Wednesday, January 9, 2013

HOA Self Management?


As we begin 2013, many can only hope that his year will bring better economical conditions than previous years.  In the recent recession, many businesses have survived only by drastically cutting costs.  However, where homeowner associations are concerned, self management is not the answer.

In an article titled “The Myth of HOA Self Management,” the author states that the myth of HOA self management was started in the 1960s by developers which stood to profit from the decreased costs of self management.  As many HOA boards went forward with self management, they found the path of self management full of pitfalls and dead ends.

An unhappy truth of HOA Management is the need to collect delinquent payments.  This requires a high amount of diplomacy and very thick skin.  How many board members want to walk next door, knock on their neighbor’s door, and tell their neighbor that they are behind on their association payments?  What kind of community environment does that create?  Is it worth the money that might be saved?

The article went on to say that “…the two most emotional reasons that even the smallest HOAs should be professionally managed: Money and Rules. No neighbor should have to collect money from or enforce rules on another neighbor since the actions are predictably confrontational.”

LandArc has more than 25 years of experience in the property management industry.  This experience simply cannot be matched by volunteer boards of HOA communities.  Within the last year, LandArc has proven our excellence in crisis management when one of our communities was damaged in a tornado last year.  Our response to that situation gained us the business of a neighboring HOA community.  What board member would be able to handle managing the cleanup and reconstruction of not only their own home but their neighbor’s homes as well?

Self management is not the answer to reduced costs and will lead to more headaches.  To read more about the myth of HOA self management, click on the following link:

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