Baby Steps:

Launching New Community Association Boards Kellene Richards

Our company, which provides community management services, often forms new boards following a declarant’s departure. Launching new boards reminds me of learning to walk. The first step is developing enough confidence to take that first step. New boards typically have a rocky start, but later make good progress.

New owner communication: “Hello, my name is Jane Smith. I live at 345 E Homeowner Street. I started receiving bills for HOA assessments earlier this year after living here for a year and a half. I have gone through all the paperwork ever signed regarding my home and I never signed any HOA agreement with your company nor do I wish to be part of your HOA! Unless you can provide this said document I would appreciate it if you would stop sending me bills. You cannot make me join your HOA or pay money to stay in my home!”

Management company response: “I am sorry to hear that you were not given the proper documentation at closing.

The home that you purchased was built within an HOA community. The builder created the HOA when the homes were being built. The information regarding the HOA and our management company should have been provided to you by your real estate agent at the time of closing. On your HUD documents, the fees that were paid to the HOA should have been listed. Our records show that a total of $96 was paid to the HOA at the time of closing.

I have attached a copy of the governing documents that should have been part of your closing documents, as well as a plat map that shows the lots in the community. We will soon be holding a meeting to elect a board of directors to lead your ABC Homeowner Association.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and if you would like to set up payment arrangements with Susan, our bookkeeper. She will be back in the office Monday, November 4, 2013.”

New owner response: “I appreciate the email back with the documents. Those were never provided to me and I was under the impression unless I signed a legally binding HOA agreement then I was not a part of the HOA. As I read more into it I’m seeing that just owning my property within this neighborhood forces me to pay money into the association regardless of my desire to be a part of it or not.

Would it be possible to have the bookkeeper call me when they are back next week? Again thanks for the information.”

24 Community Associations Journal | January 2014

The following is real dialog between a homeowner and management company regarding a recent community launch, with identifying information changed.

Finding the New Board This exchange ended well and was similar to many closing responses. As we worked diplomatically through the assessment process we found owners who were willing to serve on a board. At this point they were frightened and unsure. Our experience says it is critical to point them to CAI literature so they have a map for writing minutes, agendas and working through rules and regulations.

Board Processes Much like

the confusion with HOA assessments that

management companies often address with brand new communities, there is a lot confusion regarding board process. It is critical to make this as simple as possible in the beginning. In our environment we routinely work with difficult issues, and sometimes making the training easy enough for new boards is the tricky part.

The homeowner perspective is very different from ours. In addition, new boards have not learned to trust the community manager yet. With this in mind, the focus should be:

1. Communicate declarant information to the new board if the declarant is not willing to attend. Many builders are happy to participate in this process, but others choose not to be involved.

2. Set up a first meeting in a community environment, not someone’s home. Libraries are a great choice.

3. Create a colorful, fun agenda and a meeting notice that is inviting.

       there are bilingual issues that need to be met. Many times there are owners in the community who are fluent in two languages who can participate to make sure no one is left out.

5. Have a short board responsibility list to read from when asking for board volunteers.

6. Once a board is formed, create what we call a “cheat sheet” that breaks down Declaration “must” and “shall” statements into a short list of easy-to-read directions, which can serve as a user-friendly map for the new board.