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JoyceS1
(Indiana)

Posts:107

08/06/2006 6:27 AM
The following may be a bit hard to read and a bit long, but wanted to share with you my hypothetical survey to homeowners who do not want to raise the maintenance fee, want to do their own maintenance or want everything maintained at the highest level but at the cheapest cost and who refuse to serve on the board. As a newly elected president with only a month under my belt, this appears to be what I will be dealing with during my term as president. I'm not sure I'm up for the task. 1. Are property values important to you? 2. Is curb appeal important to you? 3. Is uniformity of property important to you? 4. Which do you prefer: (circle one)a.A scalped lawn with weeds b.A lawn thick, green and virtually weed free 5. Which do you prefer: (Circle one)a. Deferring maintenance until costs are higher b. Increasing the maintenance fee to address maintenance needs before costs increase c.Neither of the above, even if it impacts the quality of the community and property values 6. Do you approve of supplementing the lifestyle of persons who live beyond their means? 7. If you prefer doing your own maintenance, why then, did you choose to live in a community where the maintenance was provided?a.I didn’t know anything about the lifestyle I was buying into. b.I thought I could do my own regardless of how the community was set up.c.I did not research the lifestyle before purchasing 8. I prefer to do maintenance:a. As cheap as possible, even if it has to be redone sooner and at a higher cost. b. Doing it right the first time and having it last 9. I choose not to serve on the board because: a. I don’t want to be responsible for other people’s investment b.I don’t want to be accountable for maintenance decisions c.I have no concept of how to maintain property to please everyone d. I only care about myself and what I want.e.I do not have skills in: i.Minute taking ii.Financial Management iii.Budget preparation and oversight iv.Coordination between board, homeowners and property manager v.Making decisions f.I’d rather complain, than come up with constructive suggestions g.I’m better at hindsight than foresight. 10. Which of the following would you be willing to do: a. Learn more about the HOA concept b. Learn about the Covenants, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations c. Learn more about the financial progress or lack thereof of the Community

RogerB
(Colorado)

Posts:3702

08/06/2006 8:04 AM
Joyce, I don't see this as a survey; I see it more as an expression of your thoughts. Also, a survey needs to be specific enough to provide useful information. For example who wouldn't answer yes to the first two questions? Perhaps by actually conducting a positive survey to get owners opinions and soliciting their participation your term as President will result in a significant improvement for which you can be proud. Good Luck as President!

Roger Borcherding Official HOATalk.com Sponsor DARCO Property Management (Colorado) (303) 925-0150 *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

JoyceS1
(Indiana)

Posts:107

08/06/2006 8:25 AM
RogerB Perhaps I'm using this forum inappropriately. I'm using this hypothetical to vent frustration as I perceive my future duties as an almost impossible task. By hypothetical, perhaps I should have said "Tongue in cheek" survey. Once in awhile I have to shake my head in wonderment as to the attitudes of homeowners and wish they could see themselves as I see them. The answers to the survey are pretty obvious. Be assured, this would be inapproriate for my folks, but thought posters on this forum might relate and get a chuckle out my naivete and 1-month experiences as HOA president. I had an Arborist who came to bid on a project ask how long I have been president. When I told him, his response was...."I thought you were pretty enthusiastic. They'll beat you down eventually." Yep....I'm already on my way! Thanks, RogerB. I read your sound advice to others. Glad to have this forum as a reference and sounding board. Joyce

WilliamT
(Arizona)

Posts:489

08/06/2006 8:34 AM
Posted By JoyceS1 on 08/06/2006 6:27 AM "... 6. Do you approve of supplementing the lifestyle of persons who live beyond their means? 7. If you prefer doing your own maintenance, why then, did you choose to live in a community where the maintenance was provided?a.I didn't know anything about the lifestyle I was buying into. b.I thought I could do my own regardless of how the community was set up.c.I did not research the lifestyle before purchasing..." Joyce, I agree with Roger. You are on the right track by considering the communication with the community and soliciting their participation. However, it must be positive. The number 6 and 7 above would certainly have a negative impact on some. They could also be considered argumentive, with number 6 being judgemental. Try to find other surveys that HOA's have done and use some examples. Bill

BrianB
(California)

Posts:1742

08/06/2006 3:11 PM
1. Are property values important to you? Yes, to a point. However, truth, freedom of expression, life free of cancer, free from fear of brutality, having a good job, loving my wife are all much more important to me than property value. Property value is mere money, and as such, temporal. 2. Is curb appeal important to you? Nope, not at all. I love my house, why the heck should i care if it appeals to anyone else? 3. Is uniformity of property important to you? Nope, i think it is boring, and shows a complete lack of ownership, pride, and individuality. I love houses that look different, that show their owner's thoughts and themes. Who the heck wants to live in a shoebox/clone? 4. Which do you prefer: (circle one)a.A scalped lawn with weeds b.A lawn thick, green and virtually weed free. Neither, in front. Grass is silly: it takes water, a precious resource, and requires pollution to mow it. we cut it, then fertilize it so it grows more, so we have to cut it more. Give me gravel and cactus anyday! 5. Which do you prefer: (Circle one)a. Deferring maintenance until costs are higher b. Increasing the maintenance fee to address maintenance needs before costs increase c.Neither of the above, even if it impacts the quality of the community and property values. I would prefer neither. Instead, how about getting better deals on maintenance? How about checking for competition or better pricing, before simply raising my HOA Taxes? How about looking at alternatives to this, before simply bending over and agreeing? 6. Do you approve of supplementing the lifestyle of persons who live beyond their means? Yup, apparently so. I pay taxes every year. 7. If you prefer doing your own maintenance, why then, did you choose to live in a community where the maintenance was provided?a.I didn’t know anything about the lifestyle I was buying into. b.I thought I could do my own regardless of how the community was set up.c.I did not research the lifestyle before purchasing not applicable. 8. I prefer to do maintenance:a. As cheap as possible, even if it has to be redone sooner and at a higher cost. b. Doing it right the first time and having it last. I prefer to do it right, within reason. 9. I choose not to serve on the board because: a. I don’t want to be responsible for other people’s investment b.I don’t want to be accountable for maintenance decisions c.I have no concept of how to maintain property to please everyone d. I only care about myself and what I want.e.I do not have skills in: i.Minute taking ii.Financial Management iii.Budget preparation and oversight iv.Coordination between board, homeowners and property manager v.Making decisions f.I’d rather complain, than come up with constructive suggestions g.I’m better at hindsight than foresight. N/A.. 10. Which of the following would you be willing to do: a. Learn more about the HOA concept b. Learn about the Covenants, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations c. Learn more about the financial progress or lack thereof of the Community all of the above.

JoyceS1
(Indiana)

Posts:107

08/06/2006 3:32 PM
BrianB Loved your answers! It's exactly the kind of response I would get. Thanks for the lighthearted approach. It was light-hearted, wasn't it???? (smile) Joyce

BradP
(Kansas)

Posts:1742

08/06/2006 6:56 PM
Joyce: Those are things we all face. I have tried to get creative with things, such as investing our reserves to raise money, placing ads in our newsletter and our neighborhood directory, etc. Everytime I write a letter or have a meeting I emphasize the fact that we are play an important role in our neighborhood and our property values. Most importantly I lead by example...My house and yard are as compliant as can be and I have tried to get out in the neighborhood and talk to people. The result is after a year I am starting to see a sense of pride in a few more people who are willing to serve the association. You will probably never get a lot of people who want to contribute, but my hope and maybe yours should be to identify and seek out a couple handfuls of people who really care and appeal to them. My suggestion to you would be to write an open ended letter for your newsletter and ask the association for help, ideas, support for the things that are in your survey. Believe me I know how you feel, but it is worth the struggle if you are willing to do it.

JosephW
(Michigan)

Posts:764

08/06/2006 7:57 PM
One of the things I preach to boards is that like any other business, you have to have public relations. In this case, you need to constantly remind the owners that the decision they made to move into your community was a good decision. This takes regular communications through multiple channels (written, verbal, digital, visual). An example I like to use is lawn cutting for condominiums. Owners, looking at a typical spreadsheet budget that comes every year, might get upset when they see $40,000 budgeted for lawn care. But, if instead, it is pointed out that it only is costing them $7/cutting, then it becomes a good deal. You're not changing the number, just accenting what the real cost (and benefit) is to the individual. They aren't paying the $40k out their pocket. As Brad pointed out, give them something to be proud of, and then remind them to be proud of it. This is one of the reasons I like to see associations get involved with local charities and activities, its nice to be a part of something that makes a difference. If you'll bear with me I like to give you a rather long example. Earlier this year I was asked to consult with a rather large associaton in the area. They were having internal problems and a dissident group had appeared that was creating problems for the board and was running their own slate of candidates for the election coming up in three months. I was surprised because I had known this association for over 30 years and it had always been one of the best run asociations I had ever seen. As I entered the association, one of the first thngs I noticed was the sign at the entrance. It was faded beyond reading, chipped, crooked and with only a few scrubby bushes and very tall weeds around it. Driving through the site, I noticed weeds coming out of the sidewalks and roads, brown lawns and as a result, the units looked a little shabbier than they probably were. I asked what had happened and they told me that because of owner feedback they hadn't felt they could increase the budget for the past three years and so had been cutting back on the maintenance. I asked to see the communications (flyers, newsletters, announcements) that they had sent to the owners during that time and they produced very little, and most of it read as one long apology, with a very defensive overtone. None of the budget cover letters gave very much in the way of explanation of what was needed or how the money was spent. To make a long story shorter, I convinced them they were simply digging their own hole deeper. They agreed to make a concerted effort, asking for volunteers to help the staff, in cleaning up the place. We completely revised their communications, making sure at least one association wide piece went out every two weeks, documenting the changes and improvements, and created a web site on which photos of the changes were displayed. They began holding a social hour before every board meeting, inviting all owners to stop by and talk to the board and staff, and those that did were invited to stay for the board meeting to see how the association was run. I wanted the board to be as transparent as possible. Absolutely nothing negative was to be said about the dissident group. "The board was responding to their concerns". The dissident group candidates received less than 10% of the votes. The place is looking better and better and more of the people coming to the meetings are saying positive things about the association. Communications is usually the key. But public relations is a part of communications and all too often overlooked by boards because they either don't understand why it is necesary or don't know how to go about it. By the way, I'm sort of a nut about entrances to associations. Its the one area every owner and visitor sees first. It should make the statement "you are now entering a special place, where I proudly and happily live". Sorry to be so long-winded, but this is a hot-button issue for me. Joe

Joseph West Official HOATalk.com Sponsor Community Associations Network, LLC www.CommunityAssociations.net *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

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