Fix Your HOA

In a future podcast I'll talk about what I think is good and bad about today's HOAs, but in this podcast I'm going to give a little history lesson composed of that I think are the three basic reasons why HOAs were formed and will continue to be the norm for the foreseeable future. Levittown, NY was a "planned community" for servicemen returned from World War II and their families. CC&Rs -- the basis for how HOAs are today -- were used for racial (and other types of) discrimination practices. Cities and counties stopped providing parks and playgrounds for new communities due to budget issues, and developers needed a way to attract young buyers with growing families. You won't see much of this on the web sites of management companies and community association support organizations. But you can hear about it here on the HOA Coach podcast.

Here's a deep-dive into how I went from "what's an HOA" to "OMG, I need to get involved in this!"  I moved in late August 2016, and the annual meeting -- and board election -- was in early September.  Hear about the "Gang of Five" versus "The Long-Timers", and how the new guys on the board took all the officer positions. This is the audio portion of the YouTube video here.

Here's a quick peek into what you're in store for in future episodes of Adventures at Rio Crossing.  Hear about my journey from "new homeowner" with no HOA exposure to "president of the association" and helping the board members learn about our governing documents (you'd think they already knew!), about (small-level) corporate finance... and how to run the association like a business while treating our members like neighbors. Expect a new episode about once a week! This is the audio portion of the YouTube video available here.

You'll spend lots of money buying a home, including a title search, termite and home inspection, and you'll spend lots of time checking out the schools, shopping, recreation, restaurants. Will you check out your HOA? Here are 8 things you should check out about your HOA before buying your home: Governing documents, including CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules, and Policies. Financial statements and budgets Reserve Study (a what??) The assessment history Check that you received all the documents that you're required to receive Review the prior owner's account standing, including any outstanding delinquencies you might end up responsible for. Ask for copies of all prior Architectural Requests, and review the property to make sure everything added there after the developer sold the house is approved. Review all outstanding violations.

Some HOAs are pretty good, some not so good.  Every organization -- including HOAs -- has the occasional problem.  But what are the types of problems I hear about?  I can categorize them into these areas I call "The 5 Levels of HOA Hell." One person, one issue with the HOA, board, or management company. Several people -- you and several (or many) of your neighbors -- all have one or more issues with the association. There is a consensus that the association is not being run like the neighbor-friendly business it should be. You have suspicions -- or solid evidence -- of fraud, misconduct, or serious wrong-doing by a board member, officer, management company, or vendor. Impending financial doom -- could be for you personally (the association is foreclosing on your home) or for the association (it is about to be taken into receivership due to lack of performance). Fix Your HOA will help you in each of these situations... but we'll offer more help in some situations than others.

I'm planning on a podcast every week or so, and before I get into the nitty gritty of fixing what ails your HOA, I thought I've give you a little insight about how I got to this point, and where I'm going with it. This podcast (and all of FixYourHOA.com) is for everyone associated in any way with an HOA, regardless of which of these categories you fit in to: You're an association member with a gripe about something the HOA/board/management company did to you You're on the board of the HOA and you're struggling with member apathy, poor management company performance, or rogue board members You just want to learn more about HOAs before buying your first HOA-embedded home You're a service provider -- management company rep, landscaper, HOA attorney, or other HOA-related company -- and you want to learn more about what makes HOAs difficult, interesting, and sometimes even rewarding.