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According to a recent study, volunteer HOA board and committee members spend around $2.949 billion worth of their time on their duties. This serves to highlight how much effort goes into running these housing communities.
It also explains why many HOAs hire community association managers to help reduce this burden of work. Keep reading to find out how an HOA manager can help take the load off your HOA board members.
What Is a Community Association Manager?
Community association managers play a vital role in the daily operations of HOAs. They're the main representatives of the:
- Property owners
- Homeowner association
- Board of directors
Most of these community leaders have achieved a Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) certificate. They may also develop their skills through work experience.
Many CAMs have experience in the real estate industry or business world.
Overall Responsibilities of Community Association Managers
In most cases, the community association manager lives in one of the condominiums that form part of the HOA. This makes it possible for them to fulfill their duties more effectively.
Community association management responsibilities have two main goals. These are:
- Ensuring homeowners' needs are met
- Ensuring everyone follows the procedures of the association
To fulfill these roles, they must regularly inspect common areas. This is to identify any maintenance, repair, or cleanliness issues.
They also oversee services like landscaping, trash collection, and snow removal to ensure they're carried out on time.
Furthermore, community managers must check that property owners follow established rules and restrictions.
Depending on their authority, the community association manager may correct any shortfalls themselves. In some cases, they refer their concerns to the board of directors.
Managers always act as the main liaison between the HOA board and:
- Property owners
- Contractors
- Vendors
- Service providers
In this capacity, they often work with the board of directors in an advisory capacity concerning budgeting and reporting. They may also help ensure compliance with state and federal HOA regulations.
Day-to-Day Tasks of Community Association Managers
When they're not inspecting things, community managers have many other daily tasks to perform. These include:
- Responding to property owners' complaints and requests
- Hiring contractors for community maintenance
- Hiring vendors for community services
- Managing janitorial, office, and association employees
- Overseeing maintenance staff
- Scheduling and paying contractors and vendors
- Filing reports
- Managing expenses and budgets
- Collecting HOA management fees
Community association managers may also deal with a range of mundane administrative tasks. These include:
- Answering calls and emails
- Updating records
- Taking minutes at board meetings
These simple yet important tasks can take up a lot of unnecessary time for HOA board members.
Hiring a Community Association Manager for Your HOA
Community association managers are an asset to any HOA. They can perform all or some of the tasks associated with managing a community.
Without proper management, housing communities soon degrade and lose their value. HOA board members are sworn to ensure this doesn't happen.
If your self-managed Houston community is struggling to manage day-to-day operations to ensure its appeal and retain its value, you need help fast.
Get in touch to discuss your property management needs before it's too late.
