For many communities, an HOA board manages business operations of the community while balancing the needs of homeowners. However, since an HOA board is composed of volunteers, this work can often become too much to handle. In these cases, transitioning your HOA from self-managed to using the services of a property management company can prove beneficial.
With an HOA property management company, your community and board will still be in charge, but admin tasks, maintenance, financial concerns, and communications can all be offloaded to their expertise.
Here are the top HOA property management responsibilities to look into and how they can assist your community.
1. Administrative Services
When bringing on an HOA property manager, you can expect them to take over a broad range of administrative tasks. In addition to providing support to HOA board members, a management company will:
- Schedule and attend HOA board meetings
- Document and maintain records
- Enforce the rules and regulations of a community
- Review current policies and provide recommendations for policy generation and implementation
- Assist with budgetary planning
- Address homeowner inquiries
Additionally, the property management company will take the time to understand the ins and outs of your community’s CC&Rs, ensuring each of their actions is in compliance with these guidelines.
2. Maintenance of Common Areas
Depending on the community, your common areas might include lawns, pools, clubhouses, walking paths, and parks––all of which require regular upkeep. An HOA property manager should oversee all aspects of oversight and maintenance becoming well acquainted with each area and the relevant safety, maintenance, and insurance issues that affect them.
By developing a regular schedule of maintenance and working with the relevant contractors, the manager will ensure that no part of your community falls into disarray.
3. Accounting
One of the more difficult HOA property management responsibilities is managing the finances. A property manager should have a solid understanding and experience in the following areas:
Accounts Receivable
This number represents the amount of money owed to your HOA. In most cases, this amount will be the monies obtained through monthly dues. A property manager will oversee all aspects of soliciting these funds from your community’s homeowners and manage the resulting assets.
Accounts Payable
Similar to managing the money that comes into your HOA’s account, a property manager will also manage the monies that are expended to operate the association. In most cases, these expenses will be tied to maintenance and upkeep costs.
Budget
Central to your HOA’s operation will be the creation and management of a budget. With input from the board of directors, a property manager will account for income, expenses, and reserve funds. By categorizing these numbers in an easily accessible place, you can make more prudent financial decisions for your community.
Taxes
While some HOAs are tax-exempt, many are subject to state and federal taxation. An HOA property manager will oversee the accounting process for your community, ensuring that tax returns and other reports are filed appropriately.
Alternatively, an HOA manager could spearhead the process of obtaining federal income tax exemption and state franchise tax exemption.
4. Internal Communications
A primary responsibility of the property manager is to make sure all homeowners and board members are connected and informed of relevant community information. This includes coordinating among board members, summarizing the results of meetings, and compiling to-do lists.
Essentially, the property manager can serve as the point person for communication efforts between board members and the greater community. To streamline these communicative efforts, you might consider implementing an HOA website. That’s where Hoampage comes in.
With Hoampage, you can easily create your own branded, customized HOA website, wherein board members and residents can stay up to date with any and all relevant community information. With a built-in payment portal, a Hoampage website can simplify the process of obtaining and tracking HOA dues. These websites can also host key community documents, news, events, and even forums.
The key to managing a community is communication, and with Hoampage, you can keep everyone––managers, board members, and homeowners––on the same page.