Not getting enough involvement.

Started by AliciaB1 • 3 replies • 1234 views

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AliciaB1 (Virginia)
Posts: 1

Posted:

We are a fairly large HOA in Virginia with 189 homes. The one thing we can't see to do is get our members involved with meetings or voting. Our last annual meeting had less than 20 members show up. It makes voting new Board members almost impossible. It took til March to get 3 member Board up and running. My question is how do we make a defunct HOA functional. I wanted find out if was possible to reduce the Quorum requirements so that we can vote in a Board? Is there is any suggestions to get the members to wake up.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Do something to make ALOT of people angry...Just kidding..(Or am I???) Apathy is number 1 issue most HOA's face. There's no one answer that works. You can try many different things but finding that one thing that finally "clicks" just has to be right for your HOA.

My theory that worked for me was the "Bigger fish" theory. I made myself a "BIG fish" in the small pond. Made it look "easy". Changed things up and made some changes people could see like adding a flower bed at the front entrance. Small things here and there add up. Once someone saw someone who cared they wanted to follow suit. Then those who thought they could do a "better" job wanted to toss me out. Hence the "Bigger fish". Work on developing the bigger fish in your pond. It's kind of painful but when you finally get eaten by the bigger fish and swallowed, it's much more warm and toasty and alot less work.

You can change the vote requirements and it's ALL in your documents. Just fair warning, it's long and expensive project to undertake. However, it's worth it in the end if you can update your documents to reflect the reality of your HOA and not the theory of it in your documents. Like the number of board members may NOT be realistic. I would recommend as little as 3 but not more than 7 on the size of your HOA if you were to change this.

Good luck!

Former HOA President

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

Unfortunately, most of the time, changing quorums, voting numbers, etc., requires a large percentage of owner participation... which is the one thing you don't have. It's very similar to a bank offering you overdraft protection if you maintain $5000 minimum account balance (if you could do the first thing, you wouldn't likely need the second).

I've seen several ideas and suggestions for getting people involved in the HOA, like the previous poster. However, except for the "raise fees so much everyone is finally angry" approach, there's no magic bullet that is sure to work. Everyone is motivated by different things, and honestly, with humans, as long as their needs are being met, they won't change.

So, you can try to anger them into it, shame them into it, or force them into it, which may get you participation, but not quality. Or, you can try to reward them into it, use recognition, peer-reward, motivation, etc. as suggested before (get them to join groups, feel rewarded for helping on work day, etc.).

JeanneK3 (Maryland)
Posts: 562

Posted:

Do you have a community web site, list-serve, door-to-door newsletter, community parties or picnics? These are the things that make people feel they are part of a community. That's where you need to start.
Jeanne

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