You love your HOA and all the amenities. The pool, the game room, the tennis courts. That’s why you moved into a planned community to begin with, right?
But you’re not happy with some of the decisions your HOA is making. You think they’re being shortsighted, too farsighted, completely blind? Whatever it is, you have solutions and ideas, or at least a perspective that needs to be shared.
So, how do you make the changes that you want to see in your HOA?
You’ve got to be the change. And that means getting on your board.
Election Season
Your community cannot run without the dedicated volunteers who operate the board. To get a place on the board, you typically have to get elected by the members of your HOA. You won’t need to run a state-of-the-art election campaign, but you will need to get the votes. That means getting the word out that you’re in the running and persuading community members why you should be on the board.
Duties of a Board Member
Every HOA will have articles of incorporation, bylaws and declarations of conditions, covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs). Familiarize yourself with these before running for the board. You may find that being on the board was more than you bargained for or you may find that you’re up to the task. You don’t have to memorize all the governing documents but you’ll want to know what you’ll be responsible for. Get copies from board members or from your HOA’s attorney, if they have one (if they don’t you can advocate for an HOA attorney, here’s why).
Fiduciary Responsibilities
As a board member, it’s important to recognize that you will be legally obligated to uphold certain responsibilities. Essentially, this is just a way to ensure that board members are acting in the best interest of their community members. It also serves to protect both the board members and community members with the trust that is given over to the board.
Your governing documents may spell out more specific fiduciary responsibilities, but the general guidelines fall under three components:
- Duty of Care
- Duty of Loyalty
- Duty to Act
We wish you and your HOA the best and, as always, we are here to help. With over 20 years of experience, we know what it takes to create a strong planned community.
If none of the above information has scared you off and you still want to make a change in your HOA, then by all means, run for the board.
You’ve got our vote!
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