Tips for Preparing to Attend an HOA Meeting

To get the most out of your HOA community, it’s important to do more than just show up at meetings. While your presence is important, understanding how these meetings work and how you can get more involved can make things run more smoothly. After all, you don’t want to show up with a great idea only not to have it heard out because it wasn’t on the agenda.

Here are some ways that you can be more prepared and proactive:

  • Show up on time. Even better, arrive a little early so you can get yourself situated and review the agenda before the meeting starts. It can be disruptive and hold things up when people show up late. In addition, you might miss important news.
  • Submit questions or concerns ahead of time. If there is something that you want addressed, give the board advanced notice and put it in writing. Meetings are announced a few weeks ahead of time, so if you submit your inquiry early, the board will have time to review it and develop a response.
  • Follow the rules. Before any item can be voted on by the board, it must be on the agenda. This requires following proper protocol. You can always talk to the board about the steps necessary if you have questions. Also, if you’re simply looking for updates or information, you can usually have these things addressed outside of the HOA meeting.
  • Stay up-to-date. Review previous meeting minutes, newsletters, and other communications ahead of time. You may find the answers to your questions or concerns have already been addressed. If there is something you want to say, write it out and practice so you are prepared and can keep things clear and concise. You don’t want to drag things out because you’re fumbling to figure out how to say what you want to say.
  • Don’t just complain. Before you start a tirade over something you don’t like about the HOA, step back and consider whether you’ve tried taking steps to resolve them. Instead of complaining, have you gotten involved on a committee or volunteered as an effort to turn things around? Have you done a little research to find out why things are the way they are and if other corrective actions have been taken? If you’re going to bring up a problem, make sure you also have some ideas for solutions.

When you show up to an HOA meeting knowledgeable and prepared, it can add to the productivity of the meeting and reduce unnecessary downtime. Your participation is important, so make it count and contribute to making a positive difference in your HOA community. If meetings are getting out of hand, contact Kuester to find out how our skilled property managers can help keep things in order and make meetings run more smoothly.

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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.