Your Community's Trusted Advisor: Understanding the Role of a Community Association Manager
The number one way homeowners can protect their property values and ownership interest in their homeowners association (HOA) assets is by hiring a community association management company. A knowledgeable, experienced community association management company working for the best interests of your community makes all the difference for your HOA. Community association managers provide more than just property management to your HOA. They provide knowledge and experience to your HOA Board and have several other vital roles in your HOA.
Community association managers are trusted advisors for the Board. Board members are volunteers who own a home in their community and have various skills and experience. A good community association manager will help the Board grow in its knowledge of HOA-specific needs and best practices and offer guidance in decision-making. Remember that community association managers do not make decisions for the HOA; homeowners elect the Board of Directors to do that.
Community association managers help the Board enforce governing documents. One of the day-to-day responsibilities of many community association managers is to help the Board of Directors ensure homeowners abide by the community rules outlined in the HOA’s governing documents. This could be the Bylaws, Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CCRs) or the Board's established rules and regulations. Managers visit communities to view the condition of common areas and individual homes. Then, they take the necessary steps to resolve any issues the HOA is responsible for or inform homeowners of things they aren’t currently complying with.
Community association managers distribute HOA communications. This can include meeting notices, the annual budget, monthly financials and other community news and updates. Regular communication with homeowners and the Board is the cornerstone of a manager's daily tasks.
Community association managers collaborate with HOA vendors, like landscapers or pool management companies. It takes a village to ensure an HOA runs smoothly, and one key thing managers help the Board with is hiring community vendors. At the Board’s direction, community association managers obtain vendor bids so the Board can decide who to hire for the community. The manager then helps oversee the vendors' work and reports the work status to the Board.
Communication association managers stay current on industry best practices and laws applicable to HOAs. The community association industry is constantly evolving. Community association managers must invest in ongoing education. Ghertner & Company assists managers with this through regular in-house training, requiring continuing education for certifications and partnering with the Community Associations Institute for networking and learning opportunities.
Community association managers are champions for community association success. They want Boards to lead their communities well, now and into the future. To contact your community association manager, log into your owner portal at www.ghertner.com/owner, email email@ghertner.com, or call our Homeowner Service Center at 615-277-0358.