Category: Community Association Management Raleigh

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Rules Every HOA Board Member Should Follow – Part 2

Hello, and welcome back to our blog here at RS Fincher. In our last blog, we took a look at several rules every HOA board member should follow. We talked about understanding the community, asking questions, and reading the CC&Rs. This time, we’re going to talk about several more things that every board member should do. If you have any questions about getting help for managing your HOA community in Raleigh and the surrounding area, don’t hesitate to contact RS Fincher.

Read the bylaws

Even more important than the CC&Rs are the bylaws. Bylaws tell the reader how the board will operate, how often meetings will be held, the duties of each position on the board, as well as membership voting rights. For residents, these bylaws are important to read so that they know how their HOA management works, but they’re even more important for board members to understand so they can be better at fulfilling their position on the HOA board.

Go to board meetings

There’s nothing more frustrating as an HOA board president or board member to see people not showing up to board meetings. Board meetings are usually planned well in advance so that everyone can make it and they are absolutely critical to the success of not only the board but the community as a whole. Board meets help everyone get on track and allow members to speak their mind about any concerns or ideas.

Seek advice

It never hurts to seek out advice on any questions you may have about running your position. The HOA board president is a great person to talk to, as well as lawyers, or anyone else who has previously worked in your position and may have more experience with certain situations. There’s never a bad time to seek out expert advice.

Contact RS Fincher today

Running an HOA community is no simple task and you shouldn’t have to do it alone. RS Fincher is proud to support local Raleigh HOAs run their communities with a comprehensive list of services. These include everything from bookkeeping, accounting, and financial reporting to managing service requests and overseeing board meetings. We will work closely with the board president and board members to understand what goals the community has, then do everything we can to help you reach them quickly and affordably. If you have any questions or you’re ready to get started, contact us today.

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Tips For Having A More Productive HOA Board Meeting

The Davis-Stirling act requires that your community association board has regular meetings, and since these meetings are one of the only times you’ll have all your board members together in one place, you should make sure you take advantage of them and plan accordingly. Hiring a community association management company like RS Fincher in Raleigh will help you better organize these meetings and have the most productive conversation possible. Contact us today if you have any questions.

Communicate

The best thing you can do before, during, and after your board meeting is to have great communication. According to the Davis-Stirling Act, you must notify board members four days ahead of time about the meeting. Make sure you send out with the notification, some general information about what the meeting will cover, as well as some ideas of what to prepare. Most great leaders will take the time before a meeting to get people talking and thinking about things so that by the time the meeting comes around, people not only feel more prepared, but they’ll be more likely to show up to the meeting because they’ll feel more involved in the decision-making process.

During the meeting, you should make sure that you facilitate communication between all members of the board, not just a small handful. Even if a certain member doesn’t work in the current area of conversation, they should still be allowed to have an input.

Once the meeting is over, you should take some time to write a follow-up email to everyone. This will help remind everyone what took place in the meeting and what decisions were made. This way, that time will not have been wasted and board members will feel like their time was put to good use.

Keep it on track

As anyone who has run a meeting before, it’s easy for a discussion to be taken off topic quickly and it’s oftentimes difficult to get it back on track once that happens. Before the meeting starts, remind your board members what the meeting will cover and once it starts, keep it on track by redirecting the conversation. It doesn’t hurt to remind members that there is a limited amount of time to talk and a lot of things to cover.

Take notes

If you want to be able to follow up with your board members after the meeting is over, make sure you take notes. By the time the meeting is over, you should have a general outline of everything that was discussed, as well as some notes about things that you didn’t have time to cover. This way you can start formulating an agenda for your next meeting. You should encourage your board members to take notes as well.

Be prepared

Another way to increase the productivity of your meeting is to be fully prepared once the meeting starts. This doesn’t just include preparing the subject material and being ready to talk about it, it also includes documents, records, computers, projectors, and whatever tool you need. If all these things are set up and ready to go by the time the meeting starts, you won’t be wasting any time, and your board members will be more inclined to show up to meetings more often and on time.

Speak with an HOA management company

If you want to make your board meetings as productive as possible, you should speak with and hire a community association management company that will help you refine your HOA procedures. If you’re in Raleigh or the surrounding area, contact RS Fincher today to learn about our community association management services.

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What You Should Look For In An HOA Board Member

When it comes to recruiting board members for your HOA community, it’s not just about choosing whoever is interested in the position. You should take time to understand the qualities of a good HOA board member and base your decisions around that. A qualified candidate will have a great sense of direction, leadership, and will be able to keep an eye on the big picture while delving into the details. Keep reading to learn more about finding and recruiting great board members for your HOA community.

Great communication

Having superb communication skills is the first thing you should look for in a board member. When you’re having a meeting, you want a group of people who are going to communicate well amongst each other. You want someone who will be able to work in this environment, not only being able to communicate their own thoughts and ideas, but being able to listen to and understand other board members’ point of view. Communication is also a key part of forming a great community. You want your board members to be actively involved and communicating with homeowners.

Team mentality

Another great quality for your HOA board member to have is a team mentality. The member should understand that they have a role to perform, but that their efforts are part of a larger, team-oriented effort that will make the community better for everyone. Generally, your board member needs to take his/her individual strengths and know how to use them in a way that will be beneficial for the board as a whole.

Hard working

Many people will volunteer to be board members but end up not putting in the effort to maintain their role. Although being a board member is a volunteer role and you can’t expect your board members to put in as much effort as a full-time paid job, there is still a minimum level of effort your board member will need to put into their work. And if they don’t seem enthusiastic about this, they’re probably not the right person for the job.

Committed

Going along the same lines as hard working, you want your board members to be committed to what they do. If they show commitment to their role on the board, you won’t have to spend any time worrying about whether they’re doing their job or not, and everyone else can worry about their own job as well. You also won’t have to worry about looking for other potential volunteers to fill his/her role if they decide to leave at a moment’s notice.

Contact RS Fincher today

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of leading your HOA board? A reputable community association management company like RS Fincher will help you find the right candidates for your board, ensure that they comply with laws and regulations, and relieve a lot of the workload for them. Contact RS Fincher today and learn why we’re one of the most respected HOA management companies in the area.