We all know HOA stands for Home Owners Associations, but to many they are just a Harassing Overbearing Authority. We’ve all heard horror stories of selective management, rude violation letters, etc.
I have been a member of no less than five different homeowner associations over the years. All had an outside management company with a homeowner based board of directors, except the one I am now in.
When I moved into my home in 2013, I got a rude awakening as to the function, or should I say malfunction, of a self-managed HOA. The board had been in place for over ten years and its members were all from the same click. Board meetings were not publicized, minutes were hastily taken if at all, checks were written by the treasurer to the treasurer, communication with homeowners was lax or nonexistent, governing documents were out-of-date, tax returns were not filed, the reserve account was low without any deposits made for years, delinquent accounts existed for over ten years without trying to collect, dues kept going up, board elections were not held, and management of covenant violations was selective at best. Basically, there was a we they attitude in place that is until 2017.