Skip to main content

Thorny HOA Issues Tackled in 'At Least Some PR'

Celebrating the holidays, a homeowner in a fictional HOA decorates his home with an abundance of bright lights and decorations. Way too much decor, neighbors complain.

Thousands of onlookers stopping by to see the glittering holiday display "block sidewalks and neighbors' driveways and cause traffic snarls and other problems. Candy wrappers, soda cans and other debris litter the neighborhood." A fed up neighbor "alerts local TV stations and newspapers about all the commotion." Reporters ask about the HOA's policy. "What are you planning to do about this?"

A new booklet, At Least Some PR, has an answer in response to a question like this, as well as questions and answers about other thorny HOA issues...for example, such questions as:
  • How can you justify raising our dues?
  • Why can't I add a room to my home? The room addition won't be visible to neighbors.
  • Why would you force someone to remove patriotic flags?
  • What is the association's policy on smoking and second-hand smoke?
  • Is the HOA planning to install vehicle charging stations? If not, why not?
  • We've had the same color scheme on our homes for a long time, isn't it time for a change?
  • You're going to be repairing our street...we won't be able to access our driveways. Couldn't this have been better planned?
During his career in corporate PR and crisis communication, the booklet's author served on his HOA board. In the booklet he also talks about neighbor relations, privacy, written and verbal communication issues, PR planning and "a cornerstone of PR...anticipating issues and problems."

The HOA Edition of At Least Some PR is available through Amazon Books.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Houston!! We have an issue!

Two dinosaur sculptures in the front yard of a home located in an HOA in the Houston area just made ABC 13 Eyewitness News. The homeowner said "she's been contacted (by the HOA) and asked what her plans were" for the dinosaurs, a T-Rex and a Velociraptor. The homeowner's "plans are directly tied to their plans," according to the TV-news story. "She says she is prepared to contest any request that they be removed. It's about creativity, not conformity." Here's the thing about media coverage of just about anything...of organizations like HOAs, business firms and all the rest. It's the question of whether or not -- to what extent -- media coverage might influence situations and outcomes. When organizations -- and their policies -- are in the news, will media coverage influence policy decisions? Keeping in mind, of course, the key role of governing documents in policies and procedures.
2 comments
Read more

Better than blurting??

In several posts, we've been talking about prepared statements...how they might sometimes help HOA boards deal with tough questions from homeowners and even -- heaven forbid! -- tough questions from the news media. We're often asked if prepared statements are nothing but PR spin. People sometimes cringe at the mention of spin. Actually, a prepared statement is measured words in a measured response. What's preferable? Measured words or words blurted out in the heat of the moment?
1 comment
Read more

Heaven or Hell?

( Editor's note: There's an article in a North Carolina newspaper, "My descent into HOA hell in North Carolina." And there's this article with a distinctly different message about HOAs.) Here's Why HOAs Are a Big Deal by Harvey Radin Would you believe that homeowner associations outnumber U.S. cities by a huge margin? There are more than 300,000 homeowner associations and only 35,000 U.S. cities and towns. HOAs also outnumber the giant retail store locations, fast food restaurants, megabank branches and coffee chain locations. The biggest fast food chains have 7,000-14,000 restaurant locations. Megabanks have 4,000-6,000 branches. The biggest coffee chains have up to 24,000 locations in the U.S. and other countries. Homeowner associations are a big deal. Not only because of the surprisingly large number of them, but also because many of them are multimillion-dollar properties. And many are managed and governed by volunteers, by homeowners who are e...
2 comments
Read more