Arguably, your number-one job is to ensure that your residents love where they live, and that comes from building a cohesive community while also respecting your owners' right to maintain their individuality.
In this week's tip, our experts share their best advice for successfully maintaining that balancing act.
The strongest communities have an informative and welcoming orientation process. "I have some that do orientations, almost like welcomes to new residents," reports Cyrus Koochek, a partner with Swedelson Gottlieb in Santa Monica, Calif., who advises about 100 condos and HOAs throughout the state at any given time, often focusing governing document amendment and restatement.
"They do them almost quarterly," he adds. "They say, ‘If you're a new resident, we'll be holding a welcome to the community where we'll be offering practical tips for new owners.' They'll do that as a part of a board meeting, designating time for
it.
"I think the materials the association produces or adopts should also be welcoming in nature," advises Koochek. "I'm a proponent of the community's rules having a welcome introduction to them. They should say, ‘This is what you're
getting into' in a good way.
"Maybe it's something like, ‘This is a community association. For those who don't know, community associations are based on pooled funding and resources so we can have a strong community. We promote a diverse
living environment that balances the needs of all members,'" he suggests. "You include all those talking points that are salient."
Todd J. Skowronski, an associate at Makower Abbate Guerra Wegner Vollmer PLLC, whose firm advises nearly
2,000 association clients throughout Michigan, says some of his clients have the manager or board members do a personal introduction to new owners.
"It's typical for the manager to have a welcome package," he says. "Though some boards like
to be more hands on and will go door to door to introduce themselves."
Daniel J. Miske, CCAL, a partner at Kaman & Cusimano in Milwaukee who represents 800 associations throughout Wisconsin at any given time, has seen boards get off on
the wrong foot when they start from a position of being burned out.