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What is a Homeowner’s Association?
A homeowner’s association or HOA is a non-profit organization registered with the State. An HOA is composed of members of a community and elected board members who oversee the community. HOAs exist to secure and preserve the functional wellness of a community that is why legal documents such as CC&Rs, Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation are necessary for regulation and compliance of operations.
What is the HOA Board?
The HOA board is the governing body that oversees the operation within the association. The board members are elected by the association, or as otherwise specified in the Bylaws. Their responsibilities include ensuring the HOA is functioning well, the facility damages are fixed, assessments are collected and taxes are being paid.
Are all residents allowed to attend board meetings?
Certainly, yes. The HOA board will announce the details of an upcoming meeting via Newsletters or the HOA’s official website based on the fiscal year calendar.
What are Bylaws?
Bylaws define how an HOA should be governed. For example, the bylaws cover matters such as:
- the duties and responsibilities of board members
- number of board members
- guidelines in electing board members
- frequency of HOA meetings
- how the meetings are conducted
- the duties and responsibilities of board members
What are CC&Rs?
CC&R stands for Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. CC&Rs are legal documents that serve as guidelines for a non-profit organization. The County Recorder’s Office keeps these records along with the property’s title. Homeowners who fail to abide with CC&Rs are to be fined by the HOA.
Basically, the CC&Rs are the rules of the neighborhood. They define what owners can and cannot do regarding their property. For example, the CC&Rs may require you to keep your garage door closed or prohibit certain types of landscaping.
What should I do when I’m having problems with my neighbor violating the CC&R?
Residents can escalate their concern to their HOA. Complain forms can be submitted via the HOA website or directly to their board members.
What if a homeowner is negligent of his dues?
While HOAs may penalize negligent homeowners in paying dues by incurring interest or late charges, most HOAs also have the authority to place lien on the homeowner’s property which may lead to foreclosure if not settled per the CC&R.
What is an HOA Management Company?
A Management company is a third-party service provider that HOAs hire to assist them in various administrative and financial functions. Some administrative functions include property inspections, assistance in hiring vendors that provide resources for the community such as maintenance cleaning, replacement of broken equipment or facility, overseeing major renovations, and handling communication among homeowners and board members. Some financial functions that management companies provide are collection of assessments, generating financial reports, assistance in setting up budgets for major renovations, and assistance in filing taxes.
What is an Assessment?
An assessment is the amount due, usually monthly, to homeowners for covering expenses for regular maintenance and operation for common areas, and reserves for future repair or replacement of certain facilities or equipment such as lighting, street resurfacing, pool equipment, etc. The basic idea for its computation is that each unit should contribute to the expenses so the total expense is divided by number of units. Therefore, monthly assessments could vary from time to time.
In the time when reserves are not enough to cover for a major renovation, the board may impose a Special Assessment to cover for the one-time expense.