management company will take care of the daily finances: accounts payable, accounts receivable, year-end reporting, and dues collection.
4. They coordinate the vendors.
While individual residents are responsible for their own homes, there are any number of common areas that HOAs are responsible for maintaining, like pools, recreation areas, front entrances.
And if you’re running a condo or townhome association, you’re also responsible for the building structure as well as things like landscaping and pest control.
A professional management company will schedule, pay for, and oversee any necessary maintenance, including the hiring and coordinating of third-party vendors.
5. They give legal help.
HOAs and condo associations are subject to a lot of legal requirements.
In addition to the bylaws and the Articles of Incorporation, you need to make sure you have adequate insurance coverage. Your board members also have fiduciary duties, meaning that you are under a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the community (not yourself).
An experienced management company can provide guidance, support, and advice to make sure that your board governs within the scope of Florida law.
Why You Need an HOA Management Company
Even if you have an HOA board made up of lawyers, general contractors, accountants, and customer service experts, it’s still a good idea to hire a professional HOA management agency.
1. They’re experts.
Many times, the HOA board is made up of interested residents…residents with full-time jobs, family responsibilities, and no experience running an HOA.
An HOA or condo management company handles the management of more than just your individual association. They likely have a slew of clients and have dealt with any community-related issue you can imagine.
They can also help you meet the community goals that you don’t know how to meet yourself.
2. You’ll save time and energy.
Even if you spread the work out among the board members, there are still a lot of moving pieces to manage when running an HOA or condo association.
By hiring an HOA management company, you’ll be able to pass all the financial matters, resident questions, and maintenance to somebody else.
They can make all those moving pieces work together as one well-oiled machine.
3. You’ll meet your legal requirements.
A great HOA management company knows about the legal requirements of running an HOA: from bylaws and enforcing the rules to insurance requirements.
So if you want to update your bylaws or if your HOA gets sued (it can happen), your management company already knows a fantastic lawyer that can assist you.
Run Your HOA More Efficiently
While the board is in charge of decision making, the management company is there to guide you and execute the day-to-day administrative business that makes an HOA or condo association so daunting to manage.
When you have an experienced management company on your side, all those pieces come together to create an HOA that is effective and efficient.
At American Home Team Realty, our boutique HOA management services cater to smaller communities that might be overlooked by a traditional management agency. In fact, we love getting to know each and every one of our HOAs so that we can learn how to better serve you!
If you are seeking an HOA or condo management company for your community, please give us a call at 407-359-9500. We can’t wait to meet you!