What do you do when no one in your community cares?

Sorry for spamming today. Lots of questions I've been holding onto and am just now getting around to asking.

I am the president of an association consisting of 20 units. It is the most complacent community I have ever seen. No one cares about anything except low monthly dues. No one comes to meetings. The current vice president doesn't want anything to do with association matters and doesn't get involved at all in internal email discussions. She was actually the president once, hated it, and is only VP because I pressured her into it just so we can have a full board.

Can a community be doomed to destroy itself? What do you do when no one cares? What do you do if you can't get anyone to volunteer for board positions? Can you legally operate with only a president? Our by-laws state that the president has the authority to appoint residents into new officer positions if the vacancy occurs mid-term, but what do you do if they just resign after being appointed?

Depending on how many positions you have on your board, I think you would need at least 2 more people serving to constitute a quorom (it is in your CC&Rs or by-laws). We have 5 board positions and need at least 3 to make a decision.

As for getting more involvement, maybe do a letter that you can post in common area(s) and send to each homeowner explaining the importance of their participation. Just like regular political elections, if homeowners are not involved (and vote) they can't complain about the outcome. Include in your letter the financial health of the association is dependent upon active homeowners to make informed decisions.

You won't be able to convince everyone to be involved but maybe get an extra 1 or 2 people. Good luck

20 units only and in a HOA??? Must be mansions, cost for repairs for roads, sewage, storm drainage cleaning by the city billings and roof repairs divided by only 20 owners....Makes no sense unless a gated high cost community. small community's like this should also consider the possibility of a few or a lot of lot owners filling bankruptcy when major repairs happens and the remaining lot owners have to cover their asset protections. and the possibility of kids screaming around in atv's like my community on the Community HOA common grounds one day a ground hog might decide to make the field anew home and the angry parent sues the HOA for his kid screaming around on their common grounds on his ATV unprotected.

I know exactly what your talking about... I am infamous for having actual board meetings at the swimming pool behind the clubhouse due to lack of attendance. When it's 104 degrees in the shade that's where your going to find your people at and occasional board members. Sometimes you just have to move the mountain to the people or build the baseball diamond in the corn field...

I fall under the "There is always a bigger fish..." theory. My HOA was run by a con-artist who abused the HOA money. He often did illegal work and hired mostly his friends. Challenging him he would paint you in a bad light and tell people lies about you. So had to do a few "Oldest tricks in the book"... Found I am really good "love letter" writer... LOL! Honey versus vinegar... I was elected, he was kicked out and so was his friends... Redid the whole HOA and got it in "Respectable" condition.

Which brings me to the "Bigger Fish" issue. Because I had done the hard work, people thought it looked "easy". Why if she can do it why can't I? That was because I went back to the basics. Brought the HOA rules to each meeting. When drafting violation letters I referenced the exact rule. I foreclosed on a house that had not paid their due in over 2 years. I instituted a 6 month lien policy for those who did not pay their dues (or make effort). 1 year we considered foreclosing on those who did not pay but that came with MANY conditions. (Covered by other posts). I redid the pool area which the wood retaining wall was collapsing and too dangerous to be in the pool area. Plus cut down several trees to correct some danger or aesthetic issues. I was also responsible for finally finishing up changing/updating our entire documentation system and filing...

That was just a few of the highlights. As you see, it was HARD work. However, it was worth all the effort. We even had houses selling a few hours after signs went up and had people wanting a waiting list to purchase. That did not mean our home values raised but we were able to get our asking prices on the homes. The place ran and look so much better.

My advice is to do a BIG improvement project that is sorely needed. Like improve the front entrance. Do a "Volunteer day" where the HOA supplies the supplies and the owners do the work on areas they find most annoying. Say a paint project or trimming plants. Something minor but gains aesthetics. I find having a Volunteer day helps in getting people together without feeling like it's a "meeting".

I also found being very open and transparent helped. Adopting 2 dogs let me walk the neighborhood and keep an eye on things. It also allowed me to meet the people and they could talk to me anytime. Final decisions were done at meetings which I told them if they want something they must come to a meeting and submit the idea. If they could not attend, then write a letter and understand it will be read by ALL in attendance. They have to deal with the final decision considering they were not there to convey properly what they wanted.

Basically, once people saw the hard work and things straightened out, they wanted to participate. If the people feel like they have a proper working HOA, they are most likely going to be more interested in it. No one likes to go to meetings because of all the screaming or the Chief Complaining officer is there.

All I can say is to be as open as possible. Realize your position is as "FACILITATOR" not the boss. That means if your membership wants to spend the money on painting the roads red... Your job is to find out how much it costs and arrange how it is to be done. That is the best advice I ever got. The HOA money is NOT my money. It is ALL member's money. Treat the budget like that and you will gain more trust and participation. People may think your crazy if you keep bugging them about "Is it okay we spend money on XXX?". Once you explain why that it's their money too and you want their opinion, they most likely will get the hint or you will on how to deal with them...

Good luck... I will tell you it's about an average of 3 years to straighten up your HOA. That is about the time everything is in adequate orders and someone else wants to be the "Bigger fish".

Ron:

In some states when there becomes complete apathy and no real HOA then the HOA can end up in a receivership. This is something that your HOA would want to avoid. In essence a court can approve someone (such as an attorney) to oversee the HOA. This individual sets the HOA fees which will include the receiver's fees for overseeing the HOA. How much do you think a potential attorney will charge per hour to oversee HOA business just because individuals are too lazy or have apathy and no longer taking care of business themselves?

If this possible fact does not get individuals off their tails and start taking an interest .... then their bad.