Every season requires some preparation to make sure that your HOA is ready for the changes that are coming. In most states, the start of fall means that your community winds down after summer. It’s important to make sure that you’re ready for the colder months, and fall is the perfect time to start doing that.

1. Inspect the Pool

Seasonal pool closure is routine in all but the warmest states. You should let your residents know well in advance when your community association’s outdoor pool will close. You can let them know by sending out an email blast, and including it in your newsletter. 

After it’s closed, you should conduct a full inspection of the community’s pool(s). Ensure that all necessary repairs, replacements, and updates are included in the budgets and happen before the pool opens again.

Even if you don’t close your pool during the colder months, you should still have an inspection to ensure that it is safe and in good condition.

2. Check the Lights

The days are getting shorter, so it’s best to check all the community’s lighting before it starts to get dark early. Take advantage of the fact the days at the start of fall are still long to check the outdoor lights.

If you’re a condo building or have a communal space inside, you should have the lights inside as well as emergency lighting checked as well. As you’re doing this, you should switch all the light bulbs that don’t work to LED bulbs which are more energy-efficient, last longer, and work better than traditional bulbs. 

3. Maintain your Landscaping

Call your landscaper to discuss hardier plants for the winter. Fall is a crucial time in lawn care, check your grass and spray for bugs and weeds. You should also check your equipment, it would be annoying to find out in spring that your irrigation system isn’t working properly. You should also make sure that your gardener is available to clear away leaves during the fall.

4. Maintain your Gutters

Talking about leaves, in the fall they can end up blocking gutters, and drains. Check your drains and gutters before fall properly starts to check that there aren’t issues that need to be fixed now.

Maintenance never ends, and a new season is an opportunity to check drains, gutters, and roofs. If they’re all fine, then make sure a member of staff or contractor is responsible and available to keep sidewalks, parking lots, playgrounds, and gutters free of leaves. You should also send out a message to all residents reminding them to check the gutters on their roofs and see that they’re not blocked up. 

5. Organize a Fall Get-Together

Community get-togethers are so important, especially if you have seasonal residents arriving. Fall gives you the opportunity to do different kinds of parties and gatherings. Halloween is coming up, so have a pumpkin carving and decorating party with caramel apples, apple harvest punch, and hot chocolate before trick-or-treating starts.

You could have a cooking competition with pumpkin or apple as the key ingredient, you could give out some fall-themed prizes to the best dishes. Instead of having just some judges everyone could give each dish a score. Make sure to let residents know when events are happening by adding the date to your community’s calendar. You can also send out an email to all residents, and post it on your website.

Wrapping Up: Fall Preparation

Fall is a beautiful season, and we hope this list helps your community association enjoy every moment of it. We hope that our checklist helps you to do that, and to keep your HOA organized.