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KathyV1 (Nevada)
Posts: 1
Posted:
I am new to being a board member and was wondering if our HOA needs a Property Manager or can it be run by the board members? Any info would be good. Thanks
GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491
Posted:
Kathy unless your documents require it, a Management Company is not required. There are many Associations of all sizes that successfully self-manage themselves. It requires a group of very dedicated volunteers and an ongoing pool to draw from. Unfortunately in a lot of Associations that are self-managed the volunteers dry up and all the work is left to a few people. Then after a few years you get the people complaining about the Nazis that run the HOA.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions
CareyD (Indiana)
Posts: 15
Posted:
Kathy Acouple of questions -- How large is the HOA ? What is your annual budget ? How old is your complex ? Do you have maintenance issues ?
BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By KathyV1 on 11/05/2008 8:46 PM
I am new to being a board member and was wondering if our HOA needs a Property Manager or can it be run by the board members? Any info would be good. Thanks

The governing documents of some associations mandate a property manager, most don't. Whether or not you retain a property manager is up to your board. It would depend on things like how large your association is (how many units), how big your budget is, how familiar your board members are about managing an HOA, how familiar you are with your documents, federal, state and local laws, accounting, HOA tax requirements, and so forth. If you can't do all those things, then you may need to hire professionals to do some of them for you. If you don't know what professionals you need, then maybe you do need a property manager.

Remember, an HOA is a real business. It's not a social club.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Kathy,

I am on the board of a HOA with 101 units and even with a management company we get few to volunteer to be on the board and many getting burned out after a couple of years. In addition to what Bruce has said there will be many, many phone calls and/or emails with complaints, etc. Are your board members willing to respond to all of these? What about owners who may show up at your front door and expect to be heard out? Who will do walk throughs of your neighborhood, get bids from companies for repairs, etc.? Will you hire an outside firm to do the billing and accounting? Then there is the matter of board changes..some may be willing to take on this onerous task now but what about new board members? I'd think long and hard about being self managed.

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