4 Reasons Why There’s A Separation Among The HOA Board & Residents

Almost every homeowner association website will stress that a community can only thrive when the HOA board and members collaborate on projects.  Yet, a divide seems to exist between these two entities in many communities.  Often, this separation prevents them from working for the common good of everyone.  Though there are a variety of causes for this, identifying and resolving them is usually the only way to make progress.

 

Typically, this is the starting point.  HOA board members and homeowners rarely work together in some communities because neither side makes much of an effort to reach out.  Obviously, HOA board members have a duty to put channels of communication in place.
But homeowners also have a responsibility to use these channels once they have been implemented.  Otherwise, the HOA board and homeowners will struggle to see any real progress beyond using the homeowner association website.

 

Open lines of communication aren’t necessarily required to bring board members and residents together.  If HOA board members and homeowners are divided, it might be because the residents don’t participate when it comes to making decisions in their community.  An effective HOA board must listen to the issues that members of the community raise and try to act upon them.

 

The idea of open communication channels and friendly dialog between HOA board members and homeowners assumes that the board members are active in the community.  In some HOA’s, board members only do what’s required of them.  They take no interest in challenging matters of the community and other issues that homeowners raise.

Overbearing board members can be extremely difficult to deal with because they pay no attention to the voices of homeowners.  This sort of approach doesn’t just separate HOA board members and homeowners, it creates feelings of hostility.  The relationship between board members and homeowners is delicate and it requires a lot of work.  Otherwise, any progress may be lost and the community will suffer.