Your Community Association Board is the entity that absolutely always needs to have its act together. In order for your community to run smoothly, working with professional management to avoid common mistakes should be top priority. When a professional management team steps in, they avoid these common DIY mistakes that happen in their absence. Here are five mistakes that we see Board Members make and how Goodwin & Company can help your Board avoid them.
- Not Reading Governing Documentation
- A Blasé Attitude for Community Rules
- Not Collecting Overdue Fees in a Timely Fashion
- Not Reviewing Financials
- Not Maintaining Proper Insurance
1. Failing to Read Governing Documentation
Your community bylaws and CC&Rs are important documents that help you avoid getting your community in legal and financial trouble. By not knowing the ins and outs of the Association Documents, an Association Board could try and enforce rules which actually aren’t rules or miss important procedural requirements.
Working with a professional management company like Goodwin & Company is an easy way to stay on top of important documents and reminders that your Board will need to follow in order to operate properly.
2. Your Association Board has a Blasé Attitude Towards Community Rules
Even when some Boards know the rules and what is required of them via governing documents, they can seemingly ignore the rules. Association rules need to be enforced fully, consistently, and in compliance with the requirements set forth in the documents. If a Board is specifically not going to enforce a certain rule due to personal bias, that not only opens up the Association to liability, but it also isn’t fair to the other owners who joined the Association under the assumption all rules would be enforced.
Your management company can help your Board with handling community issues like violations and ensuring that scheduled meetings run as planned.
3. Taking Your Time with Overdue Fees
Your management company can also help your Board successfully collect any overdue fees. We understand that a Board is made up of volunteer community members that now must take on the responsibility of collecting money from their neighbors. Remember, letting one owner get away with paying late because you want to avoid confrontation with your neighbor is not fair to the other community members you represent. Let us play hardball for you, while you work to keep your community happy and successful.
4. Failing to Review Your Financials
Failure to review your community financials or failing to truly understand them can be devastating for the community members relying on the Board. Your main goal is to invest your members’ hard-earned money into the community correctly and account for every single dollar spent.
This can be a taxing task and working with a management team that specializes in community finance is a great way to stay on track without making any critical financial errors. Goodwin & Company knows that most Board Members are not financial professionals; so we go out of our way to explain financial reports and general industry practices in financial record keeping so that Board Members are comfortable with their financial reports every month.
5. Not Maintaining Your Insurance Coverage
Failing to stay on top of your Association’s insurance coverage could leave the Association open to huge expenses. Even if coverage is in place, be sure to know what it covers and what it doesn’t. Take the time to work with your management team to review your current D&O insurance policy, what it covers, and when it lapses.
Get the Professional Help Your Board Needs Today, with Goodwin & Company
Mistakes quickly add up for an Association Board. Don’t let your community suffer because you didn’t look to a professional for help. At Goodwin & Company, we help your Board improve its community while also ensuring that the essentials are all taken care of. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our services in your area.
Want to learn more? Here are some broad examples of the responsibilities your HOA board members should expect.
