Problems in homeowners associations are common. Depending on their proportion, they can negatively affect the well-being of your community. As a result, residents may move out and potential buyers may be scared off. While all issues can’t be prevented, most of them can actually be avoided.
This post will go through common issues in HOAs and will provide easy-to-implement tips to avoid them. Make sure to read until the end, free downloadable templates are available to help you tackle any issue.
10 most common Homeowners Association Problems
No matter the size of the HOA you are in, you are probably facing the same challenges that other communities experience. In an ideal situation, board members would know how to handle it but having to deal with problems is never easy. That is why so many of us tend to avoid them. Either in our personal or professional lives. As problems pile up, they become more difficult to deal with and it becomes overwhelming for everyone.
Identifying a problem is the first step to solve it. This list of the most common homeowners association problems will help you with this action.
- Board’s lack of management skills
- Complaints from residents
- Lack of reserves to fund large projects
- Infrastructure and HOA-maintenance related issues
- Lack of overall communication
- Conflict with the management company
- HOA violations
- Difficulties with technology
- Residents disengagement
- Pet-related problems
How does this top ten list resonate with you? Does your community face one or many of them? This is a non-exhaustive list of issues HOAs encounter. So, make sure to let us know what problems you identified in the comments section.
6 tips to help you tackle all homeowners association problems
Now that you have identified the issue, try to solve it or better still, try to avoid it. Rather than solely focusing on resolving a problem, preventing future ones from arising is more rewarding. For that, proactivity and problem-solving skills are needed.
You should know that there is rarely one source to a problem but there can be one solution to many problems. Some of these best practices have the potential to fix various issues at once.
Applying these best practices below will help you fix current setbacks and keep others from happening.
1. Learn essential management skills
The source of practically any problem an HOA faces is mismanagement. As you may know, board members are volunteers who sometimes lack experience in managing a community.
When a board member is elected, they must commit to learning continuously. Especially if that person doesn’t have experience. Otherwise, silly mistakes will happen. These errors will quickly become detrimental to your HOA’s harmony. Fortunately, there are many free courses available to learn basic management skills. Besides, a lot of tutorials and how-tos are available on Youtube. Also, Continuous Education classes are often organized for community association managers. These classes are also open to board members and residents.
2. Implement different HOA communication tools
Poor communication is far too common in community associations. This is the main source of adversities and disputes. Keeping residents in the loop is crucial here. But if you are not equipped with proper HOA communication tools then it becomes difficult. The best way to overcome this problem is to communicate through various channels. This guarantees that all residents receive your message. Misunderstandings are greatly reduced by proceeding this way. By using a platform that regroups different mediums, you can easily increase your communication frequency without much effort.
Here are efficient HOA communication tools:
- HOA Email
- HOA Newsletter
- HOA Website
- HOA Social Media
- HOA Virtual Meetings
- HOA Communication App
3. Proceed with regular maintenance checks
When dealing with a lack of reserves to fund large projects, board members usually have to make assessments. That is something residents dislike. To prevent this situation from happening, regular HOA maintenance activities are essential. It helps to preserve your property. By applying preventive maintenance you reduce the likelihood of equipment breaking down. In the long run, it reduces overall expenses. Most importantly, it reduces the risk of unforeseen expenses. Preventive maintenance helps avoid hazards and ensure your community’s safety. It is all about proactivity and planning. Performing periodic inspections around seasons using a checklist is a good example of that.
4. Harness the power of technology
Technology exists to make our lives easier. Its capacity to resolve many issues on its own allows us to focus on what really matters. In this increasingly digital world, using technology is an asset. Until recently, there weren’t many user-friendly tools solving homeowners association problems. Nowadays, a lot of options exist that help board members deal with time-consuming repetitive tasks. HOA software provides different features that help manage a community. Here are some of them:
- Manage maintenance requests
- Send notices, emails, and text messages
- Host virtual HOA meetings
- Store HOA documents online
- Manage amenities and common areas
5. Have specific rules and guidelines for pets
67% of U.S households own a pet, this represents about 85 million families. These furry friends are HOA residents too and bring a lot of joy to communities. However, they also cause worry. Obviously, pets can be noisy and that can be annoying. Some residents also don’t clean up after their pets which can cause conflict between homeowners. Setting clear rules is crucial here. Sending reminders, putting pet posters around your community to remind owners can also help.
6. Organize engaging community activities
Fostering a sense of community in your HOA is important to create engagement. After all, living in a community association is all about that. But, it requires some effort from the board. Besides, the recent pandemic made it even more difficult because of physical distancing. Luckily, there are still many things you can do to involve residents. Here is a list of ideas:
- Organize thematic parties (an HOA Halloween party for example)
- Offer online group classes (Yoga class or even IT class)
- Ask residents to participate in the HOA newsletter
- Create a pet of the month award
- Hire food trucks to come in your HOA
- Create a community garden
- Start a virtual book club
Key takeaways
Failing to recognize problems is the worst thing board members can do. Once you acknowledge issues and decide to take action, half of the problem is solved. Because it means that you care about the well-being of your association.
The six tips shared in this article are a good starting point so grab a notebook and start brainstorming about them.
If your community is facing big trouble trying to break it down into smaller parts helps to make it more workable.
To conclude, change is the new normal and with change comes new problems that homeowners will need to adapt to. Learning how to adapt to change will help you overcome all homeowners association problems.
