HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 11, 2022
Published: Fri, 03/11/22
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 11, 2022
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Last month, we reported on Association Reserves, a provider of reserve studies, and its plan to roll out a tool to allow condos and HOAs to upload their documents for sale to the public. It will also provide a sort of credit score assessing the association's financial, physical, and operational health.
In this week's tip, we're giving you a preview of a possible alternative service, a 501(c)(3) called TransparencyHOA. It offers services to consumers, real estate professionals, boards, and owners in community associations, including a complimentary financial analysis to help associations understand their financial health.
According to the nonprofit's website, TransparencyHOA analyzes HOA disclosure packets and creates from that information reports about HOAs. The site says 5,963 associations have been analyzed to date.
The site launched about two years ago, reports Amber Gill, who with Dylan Christensen co-founded the California-based organization. "We help anyone with HOA finances," states Christensen. "Prospective buyers, by far, and real estate agents have been the biggest users so far."
Shortly after the site launched, the team added a free sort-of operational analysis for condo and HOA boards. If you find the analysis valuable, the site will accept your donation to fund its operations.
"That's a brand-new thing we launched just for boards," says Christensen. "We spent a lot of time talking about what we can do for boards. Both of us have been on a board and have been a board president at some point. One of the things that's challenging and difficult is that, no matter what you did, there was a certain percentage of people who wouldn't trust that you were doing the right thing. We thought this was one area we could help out most boards."
Through the service, you can email the team your budget, reserve study, and financial statement, along with the name of your property manager and legal counsel. In turn, you'll receive a basic analysis of your operations and, if they look proper, a certification.
"We take no responsibility for the accuracy of the numbers that have been provided to us," says Christensen. "We rely on what's provided. But we can say, 'This board has a current budget that looks correct, they have a reserve study that has been updated in the last year or prepared in the last three years, it's professionally managed, and it has an attorney should legal issues arise. Those things are in place.'"
Gill adds: "Sometimes boards want a doublecheck of what they're doing and to make sure they're understanding their finances correctly."
Is this a good idea for your community? Find out what our experts think in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4478.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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What HOA and Condo Boards Need to Know About Regulating Rentals
Rental restrictions are unlike most other policies HOA boards create because they necessarily curb owners' real property rights. The law jealously protects property owners' rights, which means any HOA board that seeks to restrict rentals in their community needs to act wisely and deliberately. This report provides you with the information you need to achieve that goal.
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