Some Things the HOA Board Should Do on Its Own

There is much merit to enlisting a professional management company to assist you in governing your HOA—and indeed, a company like Kuester Management Group can assist in a number of ways. Technology, legal issues, fiduciary responsibilities, vendor procurement—there are many areas in which we can assist, and are happy to take some of these heavy responsibilities off the plate of Board members.

With that said, there are certain things your Board just shouldn’t delegate—Some things the HOA Board should do on its own or handle directly, rather than getting the management company involved.

Check Your Governing Documents

In fact, there are some things that the property management company legally can’t do—not according to your governing documents, anyway. There are certain responsibilities that your governing documents award specifically to the Board, and it’s important that you check to verify what these are. Generally, legislative tasks—like adopting new rules or procedures for the Association—will fall under this category.

Let the Manager Remain Impartial

There may come times when members of the Board choose to show leniency or waive certain rules—to make an exception for a delinquent payment, or for someone who has parked in a prohibited area. That’s your business, and it’s best to leave the manager out of it. The community manager must remain impartial, consistent in enforcing the rules and guidelines; don’t ask your community manager to sacrifice this impartiality!

Get Independent Auditors

If your Association decides to conduct an audit—something that is certainly useful to do on an annual basis—it is usually smart to hire an independent CPA. This is simply a good way to bring in a fresh set of eyes and to avoid even the remotest chance of anything going wonky with the finances.

Hire and Fire Your Own Vendors

Finally, you can and should ask your management company to interview vendors and to accept bids, then to make a recommendation for who you should hire or fire—but the actual hiring and firing should be done by the Board! Ultimately, your vendors should be people you’ve chosen, even if it’s under the heavy advisement of the management company.

To learn more about what a professional management company shouldn’t do—but more important, what we can and will do—contact Kuester Management Group today!

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Bryan Kuester

Bryan Kuester

Bryan is the CEO of Kuester Management Group. He has over 15 years of managing community associations throughout North and South Carolina.

His specialties include Community Association Management - maintenance, budgeting for operational and reserve funding, long-range planning, covenant enforcement, amenity management, onsite management, large scale management.