HOA Management For Multiple HOAs

As an association board member, HOA management experience can make you an asset to your self managed community. An effective manager can make all the difference in the association’s success.

Once you gain experience, you may decide you want to expand into managing multiple HOAs.

HOA management software can help you manage multiple communities, by streamlining and optimizing all your day-to-day accounting and community management tasks with an all-in-one digital tool.

Software for HOAs helps you get the most from your abilities and better meet the needs of your residents. Skilled association managers with the right tools can be a tremendous asset to HOAs, which remain in high demand among homeowners.

According to the National Association of Realtors,

·        73.9 million people across the United States live in neighborhoods managed by HOAs or condo boards.

·        Of those living in an HOA community, 70% said they were pleased overall with their experience.

·        Homes within association communities are valued at almost $7.2 trillion.

Whether you’re seeking to manage one or several HOAs, you should answer some basic questions about your approach to management and what skills and tools you’ll need to succeed.

Here’s a breakdown of key HOA management considerations for multiple HOAs.

Table of Contents:

1.      What Are Your HOA Management Responsibilities?

2.      Good vs. Great Managers—What’s the Difference?

3.      How Big of a Role Will You Play in Your HOAs?

4.      Why Do You Need HOA Management Software?

What Are Your HOA Management Responsibilities?

Responsibilities differ depending on the size and needs of each association you manage. However, there are some essential tasks common to all HOAs for keeping a neighborhood running smoothly.

Managing Finances – Budgeting and other aspects of handling an association’s finances are probably your biggest responsibilities. These include setting an annual budget, keeping current financial documents and records, collecting dues, paying bills, filing taxes on time, and keeping the association’s financial decisions as transparent as possible.

Legal compliance – HOAs must follow their governing documents as well as any federal, local, or state laws. A manager must enforce legal compliance to ensure their HOAs operate as legal businesses to avoid costly risk.

Communication – Good communication is a staple of successful HOAs, including between residents, their association, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Achieving association goals – Successfully collaborating with board members means understanding their goals, giving effective feedback, and understanding what steps will help you add more value to your neighborhoods. Goals may include things like better dues collection rates, more effective rules enforcement, maintaining or upgrading public spaces and amenities, growing your reserve fund, fostering community involvement, or more effective vendor contract management. As board members change and adapt, so will their goals and your role in accomplishing them.

These responsibilities can take up a lot of your time and become more difficult to accomplish when you manage several HOAs. HOA software is a critical tool for you to centralize and streamline all these tasks, store, search, and access community data, and do your work from anywhere with an all-in-one digital hub.

Good vs. Great Managers—What’s the Difference?

Good managers get the job done, but great managers bring something extra to the table. The best managers always seek knowledge and training, learn from their mistakes, and go the extra mile with their residents and fellow members.

Great managers:

·        Maintain clear lines of communication with the association and its residents.

·        Build trust through thorough and accurate financial reporting.

·        Fairly mediate disputes, and address community concerns.

·        Enforce rules consistently and impartially.

·        Garner enthusiasm and participation from community members.

·        Know when to delegate tasks to members, vendors, or outside consultants.

·        Set personal boundaries, and strike a healthy work/life balance.

·        Pursue training programs and certifications to learn new skills and provide a better service.

Great HOA management takes a functioning neighborhood and builds it into a successful one. The best managers will display these traits consistently across all communities they manage.

How Big a Role Will You Play in Your HOAs?

If you’re managing multiple communities, you should carefully plan the scope of your duties. You may not have the resources to play an on-site role or handle every issue all of the time. You’ll need to decide how much of a hands-on approach you can reasonably take, as well as how much collaboration you’ll need from other board members.

Build Your Scope and Plan

Not properly planning the scope of your involvement could lead to putting too much on your plate. This translates to missed deadlines and office slowdowns, residents and board members unhappy with your performance, spotty communication, and other potentially costly mistakes.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before expanding your management position:

·        How many HOAs can you effectively manage?

·        What duties will you perform yourself vs. collaborating with board members?

·        What work needs to be done in person vs. remotely?

·        How far do you have to travel between communities?

·        How often will you participate in on-site board meetings and inspections?

·        How many units, common spaces, and amenities are in each community? 

·        What are the age, condition, and maintenance requirements for these properties?

Why Do You Need HOA Management Software?

Managing several HOAs means multiplying your workload and the information you need to keep track of, such as financial information, key community documents, unit, resident, and vendor data, important communications, and more. It also means instead of billing and collecting dues for 50 units in a community, you’re potentially adding many more to that equation.

The right HOA management software can empower you to manage multiple HOAs remotely, with tools to streamline repetitive administrative tasks and make you more effective at achieving community goals without sacrificing efficiency.

Managing multiple neighborhoods? HOA software can:

·        Centrally store community data in a secure and easily-searchable repository.

·        Sync bank accounts to financial ledgers, automate daily accounting tasks, simplify finances, analytics, and financial reporting without expert accounting skills.

·        Easily invoice all units in each of your communities, and track digital payments, all from one central hub.

·        Track and resolve maintenance and architectural request tickets, rules violations, and fees.

·        Communicate with residents or board members via text, email, or automated phone messaging.

·        Send documents by physical mail with a click, including notices, bills, and newsletters.

·        Build and maintain a website for each community with an easy integrated website builder.

·        Empower residents with a personalized homeowner portal, so they can pay dues digitally, view payment history, send messages and requests, and view a community calendar.

Many self-managed HOAs have realized the benefits of management software and made the investment. HOA software streamlines operations, adds efficiency and transparency, and helps you meet the needs of residents and other stakeholders. HOAs without a software advantage face falling behind competing neighborhoods and leaving potential value on the table.

PayHOA’s holistic software tools help you become an effective manager, whether you’re managing one or several HOAs. Over 7,000 HOAs across the country trust PayHOA to help make their neighborhoods a better place to live, and 98% of our users recommend PayHOA.

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.