HOA management associations are essential to the success of a community that thrives under a Home Owner’s Association. While HOA management is something that is quite common, many homeowners and elected board members believe some even more common misconceptions.

Goodwin & Company is proud to help clear up some of these myths and show your HOA how we can be a helpful partner in the development of your community.

1.  Myth 1: The Management Company is the Association

Many community members mistakenly believe that the management company is the Association. It makes sense that many people would believe this myth, since the management company is the primary point of contact, however, this is not the case.

The management company is an outside entity that is responsible for enforcing and managing the day-to-day operations of the Community Association.

The Association itself is responsible for community governance and decisions about community maintenance and how it should look and run. Even though an Association can manage itself, a management company can help with enforcement of community rules, financial and account organization, and guidance on best practices for how an Association should run.

2.  Myth 2: The Management Company Replaces the Board

Your community management company should really be seen as a partner to the Board. We want your community to run smoothly and be governed effectively. We are in close communication with Board Members and work with them to ensure that, in the end, only the best decisions are made for the community.

Although we do have input and provide guidance, the ultimate decisions are made by your elected Board of Directors.

3.  Myth 3: All Management Companies Are the Same

No two management companies are alike. This is why it is important for an Association Board to do their research, shop around, and truly understand the vision that they have for their community and select a company whose management philosophy aligns with theirs.

At Goodwin & Company, we pride ourselves in the specialization of:

• General HOA Management
• Condo Property Management
• Developer Services
• Project Coordination
• Community Finances, and more!

4.  Myth 4: Management Companies Are Hands-Off

Management companies are made to serve as a glue to the order of a community. Many people think that we tend to be hands-off and manage the company from a distance. The truth of the matter is, we are on the front lines addressing homeowner concerns and issues so that the Board can focus on the overall governance of the Association.

We serve as a non-biased party and help with any conflict resolution or community violations that disrupt the wellness of a community. Our management is personalized and caters to making your community the best that it can be.

5.  Myth 5: We Keep Need-To-Know Information Hidden Away

Keeping secrets from community members is something that a reputable management company will never do. In order for a community to work, regulations and rules must be made public to the community. Other information that is available from an association management company includes:

• Meeting minutes
• Financial reports
• Policies
• Planning documents/ plat maps
• Newsletters, and more.

Find the Management Company that Your Board Needs with Goodwin & Company

If your Community Association Board still has any questions about how an association management team helps a community, Goodwin & Company is available to help. Contact us today to find out more about our services in your area and our past accomplishments in communities like yours.

A Community Association management company can help any Board understand the necessities required to protect their community and ensure that it runs smoothly. From emergency insurance to financial protection, a Community Association Board has a lot of responsibilities to consider.

What happens, however, when there is a lawsuit against the Association? How can a Board protect its volunteers?

One often overlooked area of insurance is D&O insurance. With all of the responsibilities that the Board has, it makes sense that not every member of a community will be pleased with the Board’s actions. Disagreements can even lead to legal action against the Board. These actions are why D&O insurance is crucial to a Board of a common interest community.

Stay informed and make sure that you understand how helpful this insurance can be, and how your management team can ensure it becomes part of your overall protection.

Why is D&O Insurance Important?

As mentioned before, an Association Board has many responsibilities and the people who volunteer on these boards usually do so with the best intentions. However, in modern times, when people become disgruntled or unhappy with decisions that impact them, the word “lawsuit” seems to be thrown around quite frivolously.

D&O coverage should be in place for a Board to cover any legal issues that may arise against the Board.

Who is Covered by This Insurance?

Based on how your management team and insurance carrier work with your Board when crafting your insurance coverage, your D&O insurance can include and exclude specific people involved with Board actions.

A typical policy will cover all Board members of the HOA. This is crucial because sometimes an individual wanting to sue over something will have an issue with a specific Board Member and not the Board as a whole. With D&O insurance, the legal costs and fees for any legal claims against them are covered.

However, it is not just the Board that can be covered by this insurance. D&O insurance also has the potential to insure:

• Committee members
• HOA employees
• Volunteers of the HOA

Once again, the coverage is limited to who the HOA wants the policy to protect, note, that most policies only cover current Board Members.

Are There Limits to My Community’s Coverage?

In short, yes. Every insurance policy has a limit. However, the maximum coverage limit for a D&O policy for an Association Board is determined by the size of the development and what type of amenities are offered in the community.

Are there gated entrances? Security? Pools and fitness centers?

All of this and the number of people living in the Association help an insurance agent determine how strong the protection on the policy needs to be. In order to best be prepared when deciding on D&O insurance, consult with your management team for an estimate of what these costs and coverage possibilities may be.

Goodwin & Company Helps You Understand Coverage on All Fronts

Whether your Community Association Board has questions about emergency preparedness, selecting a new Board Member, or acquiring D&O insurance, Goodwin & Company has all of the answers. Contact us today to speak with a member of our experienced team and find out how our association management team can work wonders for your community.

Your community association management company is responsible for ensuring that your community is able to operate effectively. One aspect of operations that all communities need to deal with is how to approach an emergency situation.

Whether it be a natural disaster, an accident on community grounds, or even a crime, emergency preparedness is a necessity for every community. By working with your association management team and focusing on these 4 steps, your association Board can help come up with emergency plans that ensure the preparedness of your neighborhood.

1.  Create an Emergency Committee

Your Association Board already has a ton of responsibilities on their plate. By working with the association management team responsible for the community, the Board can create an emergency committee that has is responsible for preparing a disaster response plan.

An emergency committee will be responsible for:

• Designing an effective emergency preparedness plan,
• Speaking with other communities that have already developed plans,
• Defining what the community needs in order to have an effective plan.

    2. An Emergency Action Team is Key

Creating an emergency committee is the first step for preparedness. From here, examining your association will be effective in finding out who can help in specific situations. Your community is full of individuals with their own needs and skills for situations that constitute an emergency.  Asking for volunteers is a great way to find out who has the skills to help in an emergency situation.  Finding the firefighters, police officers, or EMTs who live in your association, and looping them into your emergency plan could make a huge difference when it really matters.

Even partnering with neighboring communities can be helpful in the face of an emergency.

  3.  Determine a Disaster Budget with your Management Team

Everything in community management comes with a cost and a disaster budget is no exception. Having the Board meet with the community management team can help answer a lot of financial questions. Some points that could be brought up in this project coordination meeting include:

• How much of the annual budget should go towards disaster relief?
• Are there vendors in place that can help the community after an emergency?
• What resources need to be obtained for initial preparedness?
• And what responsibilities does the HOA have in response to a disaster?

4.  Be sure to communicate your plan to your Association Members

Of course, none of this effort can succeed without a solid communication process. Everyone from the Board to property owners needs to be aware of the processes in place in order to effectively handle an emergency situation. Your management team can help your committee create an emergency guidebook that every household can refer to in the case of an emergency situation.

Goodwin & Company Keeps Your Neighborhood Prepared

At Goodwin & Company, we understand the importance of emergency preparedness and how the Community Association can work with property owners to ensure a smooth execution of the plan. If your community is in need of some guidance from an association management team, Goodwin & Company is prepared to get your community members on the right track. Contact us today to find out about our services.

 

 

 

 

Effectively running a community can be a real challenge. Usually, a Homeowner Association (HOA) is in charge of managing the business affairs of the corporations while balancing the wants and needs of the neighborhood community. However, these responsibilities are often more than volunteers can or want to do without professional support.

When tasks become overwhelming for the volunteer board of directors, many HOAs hire an HOA management company to effectively carry out the management of their community. Sometimes, however, the lines can be blurred as to which party does what and where homeowners stand. Here is a closer look at the actual responsibilities of an HOA management company and how they can benefit your community association.

HOA Vs. HOA Management

The role of both parties involves Business Operations and community building. While both the HOA and the HOA management company have the same end-game, both have different roles in the big picture.

HOA

The roles and responsibilities of your homeowner’s association and the owners are dependent on the governing documents, federal, state, and local laws. Your HOA is run by a volunteer board of directors that is elected by the homeowners. Your HOA will usually oversee the maintenance of common areas and any amenities. They may also provide for shared services in a community such as trash collection. Your HOA also has the responsibility to collect dues, enforce their governing documents, cover ongoing expenses, and save for large capital expenditures. The board of Directors is responsible for overseeing these functions, making decisions, adopting policies, and hiring vendors.

HOA Management

Since HOAs are governed by boards that consist of community members that perform their duties on a volunteer basis, many HOAs turn to a professional third-party management firm to help cover their large scope of responsibilities. In a broad sense, an HOA management company should be responsible for:

• Guide and consult with the board of directors to fulfill their duties
• Execute the decisions, directives, and policies approved by the board of directors
• Document transactions accounting and otherwise, activities, and records of the association

The board is in charge of decision making and the HOA managers fulfill the actual dues collection, maintenance, vendor payment, and serve as the primary homeowner point of contact. The specific responsibilities of a community management company can be broken down into four sections:

• Administrative Services
• Accounts Receivable Management
• Site Management
• Accounting Services

Administrative Services

HOAs involved with an HOA management company will have an experienced manager to act as the community’s primary contact. An HOA manager will be an expert in community management and have an idea of how to navigate through any situation that a community may encounter through proper means of communication. A well-developed HOA management team will be able to provide easily accessible support as well as:

• Schedule and attend board meetings
• Provide monthly management reports
• Uniformly enforce the rules and regulations of the community
• Guide the board through preparing an annual budget
• Respond to homeowner inquiries in a timely manner

Accounts Receivable Management

A professional HOA management company will be very well-versed in collecting on delinquent accounts. They’ll be up-to-date on state law regarding collections and ensure that the notices sent to delinquent owners are compliant with those requirements. Debt management with an HOA management company involves:

• Billing
• Reporting delinquent accounts and updates to the board
• Sending Delinquent notices at the board’s direction
• Initiating legal action for collection of funds according to the board’s directives and policies
• Working with the association’s attorney when coordinating legal action

Site Management

Site management is an extremely important piece of the property management puzzle. By neglecting to follow the rules of the association, home values run the chance of decreasing and the community, in general, could be viewed in a negative light. To combat this, the board and management company should be familiar with the rules of the association and enforce them uniformly among members.

To properly enforce your HOA’s rules, the manager should be familiar with the association via regular on-site visits. Tasks during an on-site visit include:

• Check on maintenance issues
• Inspect for rule violations
• Coordination of various Board-approved actions
• Ensure that lawn care, pool cleaning, and other vendor tasks are completed based on the contracted specifications.

Accounting Services

Accuracy with community finances and the HOA budget can be a complicated and involved situation. Your HOA management company will have the experience to handle the complications of community finances. A well-versed HOA management firm will be able to:

• Manage bank accounts for the community
• Accurately estimate maintenance costs
• Review monthly billing for community dues and assessments
• Provide detailed record-keeping on all accounts payable and accounts receivable
• Create monthly financial statements in a timely manner
• Provide guidance for long-term funding for the community and board

Where Do the Homeowners Come into Play?

The responsibilities of the homeowner are quite simple. Aside from paying dues on time, homeowners and tenants really need to focus on the basics:

• Following association rules
• Picking up after your pets
• Keeping the shared areas clean
• Putting trash and recyclables in the proper bins
• Avoiding vandalism and littering

If homeowners, HOA boards, and property managers can get on the same page, recognize their responsibilities and work together, then the community is bound to continue moving on the uptick.

Now that you know what an HOA management company does, here are 5 misconceptions about HOA management associations.

Goodwin & Company Inc. will be the Professional HOA Management Company Your Community Needs

We are a family business that has been a leader in the industry since 1991. Goodwin & Company can provide services to an association of any size and will help you find the right ways to provide the specific needs that your community desires. We offer management services for HOA management, condo property management, developer-managed communities, and capital project coordination. Contact us today to find out about our specific services and how we can make your community the best that it can be.