A Beginner’s Guide to Community Association Management
If you’re a member of a Tacoma, WA, HOA board, you’re likely familiar with the extensive list of duties and responsibilities that HOAs have to undertake to care for their communities. From creating and enforcing day-to-day rules to maintaining shared amenities, a lot goes into managing an HOA of any size. If your HOA board feels overwhelmed with their duties and needs assistance managing day-to-day operations, consider hiring an HOA management firm.
Reputable HOA management companies can take a lot off your plate, handling the day-to-day financial and administrative duties so you can focus your time on bonding with your residents and creating long-term plans for the success of your community. If your HOA board may be in need of community management services, here’s a beginner’s guide to all things community association management.
What Is HOA Management?
If your HOA board wants to ensure the best care and maintenance for their community, they may hire an HOA management firm. A community management firm is a company hired by the HOA to oversee day-to-day operations in the community.
Your community management firm can perform administrative tasks including answering homeowner inquiries, vetting and scheduling vendors, and collecting dues from residents. They may also comprehensive financial services such as tax filing assistance, annual budget preparation, vendor billings, escrow services, and audit coordination.
While the HOA board is still the exclusive decision-maker in the community, laying out the rules and fees, the HOA management company works to effectively execute the decisions made by the board while ensuring residents’ happiness and satisfaction. It’s also important to note that an HOA manager focuses on the community association as a whole, not specific properties, so they shouldn’t be confused with property managers.
Who Needs an HOA Management Firm?
Properly managing a community association — especially a large one — requires an enormous amount of time, knowledge, and dedication to your community. Despite many HOA boards’ best efforts, sometimes members become overwhelmed by the responsibilities required, especially when many aspects of community association management are specialized industries, including monitoring of local laws and financial accounting.
If your HOA board is struggling to keep up with day-to-day operations, lacking clear leadership, suffering from communications issues, or allowing administrative tasks to slip through the cracks, you’re likely in need of community management services. Even if you feel your HOA board is managing well but is looking to expand or wants more free time to focus on the bigger picture of the community’s success, an HOA management firm can help ease the burden on board members and help your community association operate more efficiently.
What Do HOA Management Companies Do?
The responsibilities and functions of a community management company are entirely different from those of the HOA board, so it’s important to know what services your community management company can and will provide. In general, HOA management firms will help execute any aspect of the community’s operations, from collecting dues to enforcing bylaws. They can help organize community events, perform financial administrative tasks, and coordinate vendors for amenity maintenance. Your HOA management company is also a great resource for anything you want an expert opinion on. From providing legal guidance to offering advice on board decisions, your management team is there to support your efforts and improve the overall well-being of your residents.
What your community management company will never do, however, is make decisions on the board’s behalf. Your board retains all decision-making power and is responsible for finalizing budgets, brainstorming events, and passing new laws. Your HOA management company simply works to execute and implement these ideas for you. The community management company will enforce any rules set in place, but the HOA board itself is the only party that can create new rules and determine the penalties for violating them.
Utilizing a reputable and full-service HOA management firm can help you focus on the bigger picture, so your community can fulfill its full potential. If you want a community management partner dedicated to building a community you love through whatever means necessary, look no further than The Management Trust. We’ve been an industry leader for over 30 years, with more than 1,500 communities served nationwide. To learn more about our full range of community management services for Tacoma, WA, HOAs, including HOA financial management, call The Management Trust at 253-472-0825 or fill out our online contact form today.
