The Top 5 HOA Management Questions Answered

If you are new to HOA management, you likely have a lot of questions. Let us help you get started. Below are the top five HOA management questions and their answers.   

Top 5 HOA Management Questions Answered 

1)      What is HOA Management?

Perhaps the most important question of this entire post is this one. What is HOA management? It is essential to know what something is before you hire someone.

Put simply, HOA management is something most home owner’s association (HOA) Boards do every day. It is the consistent management of all of the concerns of the HOA. These can range from management volunteers to maintaining common areas and planning meetings. Budgeting and other financial considerations are also included in HOA management.  

For many HOA Boards, the day-to-day tasks of managing an HOA are too much to handle alone. They hire an HOA management company to take care of some or all of these tasks.  

2)      Why is HOA Management important?

HOA management is crucial because it keeps your community running smoothly. Without proper HOA management, your home’s value could plummet, and your community could be a much less nice place to live.  

This is why it is so important to consider HOA management companies. No single Board can do everything. Boards consist of volunteers with their own lives and jobs after all. Instead, an HOA management company’s entire job is to see your community thrive. The Board will still maintain the decision-making power. But the competition of each task is the responsibility of the HOA management company. This frees up your Board members to make the important decisions that will result in a better community.  

3)      Will my HOA managers be part of the Board?

No. HOA management companies are not members of the Board. They will not have decision-making powers. The HOA manager will help and advise. But they cannot directly affect the direction or decisions of your community. Only the Board can do that.  

4)      What are some pros of hiring an HOA Management company?

There are a lot of positives to hiring an HOA management company. Here are a few of the most important. 

• They have years of experience helping communities succeed.

• You will have access to people with expert financial and legal information.

• They likely have long-term relationships with vendors.

• They can facilitate communications among your Board and with the broader community.

• They have advanced technological resources.  

5)      Do I need HOA Management?

Now we get to another crucial question about HOA management. Do you need it? The short answer: yes.  

All communities need good HOA management. Whether this management is provided by your Board or an outside company is up to your community. We’d highly recommend outsourcing your HOA management tasks. The pros simply outweigh the cons.  

In North and South Carolina, your source for the best HOA and condominium management is AMG (Association Management Group). We have physical offices throughout the Carolinas. Contact us today to learn more about we can help your community.

The Top 8 Ways a Property Management Company Will Make Your Life Easier

Property management companies can be a big help no matter what type of community you live in. Condominium associations, townhome HOAs, homeowner associations, life style communities, lake management, and office or retail spaces could all use property management.  

Property management companies work with your Board to manage the day-to-day running of the community. There are many services that top property management companies offer. All can elevate common headaches for your Board members.  

Top 8 Ways Property Management Companies Make Your Life Easier

The best property management companies can truly make your life easier. Here are eight ways they do so.

 1)      Save you money.

Probably the most important result of using a property management company is financial savings. This may seem impossible. You will be paying the property management company after all. However, property management companies streamline your communities and raise their overall value. Both will save you money in the long term.  

2)      Save you time.

Another big positive of using a property management company is the time savings. Your time is valuable too. Most Boards are comprised of volunteers who have their own lives and jobs. A property management company takes care of all the mundane, repetitive tasks, which keeps your Board free to make decisions and guide the community.  

3)      Save you worry.

When you have expert help, you don’t have to worry about making the right decisions. Property managers do not supersede your Board, but they can act as guides. Whether you are navigating a new regulation or planning next year’s budget, employing a property management company is a great way to reduce your concerns.

 4)      Make taxes a breeze.

Taxes are never fun. That statement is doubly true for community associations. Property management companies can help you with all your tax needs. Your manager will work with the Board to complete this year’s taxes and make a financial plan for the following year. You don’t need to be an accounting expert when you use a good property management company.  

5)      Help with communication.

Communication is always hard. It doesn’t matter what type of community you live in. Property managers are here to help with communication. They can facilitate better communication with your tenants or residents, develop efficient online communication tools, and even mediate disputes. Having a non-biased third party is always important when communicating with your community.  

6)      Connect you with the best vendors.

There are a lot of vendors available for hire. Not all vendors are the same, however. If you want the best vendors in your area, you need the help of a property management company. They will likely have an existing relationship with vendors. These can help guide your hiring process and potentially save you money.   

7)      Take care of maintenance tasks.

General maintenance is something no Board likes to deal with. It is one of the worst things about community management. However, with a property management company, you no longer have to be responsible for the maintenance of your community. The property management company can be in charge of that task.  

8)      Keep your residents happy and involved.

Finally, a major reason to choose a good property management company is that they will keep your residents happy. A better run and more communicative community mean happier residents. More satisfied residents are likely to be more involved in their community. It is a good, self-0sustaining cycle.  

If you are looking for great property management in North and South Carolina, contact Association Management Group (AMG) today.

COVID Impacting Your Home Finances? You May Qualify for Help.

COVID-19 was a one-two punch for a lot of us, not only putting health at risk, but also homes. As an educator of community association volunteer boards*, it’s an important part of my job to share news that makes a difference to homeowners and associations. And I have good news that will have an enormous impact on our friends and neighbors.  The State of North Carolina has recently won approval of its Homeowners Assistance Fund from the federal government, a part of President Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan that provides money to homeowners facing financial challenges due to COVID. Qualified homeowners can request up to $40,000 in financial aid to prevent mortgage delinquencies, defaults, displacements and foreclosures. An important part of this fund includes assisting owners in paying their HOA and condo dues, preventing possible foreclosure and keeping them current with their community association policies.

 North Carolina’s $273 million Fund provides temporary and permanent relief for people living in single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and mobile homes–both homeowners and those without a mortgage. It includes mortgage reinstatement to catch up on late payments and other housing costs due to forbearance, delinquency, or default.  The Fund will also pay for homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insurance, and delinquent property taxes to prevent foreclosure. Additional financial hardships that may qualify for assistance include job loss/business closure, fewer hours or lower pay, difficulty finding a new job, death of a spouse or partner, and increased expenses due to the pandemic, such as health care, caring for a family member, higher child care costs, and increased overall costs due to quarantine. Best of all, there is no repayment of qualified assistance.   

 As Chairman of the Community Association Institute’s (CAI) Legislative Action Committee for North Carolina, we had numerous interactions with federal and state officials about this much-needed Fund. I’m proud that our team’s efforts were a vital part of getting community association fees included in this crucial program. But more importantly, I’m proud of how we worked together during these COVID times to lighten the financial burden people are carrying and relieve some of their anxiety. That’s what good neighbors do...and good neighbors are what community associations are all about. 

 Are you in financial trouble due to COVID? Do you need help paying your HOA dues or other housing costs?  The NC Homeowners Assistance Fund website has all the details, including frequently asked questions and eligibility/application forms. Visit https://nchaf.gov/ or call 1.855.MYNCHAF.

By:

Paul K. Mengert, CMCA, PCAM

Association Management Group, Inc. 

New Appellate Case: Almason v. Southgate on Fairview Condominium Association

In a decision issued today (February 1, 2022), the North Carolina Court of Appeals examined several issues that associations deal with regularly—budget ratification, owner attendance at board meetings, rules governing board meetings, and association records requests. Nothing in the decision is groundbreaking, but the findings of the court may provide comfort that your association practices are proper (or may suggest you need to make some changes).

Almason v. Southgate on Fairview Condominium Association, Inc. et al. is an “unpublished opinion,” which means the decision is not controlling legal authority and should not be cited in other cases. However, even unpublished opinions give a sense of the Court’s thinking as to specific issues and how subsequent courts may rule.

In Almason, the owners in a condominium subject to the NC Condominium Act (NCGS 47C) had numerous complaints against their association and its board members, including:

• There was no quorum present for the budget ratification meeting.

• There was no motion, second or vote to ratify the budget at the member meeting.

• The board was not allowing owners to attend sufficient board meetings.

• Board rules limiting owner attendance at board meetings to 15 minutes were unreasonable.

• Board policy prohibiting owners from recording board meetings violated the Bylaws.

The NC Court of Appeals decided all these issues in favor of the Association.  

Appellate cases are detailed and fact specific. However, here are some takeaways:

• Budget Ratification. Regardless of language in bylaws, all planned communities created after January 1, 1999 and all condominiums must follow the statutory budget ratification process. Those statutes specially provide that no quorum is necessary for the meeting. And no vote to “approve” the budget is necessary in that the budget will be ratified unless a majority of all the owners in the association vote to reject the budget. So the budget can be ratified in three ways: (1) no motion is made to reject the budget, because members are fine with it; (2) a motion is made to reject the budget, but the motion does not receive a vote of a majority of all owners in the association, so the budget is ratified; or (3) not enough owners show up at the meeting to constitute a majority of the entire membership (with so few owners present, there is no way the budget can be rejected).

• Owner Attendance at Board Meetings. There are statutes governing owner attendance at board meetings that apply to all condominiums and all planned communities. “At regular intervals, the executive board meeting shall provide [owners] an opportunity to attend a portion of an executive board meeting and to speak to the executive board about their issues and concerns.” The owners in Almason argued that a policy allowing owners to only attend three board meetings per year was unreasonable. The Court noted that the Bylaws did not require the board to allow owners to attend a certain number of meetings, and that the phrase “regular interval” could even mean “attendance at one Board meeting between annual meetings.”

• Rules Governing Attendance at Board Meetings. In Almason, the Association had a board policy that owners were permitted to attend 15 minutes of a board meeting, which the owners argued was arbitrary. As noted above, the statute governing owners attending board meetings states that owners have a right to attend “a portion” of such board meetings. The Court held that the Board’s 15-minute limit complied with the Association’s bylaws and statute.

• Owners Recording Board Meetings. In Almason, the Association had a board policy prohibiting the recording of Board meetings by owners in attendance. The owners argued there was no basis for such a policy in statute or the bylaws. However, the Court noted that association membership and board meetings are governed by Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th Edition), and that Robert’s permits a deliberative assembly to make and enforce its own laws. As a result, the board “had the inherent authority to enact and enforce rules for its meetings and that those rules would apply to owners attending those meetings.”

• Records Request. In Almason, the owners made certain records requests pursuant to statute and took the position that the Association had failed to produce those records. The Association noted that it has produced records in its possession and that the additional records being requested did not exist. Owners’ position was that “it is not credible that no minutes exist for these months.” The Court held that owners “presented no evidence that such records actually exist to contradict the [Association’s] testimony the Board does not keep such minutes.” The takeaway here is that while an association has an obligation to turn over certain documents to owners upon request, the documents have to actually exist.

With such a long opinion (16 pages), it’s always best to read the actual case if you want to know how it might impact a different association. And then talk to an attorney about your specific facts. The Almason decision can be found here: https://www.nccourts.gov/documents/appellate-court-opinions/almason-v-sgate-on-fairview-condo-assn-inc-0. 

Sincere thanks to Jim Slaughter and Law Firm Carolinas for providing the above blog post.