office on site

Started by BonnieG1 • 10 replies • 1405 views

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BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

I am curious to know how many Associations have offices on site. Our officers each use his/her personal items such as computer, printer etc for the small amount of work we do. (Our PM does most of most of the composing of letters, printing, mailing etc. Our PM also does the bookkeeping.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

You mean how many of us directors or officers have a private office on our HOA's premises???

None of us seven do and none over the 14+ years of this HOA ever had.

I actually do a lot of printing of HOA materials--often ones I've authored. And sometimes directors have grumbled that we should be reimbursed for paper & ink.

But why would any director need a private office?

Perhaps a self managed HOA, but even then, often the reason they're self managed is because they're on the small side or are not complicated, so why....?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Bonnie,

We are self managed and do not have an office on premises.

If we did, it would help store the Association files and provide a place for Officers to complete work if they chose to (or still do the work from their home).

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

My last HOA had an office in the clubhouse for the use of the PM when on site 2 days a week. The President of the BOD was allowed to use it also. The BOD had access to it when the BOD met in the conference room adjacent to the office.

My present HOA has no amenities so not place for the BOD to meet. We have used a local restaurant to meet at but 95% of our business is done via Email and phone. Efficient way to run a smaller HOA (113 homes) if allowed to do so.

PitA
Posts: 1,416

Posted:

My BOD has a dedicated office inside the community's clubhouse.

IMO: any incorporated entity should have office space (even if rented outside its' jurisdiction)

else: how can records be found / located in the event of death or illness or 'mental incapacity' of a director ?

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 11/04/2015 8:56 PM
Bonnie,
We are self managed and do not have an office on premises.

If we did, it would help store the Association files and provide a place for Officers to complete work if they chose to (or still do the work from their home).

We're in the same boat, it would be great if there were at least somewhere to keep a file cabinet of permanent records, but we don't have a clubhouse or any other HOA owned structures so the directors/officers have filing tubs that are passed on when someone else takes over a role.

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 11/04/2015 7:51 PM

I actually do a lot of printing of HOA materials--often ones I've authored. And sometimes directors have grumbled that we should be reimbursed for paper & ink.

We include a line in our budget for office supply expenses and any director that prints or otherwise uses supplies can just turn in a receipt and get reimbursed. Directors contribute enough in time, I don't see why they should also be out money for the privilege of being on the board.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Is there an office for your PM when he comes, Bonnie? If not, where does he hang out? Not in your laundry room, I'm sure!

If there is office space, it would seem to me that your HOA's officers' files could be kept in there, yes?

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

We're self-managed and have a few file cabinets in the locked clubhouse storeroom. Nothing else though, it's storage space only. Officers and directors use their own computers, printers, scanners, etc. We do reimburse for printing costs both at-home and for the occasional run to Staplers when you need 100 copies of a 12 page document and such. Not everyone here has or even knows how to use a computer, much less email. Which can be a real drawback at times.

GailG3 (Illinois)
Posts: 2

Posted:

All five of our board members own and live in a unit within our complex. We use our own home computers for communication. The board bought a preowned Dell laptop for the HOA that can be used by any of our board members but is primarily used by our treasurer for our finances using Quicken and for presentations for meetings as well as to store files and documents in one place. This laptop can be given to anyone in the treasurer position without having to install Quicken and other files on their own private PCs.

We also back up everything on a Toshiba hard drive, which is owned by the HOA.

We have a board office supply budget to pay for printer paper, ink and mailing for the secretary, president and treasurer and for software etc. The HOA purchased the lapop for $150. and the hard drive along with the Quicken software.

We pay most of our bills on line and we have a wix.com free website that I built for communication so we don't use the mail very much.
So, basically, we use our own home offices. I would find it a pain, as president, to go to an office in another location. Gail

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PitA on 11/05/2015 9:33 AM
My BOD has a dedicated office inside the community's clubhouse.

IMO: any incorporated entity should have office space (even if rented outside its' jurisdiction)

else: how can records be found / located in the event of death or illness or 'mental incapacity' of a director ?

Pita,

I agree with you.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 11/05/2015 1:06 PM
Is there an office for your PM when he comes, Bonnie? If not, where does he hang out? Not in your laundry room, I'm sure!

If there is office space, it would seem to me that your HOA's officers' files could be kept in there, yes?

There is no office for our PM when he comes. The maintenance people are here to do there work. The PM is not on site as often as he used to be. When he is it is usually to place invoice in our boxes or check on an issue.

Our PM used to come to our coffee hr every week, but now one of his employs come to the coffee hr.

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