Who Does What in an HOA and Why It Feels So Hard Sometimes

Most people don’t think about their HOA at all…until something goes wrong. The pool isn’t clean, a compliance letter shows up in the mail, or suddenly there’s a fee you weren’t expecting. Just like that, an "us versus them" mentality takes over social media. But here’s the real truth: there is no “them.”

In this episode, host Kelly Hawkins is joined by veteran community manager Jennifer Cordell to slow things down and look at the human side of how HOAs actually work. Together, they break down the critical roles, hidden responsibilities, and common misunderstandings that can cause tension in a neighborhood.

We discuss the reality behind the roles, including:

• Homeowners Aren’t Customers: Why buying into an HOA makes you a member of a cooperative, not a customer buying a service, and why the homeowners actually hold all the power.
• The Volunteer Board: The limitations board members face, why zero qualifications are required to run, and why boards sometimes over-focus on minor issues like trash cans because the big things feel overwhelming.
• The Invisible 90% of Management: What a management company actually handles behind the scenes, including tax filings, reserve tracking, and being the emotional buffer for the community.
• Navigating Frustration: Practical tips for dealing with the three biggest neighborhood trigger points: enforcement, collections, and maintenance priorities.

Whether you're a homeowner trying to parse your governing documents, a volunteer board member trying to avoid burnout, or a manager working to find the best ways to help your communities, this episode offers realistic tips and tricks to build empathy and keep your community thriving.

Connect with Main Street Management Group:

• Website: mainstreetmanagers.com
• Share Your Story: Have a question or an HOA story to share? Drop us a message via our website's contact form!

Subscribe & Follow: Your HOA works best when people stay informed, stay involved, and remember there are real humans on every side of the conversation. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or Amazon Music, and follow us on socials so you never miss an episode!

Produced by: Main Street Management Group & Charlotte Content Marketing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Most people don't think about their HOA until something goes wrong. The pool isn't clean, a letter shows up in the mail, or suddenly there's a fee you weren't expecting. And just like that, it's us versus them. But here's the truth: there is no them. Today we're slowing things down and talking about the human side of how HOAs actually work. Who does what, and why it sometimes feels so frustrating for everyone involved. Stick around, you won't want to miss this. Welcome to Let's Talk HOA, the podcast giving you an inside look at the world of community management in Lake Norman and beyond. Presented by Main Street Management Group. We're your source for relatable stories, expert information, and a transparent look at the industry. So if you're ready to get the inside scoop, kick back, grab a coffee, and let's talk HOA. Welcome back to Let's Talk HOA, presented by Main Street Management Group. I'm your host, Kelly Hawkins, and today joining me is community manager Jennifer Cordell. Hey Jennifer.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Hey Kelly.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So how long have you been a community manager?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I have been a community manager for eight and a half, nine years now.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Which is a very long time in this industry. I say it's like a Hollywood marriage. Either you're built for it and you're here forever, or you're in and out in two years. Perfect. So today I want to talk about the human side of HOA management. Um, in most HOAs, when the pool is clean or the entrance looks good, homeowners don't give us a second thought. But the moment a violation letter shows up or late notice, um, assumptions start flying about uh we're lazy, the board's on a power trip. So let's talk about what goes on behind the scenes and the human side of it and how maybe we can give some tips and tricks for homeowners, board members, and managers to navigate it better. So let's start off with who is the HOA? In a nutshell, all homeowners are the HOA.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

So, what do you think the biggest misconception is that homeowners have about HOAs?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I think it's that they're customers and their dues pay for a service. And that's just not the case. They're not customers, they're members, and they have responsibilities, and they chose to join a club and pay dues towards shared amenities, shared expenses, and they have agreed when they bought that house to live by certain rules, and they have they have obligations. So it they're not customers, and the management company is not customer service, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Right. And as members, I don't think they understand that they they have responsibilities, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Yeah, they do, and they have to follow the governing documents, they have to pay their assessments on time, they have to stay informed and attend meetings. They really need to engage constructively, right? And most important, they need to vote. Yeah, I think that is another huge misconception is that the board is uh all an all-powerful, the management company is in charge, but the truth is the homeowners have all the power. Um, they have to elect the board members who make all the decisions, they have to ratify or approve a budget, so that's how money is spent, and they uh have to vote on rules. The board cannot create rules without their consent. That's all true.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

But while most boards are all trying to do their best for the community, not all boards are great, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:42

No, that's true, but you know what? They're on the board. These not great board members are on the board because no one showed up at a meeting and ran against them or voted them off. The power shifts right back to the homeowner. Exactly. That's the role of the homeowner, right? You have responsibilities, you are not a customer of the HOA. And then, so what is the board's role? Um, I I think what's hard for some people to understand is that the board is just your neighbors who volunteered, right? And they most of them, I think, get on the board with genuine desire to do what's right for the community. Either they want to do more social events or they think they can um contribute something to the financials or to the maintenance, right? I think most of them get on with good intentions.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

But I also think a lot of homeowners don't understand that the board themselves work within limitations. They can't just, you know, do what they want.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

No, that's true, right? They can't make the rules. That's what you're saying. They can't make the rules, they can't pass a budget that the homeowners don't agree to. They can only spend as much money as the homeowners agree that they can have to do, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

And they have any anything they do has to be following the governing documents and the state law. Yeah. And so to some extent, their hands are a little tied at times. And I don't think homeowners grasp that.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Yeah, because they are officers of a corporation. They have rules that they have to abide by, and they're obligated to do collections, they're obligated to enforce the rules.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Yeah, you're right. I mean, they have responsibilities to the association when they're elected, like strategic planning, funding reserves, right, for capital expenditures, maintaining property values. Many, many of them sometimes they lack the experience on things like that. So I think they shy away from running because they think they have to have all that knowledge.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah, because there are no qualifications for being a board member. You're the officer of a corporation, and you literally have to have zero qualifications for the job other than you raised your hand at a meeting. And I think that that can be some of the problem for boards, right? They have zero knowledge of construction or pool maintenance or landscaping or accounting. And here they are trying to make these big decisions for their community.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

I agree. I think sometimes boards find those ideas really overwhelming. So they tend to focus on things that they don't find overwhelming, like you know, parking and trash cans.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yeah. And that's where you get the bad boards on social media, right? Because they nitpicked something and they didn't worry about the financial planning for the community for the future. Um, the ones that like to be the mayor, right? They just want everybody to be happy and they be liked. Yeah. They just be liked and they don't raise dues because everybody will be mad at them about it. But honestly, you have a fiduciary responsibility to keep that budget funded so that meets all the repair needs. And the older a community gets, the more money it needs.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

With your vast knowledge and experience, what do you think are the qualities that make up a good board member?

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Honestly, I think anybody can be a board member if they come to the table to listen to understand and not listen to talk. And that they are there with good intentions to be a leader and not fulfill some need to be in charge. Um, I also think that all boards should sit down when they get elected and talk about what strengths each of them can bring to the table because uh accounting and the financials and the reserves are important, but it's also important that somebody's keeping up with maintenance, someone's keeping up with violations. So if your strength isn't accounting, but you like landscaping, then you keep up with the maintenance. Like everybody should bring their strength to the table and they should delegate. Um, I think you should have empathy and come prepared to the meetings. That's a big one, right? Don't you hate that as a manager? Is like you have worked all month and then you show up to the board meeting. They haven't read anything, any proposal you sent them. They're gonna sit at that table and try to read. Now you're still at work. The meeting, you know, you're willing to give them hour, two hours of your time after hours without your family. And you show up at that meeting and now they're gonna sit down and read the proposals that you sent them three weeks ago.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

And it frustrates other board members who have prepared, right? They didn't want to come in for a three-hour meeting.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

No, meetings should be um, I've gone through everything, let's debate and discuss and decide. That's right. It should not be, oh, let's sit down for the first time all month and think about, even just think about everything that needs to be done in the community.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Yeah, that definitely makes for a bad board member, right? I mean, what other things in your mind, you know, fall in line with that? What are some bad habits board members get into?

SPEAKER_00 8:50

I recently, I would say about a year ago, we fired our biggest client. And it was because that board had zero respect for the homeowners. They talked about them as if they were them, them, those people. You know, let's try to um interpret the documents in the most militant way possible and then punish people. I the punishers, I hate that. I do the ones that don't raise the dues, I hate that because I I don't want to raise dues either. Listen, we take all your blowback, but if it's necessary, the cost of living goes up three percent. Over COVID, it went up eight, nine percent. If you aren't raising the dues to meet expenses, then you're gonna fall behind and everything's gonna be a struggle. Like you have to have the guts as a board member to make the hard decisions and and take, you know, take what comes.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

And on the other side of that, I mean, you certainly don't want a board who spends all the money, right? They're not fiduciarily responsible.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Yeah. Diana and I were talking about that the other day, that you know, sometimes you have these boards and you you have a community that has some capital expenditures coming, right? The roofs have to be replaced, the pool has to be redone, and those are so overwhelming. They don't think how how are we ever gonna have the money? So they're like, Yeah, but we could put in new furniture at the pool. And so they spend what they have to try to make the appease the community that something's happening, but they're not making the big decision, right? Right. I have to save the money. I'm sorry, everybody, we can't do this right now because in two years we have to have half a million dollars to replace the roof.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So and and you're right, and when that situation occurs, it's very difficult when you have a board member who wants to be so worried about being liked and you know, shaking hands, holding babies. And yet when these decisions are made that are contradicting to what the community wants, rather than stand up and say, as a board, we need to do this and stand behind their decision. You know, sometimes they kind of throw the manager out there and throw them out like the bad guy, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Or go out, I would need you, you need to tell this homeowner this. Yeah, and then the homeowner comes to the board and is like, I can't believe the manager said this to me. And they're like, it's okay, we'll fix it. Oh, that makes me insane.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Oh, I know. I mean, just back me up. I'm okay with being the bad guy, I'll deliver your message, I will, but at least back me up because I'm, you know, just stating the board's decisions, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Right. Because we do, we do answer, ultimately, we answer to the boards. Like I, you know, homeowners like to call here and go, you work for me. I don't really. I I get paid for a service, I work for the board, and I will try to back their decision if I can. We will terminate a contract if you're trying to do that. The big uh that was the biggest client thing with the no respect. You're a little shady, you're doing things that aren't quite ethical. They're just in our minds not fair to the homeowners. We'll let you go. But that's all we can do, right? There's no we don't, there's no, I had someone go back and forth with me the other day, like, well, you need to report the board. I'm like, to who?

SPEAKER_01 12:12

That's right. I I just I find that homeowners really don't, and sometimes even board members will come in and they really have no idea what the management company actually does. They really, this the lines are skewed between what the board does, management does.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Well, they think we said violation letters and late notices, and that's our entire job. And I would say about 90% of what we do is completely invisible, including trying to navigate a bad board to do the right thing, right? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

I mean, we have three main rules. When you say I think provide accounting and administrative services and filling the experience gap where you know they might throw out an idea that we've already done the legwork, right, for another community and realize either there's that doesn't really work that well, or that seems like a good idea on paper, but let me tell you why that doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Exactly. Yeah, I think we are the experience gap for the board members that don't have, I mean, like I said, there's no qualifications for the job. So I think that's some of it. So I was listening for somebody the other day. Um, they asked me for a proposal and they were like, well, some of the some of the units in our HOA was a master, are townhomes, and you aren't managing the townhomes, but the townhomes were part of this um master association. And they were like, Why am I charging the same rate for the townhomes? Like, well, if I was just managing the townhomes, it would be double what I'm charging you. But you don't realize that I um pay all the invoices, I make sure the vendors have insurance, I um manage all the collections, I reconcile your bank accounts, I facilitate your investments, I provide board reports, I draft annual budgets, I get taxes filed, I send 1099s, I make compliance visits, I solicit vendor bids and I resolved issues with them, I run meetings, I keep you on task, I maintain a website, and it doesn't matter how many, it doesn't matter if I'm sending they in their mind too. I wasn't I wasn't sending them enforcement letters. So therefore I wasn't, you know, worth the same price. But there's so much that we do that no one has any idea about.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

No, and honestly, I our real value to the boards and the community is our years of experience dealing with, like we said, similar issues, our knowledge, you know, of the general statutes, the case law, our process and procedures, right, that we've developed over years and years and our long-standing relationships that we have with our vendors, local government, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I mean, that's yeah. I mean, a board can go out and hire a vendor, and if it doesn't go so well, you can threaten to hire the vendor, and the vendor's like, okay, wash my hands of this job. But if we go out and hire the vendor for you and they're not doing a good job, they understand that wash their hands of this job and every other job I could possibly give you across the hundreds of HOAs in this area that I could give you work at, you know? So we do have some leverage for them and some power. And I would say probably the hardest part of what we do is that we're the face, right? That we are the pub, we're the hub for all their information. We uh take every phone call, email, drop-in visitor. We take the heat for all their decisions, we take the heat for two neighbors that don't get along. And all the time we have to try to be neutral.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

Oh, yeah. I mean, we're supposed to listen, right? Without reacting emotionally, which, you know, at times it can be mistaken too for lack of empathy.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Oh, yeah, I get that all the time. I was mean or rude or and it's just because I didn't jump right on to their they came in hot and I didn't come, I didn't match their energy because you know, to be honest, sometimes when someone's calling here and they're telling me some side of a story, I don't know if that's the I have I can't jump right on that. I gotta go talk to the other side too, and then try to figure out how I'm gonna get these two sides together.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

It's not easy. And we've all had that day, right? Where a homeowner or a board member, whatever, it enough just becomes enough, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Yeah, you have to be neutral, but there are there's no way you could do this job not have the day you sort of snap. Burnout's real in this industry completely. Because you're taking heat from all sides all day.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

We're the buffer, right? Between the people and all of the heat from everybody. We are that buffer day in and day out.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

What's even worse, I think we should get paid extra for this, is that when you're mad at what's going on in your neighborhood, something's not maintained, you're mad at the board decision. Who gets the Google review? We do, we do, yeah. Well, you can't Google review your board, right? Yeah, that's so. So that's why management companies have so many one-star reviews because if you go back and really read it, they're mad about that. The management company couldn't make that decision. No. I'll try, I'll try to say that back in ours, but they're once they're mad, it doesn't matter. No, we we take it all though. You're right. Right. So we talked about kind of everybody's role, right? So homeowners have responsibilities, board members need to realize they're leaders, and everybody needs to understand what the management company does, right? So I think why social media blows up about HOAs and where all the frustration comes from is enforcement, maintenance, and collections.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

100% right. The reality of enforcement is homeowner violations, right? They're they're personal because you're telling somebody something is wrong with their home or their lot. And I think people take that as a real personal offense.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yeah, and and some of it's subjective, right? So you have um, I might come and tell you your lawn needs to be mowed, and people will be like, What the heck are you talking about? Like, this is neat to me. You know, you don't know how people grew up. You someone could have lived in an apartment their whole life, they never had to maintain the lawn. Dad never taught them how to dad, you know, you and dad didn't mow the lawn together. There's no maintenance of the lawn. You know, we have that one community where a lot of people are from another country where there are no lawns and so we struggle in there. And we're like, they're like, what are you talking about? Where they and they go home for three months and they're like, we're like, hey, someone's gotta move your lawn while you're gone. And they're like, I wasn't here. What's the problem? We're like, well, we were here. We we live next door to your lawn.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

I mean, that is so true, but don't you find too? I mean, in all fairness, I know I didn't. Most homeowners don't sit when they buy a house and read this hundred-page document about all the intricate and then ins and outs and do's and don'ts for a community.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

No. I mean, homeowners have the responsibility to know the rules, but you're right, they don't know them. And why you're trying to move in, you're signing all these closing documents, and then someone hands you or tells you where to find this huge packet of restrictions.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

You don't even get it handed anymore, yeah, right? You probably just get an electronic copy and you're like, okay, and you save it.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

You go unpack and you don't know. No, yeah. So one thing at Main Street that we do is on our web portal, we have an ask me button. It's an AI, so you can literally ask it, can I have a shed in my backyard? And it will go and read all of your governing documents. That's amazing. I wish that was around years ago. Oh my God, it's been the best. But even if you don't have that, chat GPT is so prevalent now. If you're not sure what your governing documents say, throw them in there. Ask it to summarize it for you.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Ask it to tell you uh list all the rules for the or if I'm thinking of putting in a pool, I can say, you know, what are the pool requirements for the yard? And it'll spit it all out for me.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

So homeowners, you have to know the rules, but everyone has AI now, so it's easy. So let's do it. That's exactly right. It is easy.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

And if you get a letter, please, please don't be that guy, right? That says that, you know, oh, don't you have anything better to do than drive by my house and look at my, you know, like I'm personally going there and got my binoculars, right? This week I'm getting them.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

I mean, that's just, I don't know. Or the one that's like, um, my trash can was out, but do you I here's a picture of all 20 trash cans that were out when I got home today and got your letter. Okay, you're right. Like you said, we did not drive into the community and go, that's the guy today. Do they think we singled? That's the thing.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

They always say, You singled me out. You singled me out. And it's the in the cases we don't. We are there to do a job, we're there to look for things, know them. And it, you're right. At the end of the day, it could have been that they had a family emergency and maybe they were gone right before they were gonna mow their lawn, right? And they didn't come back for a week, week and a half. And so, you know, we don't know everybody's personalized, but they act like we should.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Oh, they do, right? They're like, dude, I was in the hospital last week. Okay, I don't know who lives in each house. I don't know you. I don't, I literally am driving the community. There's a list of rules, and I'm going, okay, they're not in compliance with that or that or that. But I don't know who lives there. I don't know your life story. I don't know you're in the hospital, I don't know you're in the vacation. I don't know. Just right, we would completely understand.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Just let us know. Hey, give us a call, talk about it. And nine out of 10 times we're going to say, Oh, I completely understand. And, you know, do we'll talk about maybe extending some time and whatever they need to make sure that they can remedy the issue. But I mean, all we want to do is close it out too, right? We don't. Want open violations.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

Yeah, because we uh I'll go out, I'll go out there and say, hey, we hate this part of the job. Hate it. Hate it so much because we send these out and all we get is blowback. And all we are trying to do is have an answer for the board when they ask us if we're doing our job and me and getting the community in compliance. I just need an answer, right? Either uh they closed it, they're working on it, their wife's in the hospital. Like, I just need an answer. Just tell me. Right. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

It wasn't meant to be setting them out. It wasn't a personal punishment. You know, we're not looking to punish them for just let us know what's going on, and we'll get to a, you know, a resolution at some point.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

But I think too, on the reverse side of that is like, hey, boards, you need to come from a place of empathy and yes. Because I definitely have had bad boards when I say the wife was in the hospital, and he's like, so what? He could have gotten his son to mow it. Okay, just stop. Like these are your neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Be reasonable, right? Empathy, be reasonable. Because you're right. We have some boards that want to hold every home, every lot under a microscope.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Yeah, to the most militant um interpretation of the documents they possibly can. But like I said, you should come from a place of yes. How can I give the homeowner what they want? Like I'm gonna read the documents and go, okay, how can I give them what they want? Not how can I read these and to say no to you, just to say no. And and honestly, I get it.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Documents are not written for the layman. They don't. If you try to read them, they don't read like a nice story would. They don't explain things clearly, right? So I just feel like boards should also be open to and budget even. Budget some expect to spend money on getting some legal interpretation sometimes and legal advice, right? Don't agree. Don't try to make these decisions based on what you think might be your interpretation. If there's some gray area, talk to us.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

If we can't help sort it out, you know, let's we'll say, hey, I think you should take this one to the attorney because in all my years, I I don't know what to say to you here. Exactly. You should ask, definitely. Because like I said, you've walked into a job where you have no qualifications. So you should ask for help for sure. And then I would say to you that um if you're a manager and you're sending these violation letters, I know I cannot, I can't tell you how much I hear all the time from when I'm doing interviewing with potential clients that all the other management companies do is send a stock letter that says pursuant to blah, blah, blah, you're in violation of article, blah, blah, blah, get this done or you're gonna get fined. That should not be your first contact with the homeowner. So managers have some empathy. You're approaching them about their home. Try to figure out how you can say that in a way that is just communicating to them that this is about the board and your fellow neighbors protecting a shared investment, which is your community. This isn't about power or punishment. So help the boards relay that message in that way, you know, and be kind.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Absolutely. I mean, we we strive to let homeowners know what's going on, but you're right. It's it's a delivery of how you say a message is almost more important or as important as what you're saying, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

So it's heard because it's defensive, right? Immediately, immediate, yeah. And what I mean, I have to say if you said something to me about my home, I'd be immediately defensive, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Well, I mean, there's nothing more than putting somebody on the defense when you have to talk about another sort of subject, right? What's the worst thing you have to talk to homeowners about? Collections, collections, the money, yeah, it's the worst.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Yeah, and that's tough because everybody has a situation. Why are they not paying?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

I know, but everybody has to understand they are responsible for paying their dues, right? And whether they get an invoice, they'll they'll give you all of these reasons. Why they're not I didn't get an invoice, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

That's just a reminder, but that's that shouldn't trigger no right them to send their payment. Hello, homeowners. Your dues are due on the same day every year, have been since the first day. And it never changes. No, never, nope, ever, ever. So put it in your own calendar. Yeah, you do not need to wait for an invoice from me. You know when your dues are due. And think about it.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

The the dues fund everything, everything, everything you see from maintenance, utilities, amenities, you know, that luscious lawn, that pool that calls to you on a 95-degree Saturday, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah. And that's why the board has to do collections. Right. That is their only source of money. And they can't let all your neighbors pay for maintaining the pool and you don't. Like they literally are legally obligated to come to you and try to get the money. Yeah. There's no magic pot, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:09

At the end of a rainbow. So if you're late, don't get mad. I mean, it's literally a it's if it's a one-time thing, let us again let us know what's going on, right? We have the ability to, you know, remove a late fee.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

If I look at your account and you've always paid on time and this one time you didn't, I'm gonna take your late fee off.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

For grace. Now, if it's habitual, then we're talking another story, right? Then we have to maybe think about what about auto draft?

SPEAKER_00 27:36

You don't even have to remember it's due. And also, I'd say, hey, hey managers and board members, like listen to the story. Try to give as much grace as you can within reason. You do have a responsibility, but offer a payment plan. Use the late fees as leverage. Do not, they're not punishment. If you can incentivize them to pay by removing the late fees, you know, let's do it. Everybody has a hard time, right? Everybody has a cash flow problem at times. We have to try to work with people. And on the other hand, there's nothing I hate more than when I know in my system, I can see you got an invoice, you got a late fee notice twice, you got an email from us that said, Hey, you've given you two late notices, and their next thing I'm gonna have to send you is an intent to lean letter. But if I had a dollar for every time a homeowner came to me and said, the first thing they got from me was that intent to lean letter, I would not have to do this anymore. You're so right. That is so frustrating. Cut it out, reach out ahead. Like, we we don't believe you. When you say that, we don't believe you. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

It blows my mind because here's the thing you can be late on your electric bill. What happens? Worst case, they shut your power off, right? Yeah, and a long time later. Yeah, your phone bill, same thing, right? Worst case, they might shut your phone, you put it back on. Go through any utility you want. This, your dues. Yeah, take your house. It's huge, right? Right. Should most people's largest investment and they treat it like it's their least important. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

It always falls last. You know, there are bad boards, like they're ones that you that's what you see in the news all the time is that they try to foreclose on $200. I I don't agree with that either. And we don't do that, right? We have definitely definitely have protocols in place that you have to be very, very late. And we've had to reach out to you many, many times in many, many ways before we'll get there. But don't ignore the problem. You you're having an issue, it's your issue. It's not for the HOA to fix for you. Reach out, try to get on a payment plan. Most most boards and most management companies, like if you could just pay 20 bucks extra, right? You know, whatever. Right. Just you have to show you're making an effort. Don't ignore it till you get the lean letter and then act just incensed that you can't believe you're getting this, you've never seen anything before. They're insulted at that point. Yes. And as a reminder, your dues are due the same time every year on the same day, and have been since the beginning of time. It never changes.

unknown 30:20

Never.

SPEAKER_01 30:21

So I'm not saying note though, right? Those are the it just infuriates me at times because those might be some of the same people who are calling me and they actually are upset because something isn't done, a maintenance isn't done. Um, you know, and talking about maintenance. So I also find it so enlightening at times that homeowners forget or maybe they're not, they, they don't comprehend it, but they call us like we are landlords for an apartment building, right? Yes. They've I've had homeowners call me and a condo owner say, My sink is backed up. Can you send your your handyman over? Can you send the like there's a man sitting at Main Street, right? Like the who was that? Like the the the washer dryer guy that made he's just sitting there waiting for the hot button, the bat phone to ring so he can go and clog that sink.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

I had about two weeks ago one of your communities call me. And you know, this particular community, the way um their dues are set up, that the expenses go back to each building. So if you call from a building and you want something done, that work order gets applied back to the building. And sh you know that also in that community that they just had a dues increase, and everybody is so, so upset about it. And she called because she wanted me to have someone come and pick the soccer ball up out of the common area and a board that was up against the building and take it to the trash. And I was like, So you would like for me to enter a work order to pay somebody to drive all the way to your community to pick up a soccer ball and a board and walk it across the parking lot to the dumpster?

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Kelly, I've had homeowners call me and tell me that the light bulb outside of their unit, so they're credo that they can literally read. And when I tell them, okay, so are you requesting for me to open a work order for this and actually and they'll say to me, Well, I pay my dues. You know, it's an entitlement. They they're not going to pay for that bulb. They feel like, but what they don't understand is that bulb is costing them in the end.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

Well, the man that we have to pay to drive all the way there to change the light bulb, that's why your dues have to go up because you're demanding a certain level of service that is just above and beyond. Like I don't, I this is not an apartment complex, right? You are not customers. No, and you have to pitch in one source of money, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Dues. That's it. Yeah, that's it. There's no backup account, right? No, there's no piggy bank sitting there waiting for a rainy day.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

I have another story too from last week. I had a homeowner call. They're kind of new to the community, they live in a condo, and they called and said that the boards on their back deck were so rotten that if they stepped outside, they might fall through. Oh, it was terrible. And he can look around and he can see that other people have treks and he needs someone to come out here right now. So he called, and within 24 hours, because he didn't get an emergency response and a new deck, he had Google reviewed us, Yelp reviewed us, one star review. This is a travesty, a safety issue. We weren't responding quick enough. We he needed this deck replaced. So I'll call him when I get to see the Google review, and I'm like, hey, you know, I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to get back to you today. But uh your documents very specifically say those deck boards are your responsibility. And if other people have treks, it's because they replaced it themselves. And he was very kind, but he ended the conversation with um, you know what? I had my neighbor come over and he said they look pretty good. So if I'm gonna replace them, I'll send in my ARC request.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Now they look pretty good. Now they look pretty good because he has to pay for them. He was ready to fall through them though, when the HOA was paying for it. Exactly. Now they look pretty good. Yeah. I I think homeowners also we again, we we've talked, we've touched on this, but they really struggle with knowing what they should maintain and what they shouldn't, right? But again, chat GPT it. Yes, right? Exactly. Throw it in there, it's not a mystery.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

No, ask your management company. Like, ask. That's what I I mean. If I could say one thing today, it'd be like, you do not have to come in here hot.

unknown 35:03

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

We want to help you. It's our like when we imagine ourselves doing this job, we're sitting behind the desk, we're helping everybody, we're taking all the calls, we're handing out information, we're fixing all the problems, everyone's smiling. Yes, it's great. Just call and ask. That's the job I want to do, right? Not you're screaming at me and I have to talk you down off the ledge, and I'm trying to talk and you're yelling over me, and I'm saying, hey, if I if you can't stop talking that way, I'm gonna have to hang out.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

I hate those calls. I do. But at the end of the day, I think homeowners still they need to know that your boards they they care about maintenance, right? But they have to prioritize repairs. Yes, everything, exactly, right?

SPEAKER_00 35:49

And it might be important to you, but it might not be in the list of priorities for the community.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

That's exactly right. That's right. What's urgent for you know, Mrs. Jones may not be urgent as a community, right? Decision for the board.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Right. No, I agree. I think that's hard for them to understand because you're right. I paid my dues, so you should come right out here and fix the thing I think is important. Even though, like I was saying earlier, there are a lot of big things that have you every community has a reserve schedule or should that says the roofs, the paving, the siding, the paint. Like there's so many huge expenses coming down the way that you have to be mindful of and budget for. You cannot do every little thing just because it's cosmetically not okay. Right. And also boards budget appropriately. You know what I mean? You should be able to do regular maintenance. If you are putting a budget out there where you have to say no most of the year just to meet that reserve number, then you're not budgeting appropriately. Dues have to go up, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

And that's exactly right. I think for a community and an owners to feel like they're paying their dues, they're getting what they need as a community, they have to understand, though, what the budget is, what the priority is. So going to that annual annual meeting, that helps. That helps bridge a huge gap.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

That's the one time where one, you get to vote on the budget, but two, you get it, you can ask your questions, you can break it down. And board meetings are supposed to be open. They do have to have executive sessions sometimes if you're talking about delinquencies or a legal issue. But you can ask and be allowed to observe, maybe not participate, but observe all the board meetings. So if you really want to know, go. You can't you can't be upset if you don't participate in the process. If you don't come to the annual meeting and elect the board member, then you don't get to you can't complain with the decisions they're making. If you don't have input and vote on the budget, you can't be upset about how money is being spent, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:04

So what would you say? We we've sat here and talked. What what do you think the key takeaways would be from today's chat? Homeowners are members, they are not customers.

SPEAKER_00 38:14

Yeah, there's no us and them. No, right? There's only you all. It's a cooperative and everyone is equal. You just as a group of people cannot make 100, 150, 300 homes in an hoa can't all comment on and have input on the day-to-day decisions.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

No, but they do have responsibilities, right? That they can do to they can pay their dues, they can follow the rules. What's the saying? You will you'll attract more bees with honey than vinegar, right? Ask, be part of it. Yes, and ask for guidance. We're here to help, right? We're not here to punish, we're here to help. We want to be a part of the solution. So call us, ask us what's going on before assuming the worst.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Call and ask before you just come in and and start yelling. Because I think that is that that would be a key takeaway for me.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

For homeowners, absolutely. All right, so what about for board members?

SPEAKER_00 39:11

Your job is property values, period. So, what are you doing to improve property values? Are you saving money so that you can make the repairs that you need to make in the future? Are you listening to what the homeowners want, what's important to them? Are you having empathy for the people having a hard time? Are you, you know, rising tides lift all boats? Are you helping to lift them up or are you just stomping them because they're down?

SPEAKER_01 39:43

Are you being prepared at meetings? Coming with ready to make decisions or have discussions about the decisions, right? And like you said, coming from a place of yes.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Yeah.

unknown 39:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

That's a big try to make the documents fit everyone. Don't try to shove everyone into one document because they're not all gonna fit. No, everyone's so very different in how they live in their home, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:07

And they all come from a different place, like you said. I mean, it's just a way of trying to find common ground reasonably within the documents, right? And of course, mining the budget. That's probably the most important.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

Yeah, how many times have you sat with them, done a budget, and then in February they're like, let's do this, let's do that? We're like, whoa, whoa.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

We didn't plan for that.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

You want me to put it in the budget next year? And they're like, oh no, no. But yeah, stay on budget.

unknown 40:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

And so, okay, so we've talked about the young homeowners, we've talked about the board members. What about us as managers? What are the takeaways?

SPEAKER_00 40:43

Always remember you're talking to people about their home for one thing, and respond in a timely manner. That's a huge one, right? Every interview I go to, it's just like there's never any follow-through, they never respond, I can't get anybody on the phone. Like, be accessible.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

People owners want to be heard, don't you find like that? They want to just be able to be accessible, get their problem out, or their question.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Yeah. I have a sign in my office that says everyone needs a good listening too. And that's true. Sometimes I just let them talk and talk and talk. And sometimes by the time they're done talking, they've sort of resolved it for themselves.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

100%. That is so true. They they talked themselves right into what they needed to hear, what they needed to do. And we've just been the listener, and at that point, and maybe nudge them towards a few things, but they've come to the decision themselves. And that's, you know, we try to do that with the board too, right? A good manager, we should guide the board as much as we can.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

I agree. I have a different management company where I live, not Main Street. And I would say that's my biggest disappointment with that manager, is that they do not guide the board. Like they don't see themselves as the Wrangler, right? They just throw stuff out and they don't pay attention if the board ever comes back with it.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

It's like leaving a fish out, flopping, right? Yeah. All right, well, a fish wanted to come back.

SPEAKER_00 42:09

If it does, yeah, you you didn't respond to me. So, like you have to understand that you are a part of this. You're the one actually with all the experience, you're the one that knows what's important. You you are the one that realizes there's a budget and that has to be followed. You are the one that hears everything, right? So the other side of being the one that hears everything is that you really have a good finger on the pulse of the community. You need to be telling the boards, hey, what you're doing is really upsetting to the board. I had a I had a uh board president conversation the other day. I'm like, if you keep doing this, this particular nitpicky violation that you just keep going after and going after and going after, you're going to isolate the community from the board and you'll never get compliance for anything you want to do. You're never gonna get a dues increase voted on. You're never gonna have harmony in here because you're just that's you're just picking and you're making upsetting.

SPEAKER_01 43:17

That's the key.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

And likewise when the manager needs to say those things.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

And the manager, if if there's something where you've you know seen a lot of emails, you've read you're taking calls on something, and you see that the board is it's not really their priority at the moment, but you know, this is right now a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Like roof leaks, let's say you manage condos and work order after work order after work order, the boots on the roof are leaking. The board has no idea unless they went through every invoice for every work order. You, as the manager, are the one getting all the information. You need to turn to the board and say, Hey, can I send a vendor out and let's get all the boots there. This is a systemic problem. You know what I mean? You have to be do your do your job. And I think so many, um, because uh after COVID management companies became work from home, the the managers are operating on an island out there, and uh the owners of the companies realize that they can't know what everybody's doing. So they put rules in place that are more like CYA, right? Don't do this, don't give advice, don't you just do what you're told. Right. This is this is only what you do. Don't tell them your experience, don't give them advice. This is you'll get in trouble for that. Instead, uh, that's what we're supposed to do. We're the manager.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

We we should be seeing the forest through the trees, right? Instead of just focusing on whatever tree the board throws in front of you at that time, right?

SPEAKER_00 44:51

See the big picture and don't be afraid to say it.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

Say it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Yeah, I agree. I hope we've given some good tips and tricks and tried to say, hey, homeowners, this is your part. Hey, boards, this is your part. I hope. Hey managers, this is your part.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

It's so important for a community to thrive, right? And and maintain those values of what probably is going to be a person's, if not the one of the biggest investment investments of their of their life, right? So we're just trying to protect that for them and help the board do that. And that's all, that's all the HOA is doing, is maintaining their investment.

SPEAKER_00 45:28

So I think that was a good conversation. And hopefully people will get something out of it. Managers, board members, homeowners. I appreciate you coming on today.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Thank you, Kelly. It was great to be here.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

All right, that was Jennifer Cordot. So if you're in the process of hiring a management company, how can you be sure you're getting one that'll partner with you to navigate all of these responsibilities? Because when people are frustrated, the first thing they want is to be heard. So make sure you ask your next management company if they use a call center or if they actually answer their phones. Are they local? How is the manager to property ratio? Make sure they're not overloaded. How often does the manager, not the compliance driver, visit the property? How far away are they located? How do they communicate with homeowners? Are they hands-on? Will they show up on property if a vendor needs them? To learn more about Main Street Management Group, visit us at Main Streetmanagers.com. We'd love to hear your stories and go to the Contact Us to let us know what you want to hear about or if you have any questions or comments. And don't forget to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And follow us on socials. If there's one thing to remember, your HOA works best when people stay informed, stay involved, and remember there are real humans on every side of the conversation. So thanks for joining us for Main Street Management Group. This is Kelly Hawkins, and we'll see you next time.