Reasons to Hire an HOA Management Company

If you’re on the Board of a homeowners’ association, this might be a consideration that you’ve been debating for some time.  Whether you are a community of condominiums or a large subdivision of single-family homes, there are a multitude of benefits of having a management company partner with you.

Remove the Burden of the Heavy Lifting

There is a lot of work involved in managing a homeowners’ association and it requires a lot of time.  Since most HOA Board members are volunteers, it also means all of that work is unpaid.  Who has the time for free labor?  Therefore, hiring a professional management company takes the majority of that work and time off the Board’s shoulders.  By removing the heavy lifting and the time consuming tasks, Board members are free to engage and communicate with their membership in a completely new way.

Let the Association Professionals Guide You

A management company can help you handle legal issues that arise and guide you on regulations and laws governing homeowners’ association. They can also advise the Board on issues related to rule enforcement and resident complaints.  And, a management company can make sure you’re operating in compliance with your governing documents, so you don’t have to keep track of every detail.  Having a third party service who understands correct documentation and record keeping will decrease the risks associated with liability or litigation.

Create Opportunities for Community Socialization

It can be time consuming to keep track of all the duties and requirements of your association, and even harder to communicate all of them.  A management company can handle the communication for you.  This can include everything from sending out meeting notices, to sending out violation letters, to homeowner personal online accounts, hosting the HOA’s webpage, and creating a monthly newsletter to disseminate information about Board and rule changes.  Often these tasks consume a lot of time.  An association manager would have proven templates and a variety of ways to distribute information that is effective, so that Boards can become a stronger advocate for community socialization which has been correlated to thriving community cultures.

Let Go of the Financials

Your HOA should be operating similarly as a business and someone must manage the financials.  Collecting the HOA fees, managing the bookkeeping, creating monthly and yearly financial reports, helping to develop and maintain the budget, doing the banking, submitting tax and insurance information, and dealing with reserves are all things a management company can do.  In fact, the Internet has played a dramatic role for association managers to make accessible, real-time, financial information to the membership.  Moreover, by removing a Board from the financial burden of chasing delinquent members and documentation, often positions the Board to advocate for the homeowner, rather than perceived as against them.

Someone is Assigned to Handle the Day-to-Day Duties

Most Board members don’t have the time or bandwidth to handle the daily chores required of a homeowners’ association.  Answering inquiries, reviewing design change submissions, welcoming new homeowners into the neighborhood, adding or removing members as people move into and out of their association, are all tasks that can be handled and documented by a professional association service.

Maintaining and Managing the Common Areas

Finally, who will vet out the crews to mow the lawns in the summer or clean the pools, who will negotiate contracts with trade professional to provide services, who is designated to field complaints from homeowners for a contractor’s failure to address their service?  And, who will seek out the right contractor for repairs should something break in those areas?  Often, a qualified and experienced association manager will have worked with several contractors or service professionals or will be familiar their service nuances to address pending issues or to avoid potential issues down the road.

In summary, a professional management service will save your Board time, so that they can focus their time to influence their community to thrive.  Association management services come in a variety of flavors, so finding the right service that fits your values and community culture will be the key to your success.

If you are considering a management company, we recommend MGM Association Management.  For over 20 years, MGM has solely focused on homeowner associations and has a proven track record of reviews and testimonials.  They are the largest and the most trusted third party administrator in the State of Idaho.  From keeping your HOA solvent, to providing simple financial recording, to customized management plans, MGM may have the right service for your association.  You can reach them at (208) 846-9189 or visit them at www.gomgm.com.