(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.)
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 elected to serve on HOA boards. These volunteers play an important role in HOA communities. Their relationship with neighbors and their decisions can have a profound impact.
I became fascinated with HOAs after a career in corporate communication. It's fascinating that people serving on HOA boards represent every conceivable demographic. Some are in the workplace. Others are raising families. Some are retired. Their life and career experiences and their instincts vary widely.
Instincts come into play as we all interact with one another...in homeowner associations and most organizations and businesses. We rely on instincts to navigate through meetings and interactions at work and outside of work. We're processing information quickly in real time as we're thinking about what we should or should not say.
Instinctual thinking varies among everyone. What people choose to say and do can be unpredictable. Have you ever held your breath as someone was about to say something in an informal conversation or a meeting?
Serving on HOA boards, as I've been doing for a number of years, can be beneficial in a number of ways, when your volunteer experience sharpens instinctual thinking and helps you gain new skills and expertise. I wasn't that good at math, but I've overcome my fear of numbers from going over HOA balance sheets and reserve studies. I've learned a lot more outside of my comfort zone, about roof repair and replacement, for example, and about the maintenance of recreational facilities and landscaping.
HOAs are a big deal...in many respects.
(Harvey Radin's article, What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending, was published earlier this year in the Educational Community For Homeowners ECHO Journal and discussed on Minnesota radio. Other articles he's written about communication and public opinion have been published in American Banker and Business Insider. His booklets, HOA Over Easy and At Least Some PR, are available through Amazon Books.)
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 elected to serve on HOA boards. These volunteers play an important role in HOA communities. Their relationship with neighbors and their decisions can have a profound impact.
I became fascinated with HOAs after a career in corporate communication. It's fascinating that people serving on HOA boards represent every conceivable demographic. Some are in the workplace. Others are raising families. Some are retired. Their life and career experiences and their instincts vary widely.
Instincts come into play as we all interact with one another...in homeowner associations and most organizations and businesses. We rely on instincts to navigate through meetings and interactions at work and outside of work. We're processing information quickly in real time as we're thinking about what we should or should not say.
Instinctual thinking varies among everyone. What people choose to say and do can be unpredictable. Have you ever held your breath as someone was about to say something in an informal conversation or a meeting?
Serving on HOA boards, as I've been doing for a number of years, can be beneficial in a number of ways, when your volunteer experience sharpens instinctual thinking and helps you gain new skills and expertise. I wasn't that good at math, but I've overcome my fear of numbers from going over HOA balance sheets and reserve studies. I've learned a lot more outside of my comfort zone, about roof repair and replacement, for example, and about the maintenance of recreational facilities and landscaping.
HOAs are a big deal...in many respects.
(Harvey Radin's article, What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending, was published earlier this year in the Educational Community For Homeowners ECHO Journal and discussed on Minnesota radio. Other articles he's written about communication and public opinion have been published in American Banker and Business Insider. His booklets, HOA Over Easy and At Least Some PR, are available through Amazon Books.)
"Their life and career experiences and their instincts vary widely."
ReplyDeleteMeaning -- by definition -- so do their qualifications, their motivations, their capacities, their interests, and their temperaments.
There's no substantive vetting process, no real choice, and no real way to predict how/whether/if they'll act like reasonable, rational, mature adults.
And the smaller the HOA-governed community, the more limited the pool of potential directors.
It's exceptionally easy for communities in this situation to devolve into "Lord of the Flies."
The results can be utterly disastrous.
NBeener you hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteHOAs are destroying home ownership in America! People do not realize when they buy into an HOA they are signing away their Constitutional Rights. They do not realize they are becoming business partners with all of their neighbors in a non-profit corporation. They do not realize they are agreeing to become the guarantor for payment on all debts, loans, lawsuits, settlements, liabilities, construction defects, and disaster rebuilds for their entire HOA. No, they do no realize what they are doing is essentially signing their lives, health, happiness, bank accounts, and retirement accounts over to a bunch of power-hungry unqualified and in many cases corrupt and dishonest bullies! Buying into an HOA means you are doing nothing more than buying a tremendous amount of risks under the guise of having a roof over your head. That roof can be ripped from you if the board decides to fine, lien, and foreclose on your property...and they have the right to do it.
My decade of living in an HOA has been the closest I hope I ever come to living in a concentration camp. The have not done the maintenance as promised in their contract and the place has not been salable since the day I bought it. Should I ever be free of this hellhole, I would never live in another HOA if the property was paid for and offered as a gift. Never ever again!
Those living in an HOA or thinking of buying into one should read neighorsatwar dot com.