What does this mean? How would I know? Is it Important? Who cares? All valid questions and certainly varies from association to association. What follows is an attempt to shed some light on this often-forgotten issue in today’s busy world of business and staggering list of priorities placed on each of us. Let’s begin by […]
County Recognizes 15 Neighborhoods For Building Community (FL)
Fifteen groups and individuals across Hillsborough County have taken top honors in Hillsborough County’s annual Neighborhood Recognition Awards program, recognizing those whose efforts go above and beyond to make a difference. The 2018 countywide awards program highlighted individuals, groups and organizations that have enriched the quality of life in neighborhoods through outreach, improvement projects, volunteer […]
Memorial Day Ideas for Your HOA
With beautiful spring weather in full force and Memorial Day fast approaching, folks are eager to get outside and spend time with neighbors and friends. Throwing a party to celebrate Memorial Day is a great way to bring your residents together and create a greater sense of community with minimal effort. Read the article………………
Spring Events to Bring Your HOA Community Together
Warmer weather means it’s almost time for outdoor activities to begin! With only a few weeks left until Spring finally arrives, here are five ideas for an outdoor community event you can organize: Read the article……………….
HOA Event Ideas for Spring and Summer
Community is the most important aspect of your homeowners association. Part of the responsibility of the HOA board is to make sure there are plenty of activities year round that bring the community together, build strong bonds of friendship, and make homeowners feel valued. Read the article……………..
It’s Time to Change the Message (Part 1)
……I’ve seen this reality play out big time in community associations. In the early years of the Community Associations Institute, the emphasis seemed to be on covenants compliance. Boards and managers alike fell into the trap of proficiency and efficiency in enforcing covenants and rules without going deeper. They acted more like technocrats following procedures […]
Philippines: Building goodwill among homeowners and their communities
For real estate developers, management of subdivision development projects starts upon the turnover of the project to the homeowners. The homeowners then organize themselves to form the homeowners association, the governing body that will manage the affairs of the subdivision and its members. If you are an elected member of the homeowners association or a […]
A collaboration for community improvement (CA)
Lakeshore Park is most pleased to report all our Cal Fire and PG&E grant activities and goals were recently met. Like many communities in Eastern Madera County, the residents in Lakeshore Park on the north shore of Bass Lake faced it’s greatest challenge in a 60 year history. Bark beetles swept the area and left […]
How to Put the “Community” in Community Association
Being a board member is a multifaceted responsibility that involves planning, organizing, leading, and monitoring the affairs of your association. Not only does the board run a business by selecting contractors and deciding when to perform what work, they also must administer and enforce the association’s governing documents, all while being a volunteer! With all […]
Family-friendly Condo Communities
Condo communities should be catering to all ages and life-stages in their community. It is increasing important for condo communities to be inclusive. Singles age, have families and enter middle-age before becoming seniors. Retaining residents through life-stages can be a challenge. If your condo community does not currently have a growing population of young children, […]
How to Host the Perfect Event for Your Community
Between all the budgeting, planning and maintenance tasks, you and your fellow board members probably tried to squeeze a few events into your community’s annual strategic plan. The options for giving your community a chance to come together are limitless, which is exciting. But, too many choices can make the planning process for your board […]
Diversifying Your Board: Practicing and Prioritizing Inclusivity
A democracy fares best when it is proportionally representative of its constituents. For all intents and purposes, the board of a condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association is a democratically-elected entity, and as such, one could argue that it should strive for proportional representation of the residents it seeks to govern. Read the article………………
Biscotti Diplomacy: Never underestimate the value of a face-to-face apology. Baked goods help, too
When I bought my first home in 2016, the townhouse complex I moved into seemed like a paradise on earth. The neighbors were friendly, the homeowners association was efficient but not overbearing, and the wooded setting at the base of a mountain seemed made for brisk walks and amateur observations of the native flora and […]
How Do We Change the Attitude of Homeowner Apathy in an HOA?
Homeowner apathy is a question we are asked by numerous Boards, and we can all agree, it is a universal problem. Board members should remember that the majority of people do inherently care about their association so they should not feel discouraged. Homeowners simply need certain pushes or opportunities to be placed in front of […]
Should your Community Association have a Holiday Party?
With Christmas just around the corner, many community associations are currently planning parties to celebrate the holiday season. Holiday parties are a great way to bring the community together and converse with your neighbors. These parties frequently involve the catering of food and alcohol as well as live entertainment which helps foster community participation. Read […]
3 Ways to Strengthen Community Relations this Thanksgiving!
Holiday seasons are always a great occasion for bringing your community together and strengthening relationships. Keeping in touch with residents and bringing them together for festivities are some things you can do to cultivate a happier, more connected community. As we approach Thanksgiving, we share some tips you can implement. These tips are straight from […]
Tips from an HOA Board for a Safe Halloween in Your Association
Halloween is a kid’s delight. It’s a blast to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties and most of all, eat a lot of candy. At the same time, Halloween can be scary for parents. Costumes can be dangerous, too much candy can be sickening and walking around at night can be risky, even […]
National Night Out for Community Associations: Your Ticket to Community Partnership
National Night Out: it’s one of the biggest community-building events of the year. While the rest of the nation typically celebrates National Night Out in August, throughout Texas and Florida, this event is held on the first Tuesday in October. If your community association hasn’t participated in the past, it’s a great time to start […]
Halloween is upon us
It is officially fall and that means Halloween is right around the corner. Doorsteps will soon be adorned with pumpkins, autumn wreaths, and spooky figures, but what does your HOA actually allow? Since some people get really excited for the holidays, it’s important to establish rules around Halloween decorations and communicate them with plenty of […]
In Heavily Flooded West Houston, a Neighborhood Comes Together to Save Itself (TX)
One of the first rescues was 120 pounds of wet, terrified Rhodesian ridgeback, wide-eyed and shaking on top of a kitchen counter. It was Sunday, August 27. A neighbor kid had been pet-sitting for the dog’s out-of-town owners, when he realized Buffalo Bayou was coming out of its banks so rapidly he could no longer […]
7 Keys to Success for Social Events in your Community
Communities often have difficulty attracting residents to their social events, which can make it difficult to justify the effort and cost. Imagine a family-oriented HOA with 500 homes – with a healthy social budget of $50,000 per year. A community can do a LOT with this amount of money, but it is still only $100 […]
Millennials and New HOA Demographics
As millennials begin families and start to settle down, they are becoming one of the largest groups of home-buyers. From 2010-2015 the percentage of millennials moving into San Antonio homes went up 14.4%. That makes San Antonio the second most popular metro area for millennial home-buyers! While some HOAs are already making the move toward […]
Rehabilitating the HOA Image One Person, One Deed, and One Community at a Time
So last month I was at the doctor’s office, and as I was making small talk with the nurse she asked “So what do you do?” I responded “I’m an HOA attorney.” She actually grimaced. It was a clear knee-jerk reaction. And then she laughed, said sorry, and made some comment about her friend’s trash […]
The Resurrection of Civility – Take Back Your Community Association Board
In June, I addressed the Death of Civility – Why Community Association Board Members Serve – in part one of this series. I left you with a dysfunctional collection of community association board members, and the promise of a next installment. Well, here you are – specific, time-tested suggestions for bringing all the directors back […]
A Quick Guide to Encouraging HOA Volunteerism
Sometimes people who buy a home in an HOA neighborhood may not be used to the core concepts of an HOA. In most places, you take care of your property and keep to yourself. Maybe you get to know one or two neighbors and share cookouts, but if not, that’s okay too. The idea of […]
Legal & Liability Issues for Programs & Activities: Get Covered
As more and more co-ops and condominium communities seek to attract residents, boards and managers have turned to attractive new programming opportunities for individuals and families. Whether it’s a rooftop Fourth of July party, a gardening workshop, or an off-site dining experience, there is no shortage of options to entertain and engage residents and shareholders. […]
Community Gardens in Your HOA
Community gardens are all the rage right now, and for good reason. Gardening offers people the chance to grow their own food and reap the rewards of hard work and diligence. But beyond that, a community garden offers a group of people the chance to come together and bond over a common interest. If your […]
Summer is Prime Community Time
One of the primary objectives of a community association board of directors is to facilitate and encourage a sense of connection within their physical community. There are multiple ways a board can boost community, including using committees comprised of homeowners, utilizing a robust communication system that may include a website or monthly newsletter that keeps […]
Love Where You Live: Building Emotional Equity in Your Community
When you’re leading a community, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks like scheduling maintenance, enforcing rules and creating budgets. But, when we only focus on work that’s in front of us, we forget why we do the work in the first place: to create a community where all residents love to […]
Get Involved in Your Community
One of the first steps in making a difference is becoming involved in your community. Because association living is the most noticeable and accessible to most homeowners today, this community involvement will often begin with your association. So how do you become involved in your community? One way to become involved in your association is […]
There Goes the Neighborhood
Originally conceived by John D. Rockefeller Jr., Forest Hill was designed as a vision of suburban unity. But vacant homes and nasty squabbles about how to save the historic community may be tearing it apart. Read the article…………….
The Board Member’s Toolbox for Building Community
As a Board member, it can sometimes be easy to focus on the operational functions of managing an Association rather than the larger picture: creating a Community that Homeowners and residents love to live in. Vendors of all sorts must be hired and paid in a timely manner, mailings have to be prepared and sent, […]
Creating the right culture for your HOA
Power over our own destinies is inherently circumscribed by the matryoshka dolls of governance that preside over our existence. From the complexities of international diplomacy to our national sociopolitical boondoggle to the more specific doctrines emanating from state houses and county buildings, we are subject to enormous levels of outside influence. Here in our fair […]
How to Handle Conflict: Try to be Neighborly
Notwithstanding your best efforts and those of other members within the community, conflict is bound to happen. The key to resolving this conflict without the need for expensive attorneys or hateful battles is in how the conflict is addressed. While trying to be neighborly within your community makes common sense, it is something that appears […]
Condo Tenants: A Potential Asset
Question: We have been renting a condominium unit in a fairly large complex for the last several years, and our current plans are to stay here for several more years. For financial and other personal reasons, we do not want to buy. However, quite frankly we feel that we are second class citizens in this […]
You Can Make a Difference!
Driving to and from your garage and merely existing in an association is not the only option. Living within an association provides you with many opportunities to become involved in your community. Assuming you meet any qualifications which exist within the documents, one of the best ways to be involved in your community is to […]
Building a Stronger Community: Encouraging Neighbors
Are condominiums, co-ops and HOAs cohesive communities? Is community part and parcel of what the purchaser is seeking when they buy into a co-op, condo or HOA? The concept of ‘community cohesiveness’ could be defined as a community in which there is a common vision and a sense of belonging, and where the diversity of […]
Avoiding Discrimination and Its Legal Consequences: The Power of Equality
Despite the fact that most people would agree that discrimination is a bad thing, discrimination persists, which suggests either that existing laws against it are sometimes ignored, or that the legal definition of ‘discrimination’ isn’t always clear. Fortunately, when it comes to condos, co-ops and HOAs there are laws at the federal, state and local […]
Building a Stronger Community: Encouraging Neighbors
Are condominiums, co-ops and HOAs cohesive communities? Is community part and parcel of what purchasers are seeking when they buy into a co-op, condo or HOA? The concept of ‘community cohesiveness’ could be defined as a community in which there is a common vision and a sense of belonging, and where the diversity of people’s […]
Strengthening Your Community
The community in which we live has a great influence on our lives. Whether that’s relaxing during the summer at the community pool. Or, on the other hand, getting frustrated that our neighbor’s perennials don’t mesh well in the spring. Comfortable, stable communities significantly improve the quality of our lives. Strong communities often have accessible […]
Handling Touchy Complaints in Co-Ops and Condos: It’s About Sense and Sensitivity
Conflict comes hand-in-hand with living in close quarters. Such is the nature of condominium and cooperative living. Some dust-ups between neighbors are settled with a polite conversation, or a mild nudge from the condo or co-op board. Others can get out of hand, and in extreme cases be dragged out for years via the courts. […]
Ways to Help Make Your Homeowners Association Community Better
Your homeowners association has a lot going on, and that includes a range of upcoming social events as well several important ongoing projects. The HOA board may also find that the website needs updating, there’s always room for another article in the Association newsletter Read the article………….
Keeping Your Community on Track During the Holiday Season
Holidays can be a lot of fun when you live in a planned community, condo or co-op. But when you are on your association’s board of directors, they can also be a lot of work. You have to make sure all the prep work is done, decorations are up, vacations are covered and parties are […]
Fun and Unique Social Events the HOA Can Plan
The best way to create a community in your condo association is to make the residents feel like a community. There are myriad ways to do this, but one of the best is to plan a fun and inclusive social event that everyone can enjoy. Most of the typical social events revolve around something specific […]
Tips from an HOA Board for a Safe Halloween in Your Association
Halloween is a kid’s delight. It’s a blast to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties and most of all, eat a lot of candy. At the same time, Halloween can be scary for parents. Costumes can be dangerous, too much candy can be sickening and walking around at night can be risky, even […]
Raising a Family in a High-Rise – How Communities are Making it Easier
When a lot of people think about high-rise living, they don’t necessarily jump to the idea of families in high-rises. In many cities, high-rises are still considered the domain of the young and single, or couples without kids or active retirees. The New York Times even ran a piece, in 1987, decreeing that “A High-Rise […]
6 ways to manage a successful homeowners’ association
It is always a convenient option to form a group of like-minded people, chosen by the rest of the residents to maintain harmony in the neighborhood. For this purpose,homeowners’ associations are formed so that one can mark the elements that progress or hinder the wellbeing of a certain community. No matter if it is a […]
Kass: Apathy and the Condo Owner
Question. I live in a condominium development consisting of more than 200 townhouses. Our Bylaws state that to have a quorum, we must have a majority of the homeowners of the Condominium Association, either in person or by proxy. A majority did not attend the recent annual meeting, either in person or by proxy. The […]
Neighbour vs. Neighbour
Lifestyle clashes are inevitable when people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds live on top of each other in a forced community. When different priorities collide, a siege mentality can set in.