Board President or Property Manager

Which one has the most authority, the Board President or the Property Manager in an HOA?

Our new property manager has completely taken over the Board meetings. The 2 new Board members vote whatever she says without discussion or hearing another side. What can the seasoned President do?

The PM is a contractor to the HOA. They are to do what the HOA board tells them to do. They are NOT to hold the meetings. They can speak up and discuss their issues but they are NOT in charge.

It isn't unusual for this situation to happen. Many HOa's have this issue. That is because most HOA members do not understand the relationship or too apathetic to be involved.

It is time to re establish the lines....

Julia,

Your meetings must be open to the members but non-members have no right to attend. Your PM is not a member, so you can throw them out. If they insist on remaining, call the police and have the trespassers removed.

To Julia
The seasoned president should remind the other two directors that only they are bound by their governing documents (and Davis-Sterling) to feduciary responsibility for the association of owners. The property manager is bound to try to make as much money as he/she can for their firm. Under section 1354 of the Civil code, the CC&R's can be "enforced by any owner of a separate interest"
and also, "prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorneys fees." That means you are accountable to your membership.

In other words, although the directors are protected by insurance against honest mistakes, they must act in good faith by weighing the advice of professionals and making the best decision in the interest of their owners. Does your property manager even own a house? Have they maintained that house or perhaps bought and sold (flipped) property? Are they experienced in any construction trade? Probably not, BUT I bet you have owners with many of those skills. Encourage attendance at meetings and listen to and engage owners to contribute their ideas. Autocratic Board meetings where you grudgingly give 5 minutes at the beginning and fail to even address concerns are NO FUN for anyone. That common form was invented by property managers who just want to get through the packet and get out of there fast. Don't let them hijack YOUR meetings. Of course owners will remain apathetic if they don't feel like they're part of the community.

Tell all that to the two new board members. And have them brainstorm with you on ways to build community. We're all gonna need it, because none of us has enough money to really fix everything in our aging complexes, especially when the vast majority of our assesment gets blindly thrown into administrative costs which never seem to go down. It doesn't have to be that way. Just sayin'.....