Being on a homeowners association board means volunteering your time for best of your whole community. It can be an incredibly fulfilling role, but it involves dealing with differences in opinion and finding times to get everyone together. Read the article…………
Effective HOA Meetings
It can be frustrating to be part of a meeting that’s disorganized and seems to go on and on. It’s not difficult to run an effective HOA meeting – all you need to do is follow these simple guidelines: Read the article………..
How to Run a Successful Board Meeting
I have been to my fair share of residential board meetings and was able to offer key insights into how to most effectively and efficiently run these meetings. Here are some of the key takeaways: Read the article………..
Watch Your Body Language in HOA Communications
Many HOA Board members present information at annual meetings, committee gatherings and other HOA events. Do you know that verbal communications only account for about 35% of how the audience perceives your message (words, tone, inflection, etc.)? The remaining 65% consists of non-verbal communication clues. If there’s a disconnect in your communications, look at your […]
Board Meeting Basics for HOA Board Members
Quick, what springs to mind when you hear the word “meetings?” Love them or hate them, if you’re an HOA Board member, you know that Board and association meetings are a necessary part of community association governance. What some people don’t realize is that community associations operate as businesses, so they must hold regular meetings […]
When Board Meetings Go Bad
Board meetings are an important part of any HOA. As long as everyone stays on topic and works together, it’s smooth sailing, but when things go wrong, it can make meetings long, unproductive and useless. Here are some suggestions on three common problems that cause board meetings to go bad. Read the article…………..
How To Conduct An Organizational Board Meeting
Typically, the first order of business at an organizational meeting of the board of directors is the electing of officers. In the absence of a president, it may be acceptable to have a professional manager chair the meeting until the officers are elected. After a president is elected, that person is usually responsible for taking […]
What To Do When Boards and Property Managers Abuse A Law Allowing Decisions By Consent Without A Meeting (CT)
It is CCOC’s hope that this article will answer questions you may have regarding the ability of a board of directors to vote without conducting a board meeting . Read the article………….
How to Efficiently Address Open Comments In HOA Board Meetings
Law requires that a HOA board set aside open comment time for each member to speak with the board. While this a great feature to have in your Charlotte-area homeowners association because it gives each member a voice and opinion about the community they live in, you’ll also want to have an understanding of guidelines […]
Do Your Board Meetings Include Proper Minutes?
During meetings for your homeowners association, the Minutes are what record all actions taken during the proceedings between members. This is a requirement with any homeowners association, and it’s important to be sure all important details are included and accounted for. Read the article………….
When Board Meetings Go Awry…
It would be great if all Boards were functional and all communities well-run, but unfortunately that is not the case; and it is a fact of life in community management that you will at some point in your career attend a meeting that goes right off the rails, or, a “Board Meeting from Hell.” If […]
Tips for Addressing Open Comments at HOA Board Meetings
It’s required by law that time be set aside at each HOA board meeting for members to address the Board. This time for open comments allows members to have a voice about issues in the Association; however it’s important to understand what can and cannot be done during this time. Read the article………….
After Your Inaugural Ball: No Gridlock or Filibusters Allowed in the HOA Boardroom
Just imagine how attentive politicians would be to “the people’s business” if they faced personal liability to the voters for financial losses resulting from “doing nothing” or “going too far”? In America, once someone wins an election to public office, the only thing they really have to worry about is getting re-elected. For those selected […]
Running a Darn Good Meeting – What You Need to Know About Parliamentary Procedure
Legal counsel to community associations must be aware of parliamentary procedure basics. Numerous states have adopted statutes requiring associations to follow a specific parliamentary manual in association meetings. Even without such a mandate, courts generally hold that all organizations are subject to the principles and rules of common parliamentary law. In other words, all of these organizations must observe proper […]
5 Tips for Better HOA Board Meetings
HOA board members have a tremendous amount of power and with that power comes responsibility to exercise it correctly. A big part of this is how you and your fellow board members conduct yourselves when it comes to planning and conducting association meetings. Read the article…………….
Guidelines for the Homeowner Forum at HOA Board Meetings
In homeowners associations, residents are encouraged to attend and observe HOA board meetings. Does your Association have many residents attend the board meetings? Some Associations have many residents that participate and attend meetings and other communities may never have a resident attend a meeting. This entirely depends on the Association. Read the article………..
Preparing For an HOA Meeting
Running a successful homeowner association Board Meeting takes thought and preparation. So when should those preparations begin? Meetings should be scheduled a year in advance (repeat, a year in advance). And why? HOA business should be handled in a systematic way. If meetings are planned, say, for the 2nd Tuesday of every January, April, July […]
Keeping HOA open meetings productive and on track
I am a big proponent of homeowners’ association (HOA) boards keeping their meetings open to members when possible. This promotes an atmosphere of transparency and gives homeowners an opportunity to see and understand how the HOA functions. It also helps homeowners better appreciate the often difficult situations board members grapple with on a routine basis. […]
How Is the Motion to Lay on the Table Misused?
Because the motion to Lay on the Table is not debatable, requires only a majority vote, and has high precedence, members are too often tempted to use it to kill the main motion. This is an improper use of the motion to Lay on the Table and an example of railroading (see Robert’s 210, 215–16). […]
Pros and Cons of Videotaping an HOA Meeting
In some states, such as Florida, it is legal for residents to film community association meetings. While there are many benefits to this, there are also some disadvantages as well. Consider the pros and cons of having your association meetings recorded and create regulations to help prevent misuse of recordings. Read more………
Board Meeting Participation and the Evolution of Being ‘Present’
Serving on a board, not even necessarily as its president, requires a lot of time and work. Because it can be a very demanding role, you often, though not exclusively, see board members who have retired from their fields and can dedicate themselves to the smooth running of their buildings. Read more……….
Tips to Run an Effective Monthly HOA or Condo Association Meeting
All homeowner’s associations have meetings, but often those in charge do not take the meetings quite as seriously as they should. It’s not to say there can’t be some casual elements and some fun to the meetings. However, it’s important to remember that running a quality condo or HOA is akin to running a business. […]
Does the Chair Vote in the Event of a Tie?
In board and membership meetings you’ll sometimes hear the phrase that the chair gets to vote “in case of a tie vote.” But is that accurate? In short, no. Read more………
5 Tips for Better HOA Board Meetings
HOA board members have a tremendous amount of power and with that power comes responsibility to exercise it correctly. A big part of this is how you and your fellow board members conduct yourselves when it comes to planning and conducting association meetings. Read the article………………………………….
4 Steps to Better HOA Meeting Minutes
For some, the task of recording HOA meeting minutes is second nature (most likely our studious friends). For most, this is a tedious, burdensome task. Either way, it’s a very serious and important duty. Board meeting minutes are helpful in reviewing past meetings, particularly to catch up new board members. Minutes are considered official records […]
Alcohol and HOA Board Meetings Just Don’t Mix
After a long day at work, it’s sometimes nice to sit down with a lovely glass of red wine or a cocktail. However, at the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I have to say that alcohol and HOA board meetings are just not a good mix. Read more………
6 ways to improve your HOA board meetings
Select a mutually convenient location. Your community club house is ideal but a nearby restaurant, school or church might work also. Keep in mind, you’ll need table space and a semi-quite environment. Keep it close to home for a better turn out. Read more………
3 Important Tips for an Effective HOA Board Meeting
When you hear the word “meeting” do you want to run in the other direction? We’ve all been in meetings that drag on and on, feel like a waste of time because nothing gets accomplished, or are outright exhausting because board members spend the time arguing with each other. What if you had a few […]
Monster Meetings: Stick to the Rules to Control Meetings
The headline of a recent Walpole, Massachusetts newspaper article read: “Fight between Walpole selectmen cuts meeting short.” The first sentence of the article stated, “Selectmen came to verbal blows on Tuesday night, prompting other board members to cut the meeting short as two of their colleagues took the altercation outside.” Read more………
Unanimous Consent: Good Presiding Officers Use It!
Sure, you can use formal procedure to handle routine, noncontroversial matters in board and membership meetings. But why would you? Read more…….
What should be included in HOA board minutes? (NC)
What should be included in the minutes of a board meeting? Does every item on the agenda have to be addressed in the minutes? Read more…….
Guidelines for Running Board Meetings Successfully and Efficiently
One of the most common complaints we get as HOA management professionals is that board meetings never accomplish anything. No matter how many times these boards meet or how long they meet for—and trust us, sometimes meetings can drag on for hours at a time—the agenda remains just as packed and the community continues to […]
Control your board meetings
There are many circumstances under which litigation can arise between members of a community association and the community association or its board of directors. One tactic employed by members who are litigating with or otherwise adverse to the interests of the community association is to disrupt the open meetings of the association by having the […]
A Minute on Meeting Minutes
Adopted meeting minutes are the official record of actions taken at a meeting. As a result, well-written minutes can be invaluable. In the event of a dispute, minutes are the best proof of whether a proposal was adopted or the exact wording of a motion. Read more……
Making Your Board Meeting Minutes Available To The Public
Our neighborhood’s homeowners’ association (HOA) was early to the web and early to posting board minutes online, starting in 2002. Our association has always had an “open door” policy to the documents created for the association, and minutes and the monthly balance sheet have been public the entire time. Read more……
Meeting Minders: A Guide to Running Better Meetings
You may love your building. You may even love your neighbors and the members of your board. But there are few people who can say that they love their monthly board meetings or annual owner or shareholder meetings. Read more…..
Just a Minute! Keeping Good Association Minutes Can Avoid Problems Later
In Bolton, Massachusetts, a condo resident owned a truck with commercial license plates and, when it wasn’t in use, he wanted to park it on the property. The previous board gave him approval to do so, but when it came time to produce proof of this decision to the new board, the resident couldn’t produce […]
Reasons Why an HOA Board Might Call an Executive Session
As a member of an HOA board you have many responsibilities in your position. One of the most important and least understood by many Board members is the Executive Session. A good understanding of this matter may save headaches in the long run and keep the Board out of thorny situations. Read more…..
Take charge of that meeting: 8 ways to make sense of Robert’s Rules of Order
If you’re going to chair meetings or rise to a high post in your professional society, you’re likely to run up against Robert’s Rules of Order. In the U.S., it’s the most widely used authority on parliamentary procedure–and many a meeting chair has struggled to follow those rules. A reader of The Eloquent Woman wrote […]
How to Run An Effective HOA Board Meeting
Have you ever asked yourself after an Association board meeting “what went wrong?” The flow of the meeting was off, the meeting went on way too long and the atmosphere was unwelcoming for the owners who came to observe. With some careful preparation and attention to some simple tips, you can leave your next board […]
Meeting Manners Matter
The benefits of good manners are obvious. They make your professional relationships more productive and increase the likelihood of effective problem solving in teams. A recent US World and News Report poll indicated that rudeness had increased so dramatically that society was experiencing a profound social breakdown. Read More……
Meeting Moment–Amending Minutes
The first action item on most owners’ meeting agendas is approving the minutes of the last owners’ meeting. Let’s say that — as usual — you have an ambitious agenda, with many action items and a limited time in which to get through them all. But when the secretary moves to approve last year’s minutes, […]
Rules of the Road for Productive Board Meetings
Those of us who specialize in community law spend a whole lot of time at HOA board meetings. Based upon experience, I can tell you that how well a meeting is run can make a world of difference in the amount of business which gets accomplished and whether the interactions at the meeting are constructive. […]
The Art of Taking Minutes at Your Association’s Meeting
Detailed minutes can prove troublesome for your Association. Minutes are required at any Association or Board meeting. They serve as a record of the actions and decisions made at a meeting; however, they are not meant to be a transcript of the meeting. The more unnecessary, superfluous detail is included in Board meeting minutes, the […]
The Common Sense “Secrets” to Running Good Board Meetings
Condo and co-op board meetings should be productive, efficient gatherings where the board conducts business and doesn’t meet to socialize. Are you getting the most out of your meetings? If not, consider a few of these things — from how to set an agenda to how you treat fellow board members and your managing agent. Read […]
Meeting Moment – Avoid Rookie Mistakes
Usually we talk about how to handle the tough stuff that may come up during homeowner meetings. This month, we’ll talk about the easy stuff: how to avoid “rookie mistakes” — oversights that new or inexperienced meeting chairs often make. Keep this list with you and you’ll be more confident and professional while you preside […]
“Open Meetings” may not apply, but it’s still a good idea
Most states have “Sunshine” or “Open Meetings” laws, requiring that meetings of governing bodies be open and transparent. The laws were designed to prevent “backroom” politics from undermining the political process and making sure that citizens could see just what their governments were up to. The laws really don’t stop people from working behind the […]