The homeowners association is the cornerstone of a planned residential community. A capable Board of Directors ensures the “health” of the association as well as the community.
The HOA Board of Directors are responsible for:
- Representing the homeowners as a whole
- Complying with governing documents and state law
- Maintaining the common areas
- Managing budgets and assessments
- Adopting and enforcement of rules
- Keeping books and records
Electing Board of Directors
The Board of Directors are volunteer officials who are elected from and by the homeowners of the community.
The bylaws of an association give all the information regarding its Board of Directors including the number of members, officer positions, election procedures, and terms. These things vary from association to association
The number of Board members can be anywhere between three to seven. Terms often range from two to three years.
Once a Board is elected by the HOA members, the Board will elect their officers. Associations are typically required to have a president, secretary, and treasurer. Officer terms are limited to one year only.
HOA President
The president leads the HOA Board and supervises its procedural duties. This position of president requires outstanding leadership, management skills, and knowledge about the community’s CC&Rs and governing documents.
The president’s exact duties vary by association but they typically include:
- overseeing day-to-day matters, such as meeting with vendors, soliciting bids
- preparing meeting agendas (with the Secretary)
- presiding over Board and membership meetings
- ensuring consensus in all Board decisions
- signing all HOA contracts and other legal documents
HOA Vice President
If the association has one, the vice president will act as a substitute for the president if the latter is unavailable.
In many HOAs, the vice president carries out any other duties assigned to him or her, typically including the role of a chairman or liaison of one or more committees.
HOA Secretary
He or she works closely with the president to develop meeting agendas and is responsible for all association records such as homeowner information and maintenance history.
The secretary’s duties include:
- Storing all official association records properly and safely
- Attending to homeowner requests for HOA records
- Writing and sending the HOA newsletter
- Reviewing and updating HOA documents
- Developing meeting agendas with the HOA president
- Sending notice of meetings to members / HOA
- Writing and keeping meeting minutes
- Distributing documents to Board members
HOA Treasurer
The treasurer is responsible for the association’s funds, securities and financial records. The treasurer handles all the money of the association, whether they are incoming or outgoing.
Specifically, the treasurer’s duties include:
- Billing and collecting HOA dues
- Issuing payments to vendors
- Preparing the annual budget and reserve allocations
- Preparing income and expenditure report
- Monitoring and reporting on the HOA’s financial status
- Scheduling and assisting with HOA audit
In HOAs with more complex budgets and finances, some of these duties are handed over to an association management company to ensure the correctness of financial documents and reports.
