Is your community weighing the benefits of calling in a professional HOA management company? If so, then it is important to do sufficient research and to get all the facts straight—a tall order, in some cases, simply because there are so many persistent myths about what HOA management companies are and what they do.
Before you make a decision about not speaking with HOA management companies, make sure you understand the truth behind these common misconceptions:
The purpose of the HOA management company is to replace the board.
The management company is brought in not to replace the HOA board, but to help the board govern the community as effectively and as efficiently as possible. Board members may stay in close contact with the management company, ensuring that the best interests of the community are upheld, but they are still very much the ones tasked with making key decisions.
The management company will seek to override or overrule the decisions of the board.
While the board may ask the management company to make a tough or complicated decision on its behalf—and while a good management company will seek to advise and inform board members—the company does not override or overrule decisions made by the board itself.
The management company may seek to rig or stack board elections.
The management company’s role is not to interfere with elections, but simply to ensure that the board has the resources it needs to conduct fair elections, as efficiently as possible.
Management companies manage the community from afar.
A good property or HOA management company is one that sends representatives or managers to the community in question, rather than attempting to manage it from a long way away.
The management company does not assist with disputes among residents.
While the management company should never take sides between the board and the residents, it may provide some conflict resolution strategies and ultimately help positive outcomes to be reached.
The bottom line: The property management company exists to help things run as smoothly and as seamlessly as possible. That’s it’s one and only goal!
