Home Owners Associations (HOA’s) are established to watch out for the interest of the property and individuals that live in the property the HOA oversees. Many smaller HOA’s are self-managed, meaning in addition to managing the HOA, they are actively involved in the daily management, maintenance, budgeting and capital improvements of the property.
HOA’s work to establish resident and property criteria that will insure that all residents continue to be satisfied with their living arrangements, that the value of the property is secure / maintained, and of course dealing with line marking companies like markingcontractors.co.uk to ensure that there are proper road and street markings in your neighborhood.
Volunteering time in these associations is critical if you are to take best advantage of the power of the association.
HOA’s are designed to be operated by a board of central people. While resident votes are sometimes collected on particular issues, dependent on its structure and the regulations governing it, the board can make decisions on its own without input from the larger body of residents.
Being a part of the board is thus critical if a homeowner wants to be involved in decisions affecting his or her community.
HOA’s are responsible for formulating and enforcing an overall set of rules about how residents must act, and units be maintained, commonly referred to as the “declarations and by-laws”. These rules can extend to minor items such as paint colors, window coverings and satellite dishes, to more major items like parking, pets allowed on the premises, visitors and extended guests, rental regulations, etc.
Home owners associations can determine how lawns outside the condominium must be maintained and even the types of plants that are acceptable to grow there ~ including your balcony. They can decide whether common resource areas like recreation halls and swimming pools will continue to operate and under what stipulations.
While HOAs are typically put into place to protect the interests of all residents, unfortunately, they can evolve into cliques where the aesthetic choices of a few residents become rules for the residents as a whole ~ this is the importance of making your voice heard and having a balanced board.
More often than might be expected, HOA rules can border on the ridiculous. Who would want to be told, for example, that they are only allowed to paint their condominium using colors from the pastel color pallet? Who would appreciate being told that young children are no longer allowed in the common pool except for a one hour window in the afternoon because the remainder of the time it is being reserved for older residents? Who would enjoy waking up one morning to find that fifteen speed bumps have been installed between your condominium and the main highway one-quarter mile down the road?
Participating on HOA boards is one way to insure that your voice is always heard in their deliberations.
Participating is one way to insure that HOA associations do what they were designed to do, protect the interests of all residents.
Author Jeff Hammerberg is the Founding CEO of www.GayRealEstate.com and www.CondoZing.com ~ Premium Service Condominium Sales at up to Half Off Traditional Commissions “More Zing ~ Less Commission Sting”.
