Gated communities, condo complexes, and other forms of collective housing have become increasingly popular because of the many perks they offer in terms of security and amenities. Homeowners’ Associations, or HOAs, appeared in order to organize all of the various homeowners that live in a community, so that shared amenities can be purchased, installed and maintained, and also to set and enforce expectations of behavior and cleanliness from all people living there.
The rules and regulations developed by the HOA management are known as CC&R (covenants, conditions, and restrictions), and their enforcement is part of the day to day job of the HOA. And these rules are not just for show – did you know they can be enforced legally?
HOA Management and property managers
The HOA is made of people who own property and live in the community. While all community members get to voice their opinion, make requests, and vote when decisions need to made, there is usually a board of directors, who manage the actual deployment of funds and enforce the dues.
HOA boards usually collect dues from all residents or homeowners, with which they maintain common areas, pay for contractors and staff, and invest in enhancements that have been agreed upon. Other tasks that can be off sourced to a community management company (or carried out by the HOA) include:
- seasonal decoration
- cleaning and landscaping
- paying for insurance for common areas
- issuing notices when residents do not follow the rules.
Depending on the size of the community, its common areas and amenities, HOA board members may need to hire help to carry out all of the work: from maintenance and repair staff to a condo manager, or even engage a professional HOA management company to carry out all of the day-to-day jobs and keep track of whether rules are being followed.
If the committee members decide to engage the services of a professional HOA management company, they may choose to offload all or some of the work, such as customer service, planned communities’ decorations or improvements, maintenance and upkeep, responding to complaints and reports in a timely manner, and so on.
Many property management companies such as Spectrum association management offer a variety of management services for HOAs and larger communities, and they can usually be tailored to each specific community’s requirements. A good HOA management firm will offer anything from basic grounds maintenance and seasonal decorations to full community management, customer service, neighbor conflict resolution, and more.
There’s one more way in which a property manager or someone from the management industry may interact with an HOA, and it is when a property owner is the proprietor of several homes in a gated community or condo complex, which they rent through a property manager as a source of supplemental income. In this case, either the owner or the property manager must keep in touch with the HOA and ensure their tenants comply with the rules and regulations. This is usually mentioned in the rental agreement, so the renters know they must follow the HOAs rules.
