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In 2021, 74.1 million American residents lived in Homeowner Association (HOA) communities. However, not all of those HOAs were run exclusively by board members. Many of them were run at least partly by HOA management services.
So what's the difference between board-run HOAs and management service-run HOAs? Read this article to find out.
HOA Managers Are Paid
It takes a lot for an HOA board to run an HOA. Many members probably can't take on as much as people would want them to. This is because most board members are volunteers and have to work alongside being in the HOA.
HOA managers, however, are paid when they complete HOA-related tasks. Because partly running an HOA is their job, they can take on a lot more work. When they do this, the board members can relax a little and do less.
HOA Managers Are More Skilled
HOA managers can do a lot of the same tasks that HOA board members can do. However, in some cases, HOA managers may handle certain tasks better than HOA board members. Managers likely have had more years of prior experience handling HOA real estate matters compared to HOA board members.
For example, managers will likely know a lot more about how to handle HOA legal matters than board members. They will also know the lawyers that will be best at solving their legal cases. Board members may not have this information.
HOA Managers Shouldn't Do Everything
There's a lot that HOA management services can do, but there are also a lot of things that HOA management services shouldn't do. While managers handle a lot of the HOA board members' tasks, they are not board members themselves. There are many tasks that they should leave to the HOA board members.
Here are some tasks that HOA managers can do:
- Enforcing HOA rules
- Collecting HOA payments
- Advising HOA board members
- Creating the HOA budget
- Resolving member conflicts
- Answering resident questions
- Finding professionals for landscaping, maintenance, etc.
Here are some tasks that only HOA board members should do:
- Handling financial audits
- Approving maintenance requests
- Hiring professionals
- Creating HOA rules
- Setting HOA fees
- Approving budgets
Yes, HOA board members can take on these tasks. However, they shouldn't. HOA board members know more about what their community needs because they live there.
So HOA board members need to act like the true leaders of an HOA. As such, they need to take on the tasks that shape the HOA overall. HOA managers should only take on tasks that keep the HOA running.
Hire Our HOA Management Services
Now you can see that HOA managers are slightly the same as HOA board members. However, there are tasks that HOA managers can do better than board members and vice versa.
If you're interested in HOA management services, try ours. We offer HOA management services for those in Bend and the surrounding areas. In addition, we offer property management services for residential and commercial properties.
Schedule a free consultation by filling out the form on this page.
