Functions of Our HOA

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 June 2011 04:21 Written by Board Member Thursday, 23 June 2011 04:05

Some residents think homeowners associations exist mearly to tell them what to do—or not do. Actually, the association is more like a housing management or service-delivery organization that provides three types of services to all residents---owners and renters alike:

• Community Services
  These include securing trash collection, water service, building insurancem publishing newsletters, orienting new owners, holding community-wide information meetings, and scheduling recreational and social functions.

• Governance Services
  These include ensuring that residents are complying with the association’s governing documents, that the association is adhering to local, state, and federal statutes, enforcing community rules and policies, administering design review policies, and recruiting new volunteer leaders.

• Business Services
  These include operating the common property efficiently, bidding maintenance work competitively, investing reserve funds wisely, developing long-range plans, and equitably and efficiently collecting assessments.

Providing these services requires good management (whether carried out by a professional manager or a self-managing board of home owners), strong planning and organization, and carefully monitoring the association’s affairs. It isn’t easy, but by fairly and effectively delivering these services, community associations protect and enhance the value of individual homes and lenders’ interests in those homes.