HOA Decision Making: Who’s Really Running Things?

Question: Who manages your homeowner’s association?

If you said, “the HOA manager,” unfortunately you’d be wrong.

It’s tricky, isn’t it? Doesn’t it make sense that the paid professional with the word “manager” in the title is the one who “manages” the community? 

If you got the answer wrong, you aren’t alone. Too many homeowners are unclear on which responsibilities fall to the HOA Manager, and which belong to the Board of Directors. It’s a persistent misconception that can cause frustration throughout the community. If homeowners aren’t clear on who is really behind decision making in their neighborhood, they can feel their issues are being intentionally ignored. 

Luckily, the answer is very simple:  Community Managers offer guidance and assistance, carry out assigned tasks and support the Board of Directors. The Board is the final decision maker in your community.

Why the Confusion Exists

There are lots of reasons why homeowners are often confused about the breakdown of HOA decision-making responsibilities. Community association living isn’t exactly a shared experience.  There aren’t any crash courses for understanding HOA living as a homeowner (not even a “For Dummies” book, which is pretty impressive considering the size of their catalog). Homeowners are expected to learn as you go, and often without any materials to truly walk you through the process.

The other reason is the mislabeling of “Community manager.” While community association managers (or CAMs) do “manage” their portfolio of communities, they are not making decisions on behalf of the community. If you think about it, that would be a little nuts. You pay good money to make your neighborhood, your community, exactly what you want it to be. Someone who doesn’t have some kind of ownership investment shouldn’t be responsible for calling the shots about what happens there.

What Are HOA Managers For?

Once homeowners recognize the importance of their Board of Directors and the full scope of responsibility they handle, it starts to beg the question: if the community manager isn’t making the decisions, then what are they doing?

And that’s fair.

This is an additional layer that causes confusion among homeowners about the relationship managers play in their communities. 

The truth is that they are managing, just not in the way you think. CAMs “manage” by giving your board the tools they need to do the real management.

Because your Board of Directors is volunteer-based, they aren’t managing the community in the same way a paid professional would. That’s because they’re not always Bob the HOA President or Judy the HOA Treasurer. Sometimes they’re Bob, the guy two doors down who’s son is visiting from college next week and Judy, the lady whose cul-de-sac home is always hosting backyard barbecues.

In those moments, when they’re not acting as a representative of the HOA, it’s inappropriate to ask them to step into those shoes and hear issues. There are proper channels, and sometimes even specific applications that need to be utilized to get the board-the entire board-to act. In the interim, a CAM can provide answers about general community operations, provide necessary applications, and work as a go-between so that the board is staying informed while they are convened for that purpose.

What an HOA Manager Does

These are the top three responsibilities a manager tackles in their daily interactions with any association they work for:

• Communication. As mentioned above, the board isn’t always “the board.” So when they’re just their normal neighborly selves, they can’t make any decisions or give any HOA-backed input if you ask them to. Instead, when you have questions about the community, or need to request maintenance for a community amenity, your manager is your best and most efficient resource. 

• Enforcement. Sometimes, managers have to be the bad guys and lay down the law (the law being the rules and expectations that bind your community together). As a homeowner, it’s hard to imagine a positive side to warning letters, but this job responsibility does triple duty: Enforcement of the HOA rules helps to protect the community’s property values by upholding important guidelines like lawn maintenance or yard signage; it helps the board stay on the up-and-up by having a unbiased third-party uphold community rules (meaning everyone is treated fairly); and it helps mitigate resentment between the board and homeowners, because if Bob and Judy aren’t the ones sending the violation notices, Andy won’t feel compelled to show up at either doorstep for a shouting match. Allowing the manager to handle the un-fun parts of the job helps the community foster a sense of harmony and cohesion. 
• Finances. Arguably the most important part of the job, managers are most often tasked with providing HOA-specific financial advisory to the Board of Directors. Judy’s a great treasurer, but her background is in culinary arts (which is why her barbecues are such a hit). This isn’t to say she can’t understand the math, but it has never been her day job, and this is true of most board members in most communities. As a volunteer-based group, the chances that each role is filled by a career professional in that world are slim. Community Managers offer board members oversight and a safety net of knowledge and understanding. Because your board has a lot to offer, but the security of a team of trained professionals behind them is a much better place for every community to be in.

Need Help With Your HOA Decision Making?

Homeowners will always be a little confused about the true nature of Community Association management-it’s a steep learning curve, and one that the board and management team will always have to help them through.If your community needs a management team on their side, or you feel like your manager isn’t really suited for your community’s needs when it comes to homeowner education, let us help.

At Foster Premier, we place immense value on the importance of quality communication and homeowner education. Understanding the roles that managers and the Board of Directors play is the first step toward peace and truly creating a community. Contact us today to learn more about how we can bridge the gaps between homeowners, board members, and community managers.