1. Solid Grasp of HOA Management Responsibilities
A good HOA management team will have a solid handle on their typical responsibilities, and you can expect them to be reliable when it comes to those. What sets a good HOA management team from the middling ones often lies in the way they approach their responsibilities. The good HOA management team doesn’t just rely on their to-do lists — they proactively go out there, make an assessment on the situation in the community, and identify the things that need to be done in priority order.
HOA management responsibilities typically fall under these categories, and it’s important for a good HOA management team to have a good grounding on all of them:
- Assist the board with legal compliance
- Oversee financial decisions with the board
- Board and member management for the community, which includes overseeing the relations between the HOA board and homeowners.
- Managing architectural control, architectural review committee (ARC) applications, and the information related to those
- Coordinating with vendors and service providers
- Organizing the agenda and schedule for HOA meetings
- Responding to and relaying inquiries and feedback from residents to the board
2. Good Understanding of the Board’s Goals and Objectives
A good HOA management team should, in time, have a solid understanding of the direction that the board wants to take the community. It takes an excellent HOA management team to learn how the unique circumstances of a particular community and its board led to its current state and what it takes to take the community to the next level.
Both the board and the HOA management team should be in agreement as to what needs to happen in the community and be able to put those in concrete plans that the HOA management team can then help to execute.
3. Good Knowledge of Established Practices
Not all HOA board members have the background to stay current with the best practices when it comes to community management. That’s where a good HOA management team comes in. An HOA management team that stays abreast of how the most successful managed communities do things is one that can bring in fresh ideas to the board meeting.
A typical HOA board management team can come in and suggest a decision for a particular community issue. A good HOA board management team, on the other hand, can come up with an idea for an actual policy that the board can use to keep the same issue under control for good.
Even if a board member offers resistance to a new policy, a good HOA management team can come up with examples of how a certain practice has been successfully established in other communities. In the end, a good HOA management team can help establish policies and best practices that will still benefit the community years after the management team’s contract has ended.
4. Competent Financial and Budgeting Administration Skills
A good HOA management team should be able to help a board manage its budget and finances in a way that the board can easily cross-check. A good grounding in financial administration, budgeting, and transparency policies are all pretty much mandatory for any HOA management team that is involved with running the association’s accounts.
5. Familiar with Legal Requirements
The board should always comply with all legal requirements, and it’s up to the HOA management team to guide them to make sure they are good on everything. Starting with the basics, a good HOA management team should see to it that the board is in full compliance when it comes to their corporate status, their business operation status, and their taxes. After that, the HOA management team should be able to go over all current activities to see that they are in line with the governing rules, state civil code, city and local regulations, and all pertinent decisions.
6. Can Be Trusted with Confidential Matters
Sharing a similar experience from another HOA is fine and all, but a good HOA management team knows where to draw a line when it comes to a specific association, board member, or vendor details. The board trusts the HOA management team with certain confidential information, and it’s important for an association to know that their information is in safe hands.
A Good HOA Management Team Is a Partner You Can Trust
The decision of who to hire as an HOA management team is one of the most important that the association can make. A good HOA management team who fits these qualities and more can be hard to find. If you need help in finding one for your community, just give us a call.