Whether a condominium or homeowner association Board, all Boards share traits for success. These characteristics, when used together, boost your community to operate at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness—benefiting all Board members, every homeowner and resident. Here are some secrets of the most successful association Boards.
Participating Volunteers: Board members who actively participate in meetings and the community are key to success. You don’t need volunteers with personal agendas. The most successful Boards have directors who care about homeowners, their concerns and work toward making the community a better place to live.
Excellent Communication: Board members need to deal well with other Board members, resolve issues for homeowners, and communicate with vendors as well as other professionals who are involved with the association. Open and honest communications are important to convey accurate information and avoid misunderstandings. Ongoing communications from the Board also establishes trust, which is a vital part of building strong relationships.
Financial Integrity: Successful condominium and HOA Boards have effective financial processes in place. They develop a working budget, fund their reserves and have a collections process. In short, the Board members are role models for the community’s residents, and they promote the importance of good financial practices to homeowners.
Effective Meetings: The structure of meetings varies from Board to Board. Some are more informal, some formal and some meeting formats fall in the middle. It’s good to determine the right balance for your Board. We find that the most effective meetings are structured, stay on topic and follow Robert’s Rules.
Transparency: Your Board is responsible for developing policy, enforcing rules and making decisions on day-to-day association issues. The law says that Boards must have open meetings and communicate association information to homeowners. Conduct HOA business in a glass house that shows that you have nothing to hide.
Community Governance: Adhere to your governing documents. These documents are structured to provide successful governance of your community. Governance needs to be more than just a written process—it’s about doing things that make a difference in the success of the community.
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Wise Property Solutions is a property management company serving East Tennessee with offices in Knoxville, TN and the Tri-Cities, TN-VA. Specializing in Condominium Association Management, Home Owners Association Management, HOA Management and Gated Community Association Management.