An HOA board primarily consists of 3 key participants: the president, the secretary and the treasurer. Depending on the size of the community, there may also be a vice president and a member-at-large. All of these roles are important for a well-run HOA. They will keep the community organized, well-functioning, and provide a comfortable environment for all residents living there.
What You Will Find in This Article
In this article, we will go over 5 of the main HOA board members, their key responsibilities and best practices, and how HOA Committees work.
President
As one of the most important roles in the community, being an HOA board president requires dedication, commitment, and a few specific skills. They guide the board in its daily operations, and in turn, the board instructs the rest of the team on their responsibilities. It’s vital that the president foster a sense of community within the board and amongst the residents.
The primary responsibilities of an HOA president include:
- Signing important community documents;
- Serving as a point of contact between the external vendors and contractors;
- Running the HOA meetings;
- Mediating conflicts within the community and the board;
- Announcing election results;
- Participating in community events and giving speeches.
- Managing the meeting agenda;
- Assigning committees.
How to be a great HOA president
Although no previous qualification is necessary to be an HOA president, certain skills can enhance a president’s performance and success in managing the community.
Communication
Being a good communicator is about more than speaking clearly to a large audience and leading meetings; it also involves listening effectively. The HOA president should always be willing to listen to the concerns and requests of residents.
Eagerness to learn
Every HOA has rules and restrictions; therefore, learning and following them is super important.
Trustworthiness
You must be transparent with residents to gain their trust and build a positive relationship with them.
Knowing how to motivate and engage your community
Creating events for residents to participate in is vital for fostering a sense of community within your HOA.
Tech-savvy
Even if you don’t particularly consider yourself tech-savvy, you should still be open to using technology. Digital tools can help you streamline the management process.
If you want to unlock the potential of technology to optimize your HOA, schedule a free Neigbrs demo today.
Vice President
The main responsibility of the HOA board vice-president is to take over if the president is unable to perform his duties. Additionally, the VP has a series of other obligations that contribute to the community.
The primary tasks of an HOA vice president include:
- Filling in for the president;
- Overseeing properties and buildings;
- Organizing community activities;
- Meeting/working with the management team;
- Heading HOA communities.
How to be a great HOA board vice president
To excel in your duties as an HOA vice president, it’s important to possess a few key abilities.
- Teamwork
Whenever working in a group, it’s essential to listen to other people’s ideas and suggestions, in order to determine what is best for the community. - Communication
This is a very important trait for both the VP and the president. Knowing how to effectively communicate with managers and vendors, as well as give instructions to those working with you, is a vital part of this role. - Transparency
Since vice-presidents help with rule enforcement, honesty and transparency are very important. You need to be as clear as possible with other board members, residents and vendors.
Besides the traits mentioned above, understanding the president’s responsibilities and their current projects will make it much easier to take over without getting confused or lost. Additionally, familiarizing yourself with the HOA’s important documents, such as the Declaration of Master Deed, Articles of Incorporation and the Association’s rules and regulations, is essential for your role in heading committees and overseeing buildings.
Treasurer
An HOA board treasurer ensures that the community’s finances are healthy and stable. They are responsible for managing the HOA’s money wisely, allocating it for projects that benefit the community in some way.
The main roles of a treasurer are:
- Create the HOA’s annual budget;
- Financial record-keeping;
- Mediate between Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the Community Association Manager (CAM);
- Facilitate reserve studies and audits;
- Monitor payments, dues, assessments, and delinquencies;
- Oversee the HOA’s insurance and taxes.
How to be a great HOA treasurer
Being the HOA treasurer is no easy task; to help ease the process and ensure successful accomplishments, we gathered several tips.
- Keeping financial records online
Financial documents must be well-organized and stored for easy accessibility. In that case, the best route would be to have copies online. Apart from facilitating access to board members and homeowners, it also helps new board members to know exactly where these documents are located. - Engaging and clear communication
A clear and concise communication with the residents and board members about the HOA’s finances is of the utmost importance. To guarantee it is done effectively, you could create visual aids, provide concrete examples, and make space for questions. This helps other HOA board members and residents understand what you are saying. - Hosting HOA budget meetings
One of the main duties of an HOA treasurer is to schedule and lead budget meetings. It’s essential to meet regularly to facilitate teamwork and ensure everyone is on the same page. It is also a good idea to meet with residents and make sure their expectations are aligned, which helps increase transparency within the board. - Collecting fees and delinquencies
Keeping track of whose invoices are pending and whose have been received is one of the many tasks of an HOA treasurer, in addition to reminding residents when their payments are due. Having online platforms for collecting HOA fees can be really helpful. - Conducting HOA reserve studies and audits
The treasurer can hire experts in the subject to conduct a review of the HOA’s financial situation and ask the president or vice president of the HOA to oversee the meeting, ensuring it is well-conducted.
Secretary
An HOA board secretary is responsible for the administrative part of the community. They are essential for the HOA board as they will organize and keep track of everything such as forms, meeting minutes etc. The secretary’s main roles are:
- Storing documents and records
- Filling out forms, handling signatures and contracts
- Managing the HOA membership list
- Keep members informed on important things happening in their community such as
- Rules and regulations
- HOA meetings
- Upcoming events
- Safety information
- Prepare the meetings and take meeting minutes
How to be a great HOA secretary
Being a secretary is a lot of work and can be demanding due to the many tasks. To help be an efficient HOA secretary, and exceed in all of its responsibilities, here are some tips that will help with the position of secretary:
Store your HOA documents online
It will ensure all of your documents are safe and that they are easy to access. With so many forms and contracts to supervise, creating an excel sheet with name of the file, location, deadline and status.
Keep residents informed
It’s important to keep residents up to date on what is going on in the community. Sending HOA newsletters is the best way to keep residents informed.
Check governing documents
It’s crucial to check state laws and follow your governing documents to make sure you are correctly performing your duties.
Member-at-large
An HOA board member-at-large isn’t the most common role for an HOA board to have, but it can help ease burdens in the community. Their tasks vary according to what the board needs at the current moment and they are generally expected to give expert insight on certain issues. With that being said, they do have certain responsibilities they will likely have to perform:
- Participate in meetings
- Serve as a liaison between community members and the board
- Collaborate with HOA committees and review their progress and status
- Help new board members to ensure an easier and smoother transition
How to be a great HOA member-at-large
An HOA member-at-large is a very versatile role that includes varied tasks. Sometimes it can be overwhelming having to take care of all everything the board needs, help new members, communicate with committees, all at once. Here are some tips to help be a great member-at-large:
Communication
Communication is key to excelling this role as members-at large will often have to communicate concerns and doubts of HOA members to the board. Listen to others and speak clearly and effectively.
Have a clear understanding of the community
As mentioned above, the tasks of a member-at-large have a lot of variety and they will probably have to deal with various sectors of the HOA. This is why it is important to attend all meetings, and have a clear understanding of what is going on in the community and board.
Be ready to fill in
Because of their wide range of skills and knowledge of the community, they will be asked to fill in for certain duties, especially if one is vacant in a specific committee.
Speaking of committees, they are an essential part of any HOA. They will discuss and solve specific issues in the community. Every association will have their own committees they judge necessary.
HOA Committees
There are many types of HOA committees that each specify issues such as maintenance, aesthetic, finances, entertainment, etc. Below are some of the most common types of committees an HOA can have:
HOA Architectural committee
This committee is responsible for making sure that property values remain stable. They will do this by ensuring that the guidelines of what homeowners can and cannot do to the aesthetic of their property are respected.
Budget committee
They are responsible for the financial part of a committee. Taking care of monetary investments, checking expenses, audits, etc. The treasurer works closely with this committee.
Landscaping committee
This committee for maintaining the outdoors of their community. This includes trees, flowers, gardens, the landscaping committee makes sure that they are beautiful and well taken care of.
Events committee
Easter events, cookouts, garage sales are all events that this committee can organize. It will help bring the community together and is a fun way for everyone to interact with each other.
Covenant committee
This committee will ensure that all of the guidelines are enforced in the community and will also monitor those who don’t follow the rules.
Communication committee
Keeping everyone updated on what is going on in the community is crucial, and that is exactly what this committee is responsible for. Some opt to communicate with residents through newsletters or through social media.
Technology committee
This committee will be responsible for anything tech related such as, data services, software programs, and any technological concern.
Every committee has its members, and one of the first things that one needs to think about when creating a committee, is assigning the secretary and chair. The secretary, similar to its functions in the board, will take meeting notes and will inform the community on what that committee is working on. The chair presides over meetings, creates the meeting agenda, and establishes ground rules.
The vice-president will also head, oversee, and check the committees. They will be responsible for keeping them organized and having constant communication with them. This is why it is important that the vice-president clearly understands that committee’s goal, functions, and responsibilities.
Wrapping Up
The president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and member-at-large, are all vital roles that will help administer documents, manage finances, plan events, organize committees, and anything else that will ensure a better environment for all residents.
HOA board members have various responsibilities that require commitment and dedication to fulfill. Neigbrs by Vinteum has a series of tools to ease these functions. With Vinteum’s software, board directors have access to various communication, management, document storage, and community website features.
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