HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 31, 2012
Published: Fri, 08/31/12
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How to Rein In HOA Owners Who Refuse to MYOB
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In this week's tip, we give you ideas for curbing
the behavior of the buttinsky owner who can't
seem to mind her own business. You know, it's
the owner who thinks she needs to direct work
being done at your HOA, putting your contractors/
service providers in a no-win position.
1. Educate home owners from the start.
"Prevention is important," says Harry Styron,
a community association attorney at Styron &
Shilling in Branson, Mo. "That involves having
materials to give to new owners and renters,
such as a responsibility matrix that defines
the areas where the resident has authority and
those things that are under control of the
board's maintenance contractor."
2. Set forth written guidelines for
everyone to live by.
"The best practice for this is for the board
to create a written protocol for vendor
communication," suggests Debra A. Warren,
vice president of client relations at the
Dallas-based Associa(r), a community association
management company with offices throughout
the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
"It should include not just how home owners
interface with vendors and professionals but
also how the board and management do it, too.
Create that in an open environment, and get
public input so people know why it's being
created. Then make sure vendors and home
owners have a copy. You'll always get people
who are compelled to act on their own. Just
refer them back to the protocol and explain
that keeping communications streamlined saves
the association money and keeps vendors here.
Explain why it's a benefit."
3. Create a process for maintenance requests.
"Contractors need to understand, as do all
unit owners, that requests for maintenance
need to go through a particular channel,"
says Styron. "Otherwise there's a loss of
control by the board and frustration on
all sides."
Wait, there's more! Read all 5 Tips for
Handling Rogue Owners who Interfere with
HOA Service Providers in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/754.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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How to Respond to Owners Publicly Trashing Your HOA
In this week's tip, we discuss your HOA's remedy if an owner has begun
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Click here to read full article:
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