A Guide to Innovation and Efficiency in Your Community

Introduction

Running a homeowners’ association (HOA) presents unique challenges — whether it’s managing budgets, coordinating maintenance, or fostering a strong sense of community. “A Guide to Innovation and Efficiency in Your Community” is here to help you overcome those challenges by embracing modern solutions that enhance productivity and satisfaction.

In this free eBook, you’ll learn:

• Proven techniques to improve community engagement and communication
• Time-saving tools for efficient property management
• How to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency
• The latest innovations in HOA technology that simplify your tasks

Modernizing HOAs

The real estate market is changing. As younger people take the plunge into homeownership, baby boomers are beginning to age out of their property. And with this demographic shift comes another trend — the rise of homeowners associations. More and more are popping up all over the country. 

Here’s a snapshot from a study by the National Association of Realtors:

• Approximately 75.5 million Americans live in an HOA community.
• HOAs are expected to grow by 3,000 in 2024.
• Homes in HOA-managed communities are worth 5% to 6% more than comparable private homes

These numbers make sense given the advantages of living in a managed community. Access to amenities like pools and playgrounds, built-in landscaping services, property maintenance, and security are some of the most popular perks.

Here’s the catch – HOA management must be forward-thinking to meet the demands of younger homeowners who expect transparency, convenience, and engagement. Pulling this off requires the right tech tools.

If your self-managed HOA is still in the operational dark ages, resident life will inevitably be subpar. But there’s an easy solution in the form of software designed specifically to help HOAs overhaul their internal processes and give homeowners exactly what they need.

Trends and Innovations in HOA Management

Homeowners associations aren’t what they used to be. They’ve evolved significantly over the past few decades due to changing laws, diverse community living, and a culture that relies on (and expects) technology. 

HOAs also have more responsibility. Years ago, an association’s primary role was to ensure the basic upkeep of the community. Today, they have a hand in everything from facilitating seamless communication to accounting to overseeing large-scale renovations.

These changes necessitate new standards and trends in HOA management. Let’s look at some that are shaping the future of homeowners associations. 

Technology that fits the bill  

Self-managed HOAs are typically strapped for resources. Some opt to work with property management companies to help ease their workload, but it’s costly and often comes with a whole new set of complications. 

A better solution is HOA management software built specifically for managed communities. This all-in-one solution helps HOAs streamline their operation while improving the quality of life in the community. 

Features of HOA management software include handy tools such as: 

• Owner portals that give residents the ability to pay bills, communicate, and access policies. 
• Dues and violation management tools that provide a level of transparency so disputes don’t arise and the board stays organized.  
• Budgeting and reporting functionality that makes it easy for board members to maintain a birds-eye view of the association’s finances.  
• Communication tools that allow the HOA to inform the community and promote engagement between residents.  

With Millenial and Gen Z homeowners becoming more common, implementing this type of HOA software makes perfect sense. Younger generations have grown up paying bills online and communicating via digital channels, so most won’t expect anything less from their HOA. 

A focus on sustainability 

Consumers today are increasingly concerned about environmental issues. Many are willing to make purchasing and lifestyle decisions that reflect this. 

For homeowners, this means reducing their carbon footprint through sustainable living practices. Things like solar energy, water conservation, and recycling initiatives are not just top-of-mind for many people, they’re necessary. 

With this, we see HOAs recognizing the importance of sustainability and implementing policies to reduce their community’s environmental impact. 

Initiatives that are getting more attention: 

• Use of solar panels 
• Energy-efficient lighting 
• Green construction standards
• Drought-resistant landscaping 
• EV charging stations 
• Composting 

These eco-friendly practices improve the quality of life in communities and help HOAs reduce long-term costs. Residents also benefit from a healthier neighborhood they can be proud of. 

Well-managed micro-communities 

HOAs are more involved in their communities than they were in the past. With so many moving parts involved in HOA management, they have to be. 

Communication has a critical role in this. Transparency fosters trust, and trust must be in place for a managed community to thrive. 

Today, more and more associations streamline communication with HOA software. This allows them to automate things like dues reminders, invoices, and community notices. 

Smart communication tools also support community engagement through message boards. Residents can voice their opinions, plan events, and form connections. This is familiar ground for younger homeowners who’ve been participating in digital communities via social media for much of their lives. 

Forward-Thinking Management for HOAs

Self-managed HOAs are tiny, which means they need to be mighty. They typically consist of a handful of volunteer board members working to make the community a better place to live. 

Many homeowners associations become self-managed when they stop working with property management companies as a way to save money. However, this can leave them ill-equipped to adequately manage the community. The result – an HOA relying on outdated tools and a community of homeowners growing increasingly frustrated. 

But there’s an easy answer.

The power of HOA software

Smart self-managed HOAs have made the switch to technology that helps streamline the management process. Built with HOA operations in mind, this software consolidates the tools an association needs to run seamlessly.

Automated payments

Tracking the ins and outs of an HOA’s finances can get messy, especially with multiple board members handling the books. The right HOA management software keeps things organized and efficient with some pretty amazing features, including: 

• Automated late fees based on the schedule in the bylaws
• Auto invoicing and past-due reminders
• Multiple payment options and autopay capability for residents
• Accounts payable automation to reconcile third-party vendor payouts
• Bank integrations

With these tools in place, HOAs enjoy financial peace of mind while making things transparent and simple for homeowners. This cuts down on misunderstandings and makes dispute resolution fast and easy. 

Maintaining control of community documents

An important part of HOA management is keeping track of policies, bylaws, financial information, vendor contracts — the list goes on. Many associations have digitized this material, only for it to live in a desktop folder.  

HOA software takes things many steps further with robust document storage solutions. Board members save time and stay organized while also ensuring data security. 

Features include: 

• The ability to upload multi-format documents and access them right away.
• Easy file structure setup that makes sense for the board.
• Drag-and-drop features that make managing documents a breeze.  
• Permissions management for each document and folder.
• Two-factor authentication and encrypted data. 
• Fast and easy file-sharing capability.  

In addition to better organization, document transparency and policy management reduce questions between board members and residents. This cuts down on the chance of disputes based on missing or conflicting information.  

Easy accounting 

Self-managed associations may feel like they’re at a disadvantage when board members aren’t well-versed in accounting best practices. This is another instance where HOA management software is invaluable. 

Instead of guesswork and manual data entry, board members can stay current on the financial health of the association at the click of a button. Accounting software built specifically for HOAs provides: 

• Cash and accrual accounting 
• Ability to import transactions directly from the association’s bank account
• Budget creation and replication
• Tax filing capability 
• Ability to run financial reports 

These tools let board members manage the association’s finances like a business, which is good for community growth. 

A communication hub

Homeowners living in a managed community want transparency from their HOA. Without it, a lack of trust starts to grow, which quickly damages the quality of life for residents. 

Strong communication is the first step toward a healthy relationship between an association and the community. But it needs to flow both ways. 

The right software removes the silos from an HOA’s communication strategy. Digital communication tools make it easy to keep residents informed and promote community engagement through the use of features such as: 

• Automated email, text, or phone call capability 
• Scheduled broadcasts that deliver important community information 
• Communication logs so nothing falls through the cracks 
• Real-time message boards that get residents involved 
• Interactive calendars for sharing upcoming events 

The best part about these tools is they’re easy to use for board members and homeowners. They also help cut down on confusion and awkward interactions that arise when a resident misses out on information. 

Consolidating Technology and Eliminating Manual Processes 

Many homeowners associations are stuck in a limbo between the old and new-school ways of doing things. They’ve ditched some of their outdated processes and embraced a few digital tools like Quickbooks. The result – they’re still struggling to manage their community effectively. 

In these instances, an HOA ends up using a handful of tools, each designed to do one thing. What they need is an all-in-one tool that consolidates every process involved in HOA management. 

Let’s look at a few examples. 

Cleaning up jumbled communication 

Some self-managed HOAs create a community Facebook page to facilitate interaction. This could do more harm than good. 

Social media may not sit well with everyone and residents who don’t participate are left out of the communication loop. Platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor also lack the automation HOAs need for effective communication.  

Another problematic approach is relying on community email chains. These can get out of control, making it hard to keep track of information and clogging the entire neighborhood’s inbox. 

These problems go away with the right HOA management software in place. Automated tools put board members in the driver’s seat, making it easy to connect with each homeowner and promote healthy engagement in private forums. 

Saying farewell to spreadsheets 

Let’s get one thing straight – there’s nothing wrong with Excel. But there’s a time and place for it. 

If an HOA uses multiple spreadsheets to manage the community, board members run into major headaches. This approach starts to feel like manual data entry.  

Replacing spreadsheets with software designed specifically for HOAs is the best way to track finances, policies, homeowner information, and maintenance requests. It’s also the perfect tool for managing vendor relationships. 

Making payments easy to make

Most homeowners (especially younger ones) expect a simple way to receive and pay their dues and other fees. An HOA  board member walking around dropping envelopes in mailboxes won’t cut it. 

Manually sending and receiving payments is a huge strain on board members as well. It’s time-consuming and leaves a lot of room for error. 

The easy solution – software that offers a platform for digital payments. This lets residents put their monthly dues on autopay so they never miss a payment. It also allows HOAs to send invoices and violation fees from a central dashboard. 

Making a Mobile-First Generation Happy 

Our world keeps getting more mobile. People turn to their phones for almost anything. This is especially true for the younger generation of homeowners. 

A report from Consumer Affairs shows just how much we use our phones and for what. 

• Cell phone users look at their phones an average of 144 times per day. 
• Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes on their phones every day. 
• Some of the top phone activities are checking email, taking photos, internet surfing, and e-commerce. 

Why mention these numbers? Because HOAs have a great opportunity to make residents happy and streamline their internal management via mobile-friendly software. 

By moving to fully-automated emails and texts, board members reach residents on their phones and communication becomes faster and more reliable. Homeowners also get the convenience of paying dues on their phones, something they’re probably already doing for their other bills. 

Offering this level of service will be commonplace soon. HOAs have a responsibility to offer a mobile experience to a generation that doesn’t know any other way. Doing so will help turn managed communities into well-oiled machines.

Advocate for an HOA Management Upgrade at Your Community 

Do you feel like you need to work with your HOA to improve the quality of life for yourself and younger homeowners in your community? Start by looking at their processes and the tools they’re working with. If things are clunky and outdated, it’s time for an upgrade.

Use this guide to illuminate the benefits of modernizing your community with the use of HOA management software and systems. Then, check out PayHOA’s features to decide if they align with your community’s needs. 

What people have said about working with PayHOA: 

“It’s intuitive and very easy to use. I easily set up the entire neighborhood within a short period of time after transitioning away from paying a management company. The email and communication features are great!” 

“I love how easy it is to use! I also absolutely love the support. When something goes wrong or I can’t figure it out, the support people are amazing at helping me fix everything!”

“PayHOA really simplified HOA management. We were paying $8,000/year for a management company and honestly, this HOA management software outperforms that company in all respects for a fraction of the cost. This allowed us to build up our reserves without a price hike. Love it and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!”

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PayHOA offers an HOA management software solution for HOAs of any size or managerial priorities. To find out if PayHOA fits all your HOA management needs, try our software free for 30 days.