Volunteering on an HOA Board

A number of years ago, we purchased a condo in Florida and became "snowbirds". The community we live in is fairly large, about 175 units, and was very well managed. I wanted to get involved somehow and raised my hand for an opening on the board. I did not win in that election, since I was new and did not know a lot of people. But a year or two later, another opening came along and I raised my hand once again and was running unopposed, so became a board member by acclamation.

This was an interesting experience. Many people (at least those who use social media) say they hate HOAs. On the other hand, not having an association leads to all sorts of trouble - neglected property, misused rentals, and out-of-control subletting. Once a neighborhood has abolished or never had an HOA, it is virtually impossible to put the cat back in the bag, so to speak. There are plenty of places to live without HOAs, so it is a personal choice.

I am not a politician (nor do I play one on TV), but there were some politics involved. One of the prior members had sort of run the board with an iron fist and did not put up with a lot of pushback. Then there were the complaints from various community members, some of which were real and some very petty. So the board sometimes had to meet to decide outcomes.

We have an extensive set of "articles of condominium" which are legal documents to which new owners must agree when purchasing. We also have a set of legally binding rules and regulations, all of which were new to me and I had to pretty much memorize them. Then there were the Florida legal statutes that govern condos, which are extensive and often had to be explained to the owners.

One statute that passed the legislature during my term on the board was a requirement that all associations in Florida over a certain size had to implement a website. The website had to have a secure login facility for owners and an announcement capability for all meetings. Also, there was a requirement for member access to all pertinent documents such as budgets, records such as meeting minutes, and legal documents. I did a survey of some web providers specializing in condo HOAs and we settled on a product called HOA Sites from a company called MyNetWire. I worked with them to set up and customize the website for our needs while making sure we met the intent of the statutes. This was a fun project and well-received by the members. We are very happy with HOA Sites and would recommend any HOA take a look at them if implementing a professional, high-quality website.

The budgeting process was interesting - our budget is substantial - millions of dollars - and we had a fiduciary obligation to the members to spend wisely. Our reserves were carefully managed and built up over years of savings. We had periodic reserve studies conducted by an outside engineering firm which gave us guidance as to how much needed to be set aside for things like new roofing. The largest expenditure was landscaping, which is a constant need in Florida unless you want to live in a jungle.

We have a management company on retainer and a full-time resident manager.  These folks participate in the board meetings and are pretty much in constant contact with the board and issues as they arise. If you have involvement with an HOA of any kind, I cannot stress how important it is to have a competent and responsive management company to help run things. Also, you need to have good legal counsel on retainer.

When my term was up, I declined to run again, even though the other board members and the management company asked me to stay on. My other volunteer activities were keeping me busy enough and since I was not a full-time resident, felt I could not be as effective since my time there is limited.

Overall, it was a good experience and I would recommend it to anyone with the time and inclination to help ensure their community is well-run and a pleasant place to live.