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RogerL3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 6
Posted:
I belong to a small (24) HOA in NC that has a problem with Board members not wanting to accept the responsibilities of holding an office. What are the alternatives when no one is willing to be active?
PitA
Posts: 1,416
Posted:
Receivership.

The corporation must have officers per your state's corporate law.

Else the court will take over and appoint a receiver.

or

Disband the corporation (not the HOA, merely the corporation).

but

Who will then operate/maintain the common elements?

Are y'all willing to accept PERSONAL liability after the corporate shield is removed?

Y'all need to educate YOURSELVES.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Roger,

As John (aka Pita) pointed out, the options are few if nobody wants to serve on the Board.

Receivership is done through the courts and is not considered a win for the Association. Expect a huge increase in assessments to pay for the receiver. Additionally, the receiver answers to the Court and not the membership.

Dissolving the Association may be a possibility but becomes harder if the Association has assets (common area, common roads, storm water detention ponds, etc). Someone will need to take ownership and responsibility for these things. Sometimes, the municipality will take over those assets in exchange for creating a special tax district for your development to pay for them.

Encouraging members to serve con be done in various ways with varying results. What works will be found by trial and error. Sometimes hiring independent contractors or a management company to handle some or all of the day to day tasks (bookkeeping, overseeing contracts, dealing with homeowner complaints, enforcement, etc.) can make the job more appealing. However, the membership will need to provide the funds to hire those contractors.

Making the job easier through the use of various tools may make the job seem less of a chore. For example, when I became a member of my Board the past board member handed me a box of stuff and said there you go. There was no organization to the items in the box and no guidance (other then the governing docs) on what the job required. Therefore I took the time to organize and create binders for each position (I'm still working on the Treasurers binder) that outlined what the minimal tasks were that needed to be completed, instructions on how to complete those tasks and examples of the various paperwork required. This serves as a way of passing on the corporate knowledge and I've gotten positive feedback from those who chose to use the binders.

Hope this helps,

Tim
LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By RogerL3 on 01/13/2016 1:18 PM
I belong to a small (24) HOA in NC that has a problem with Board members not wanting to accept the responsibilities of holding an office. What are the alternatives when no one is willing to be active?

Is this a condo or single-family homes?

In re-reading your post, you indicate that the problem is not getting people to serve on the board but rather getting board members to serve as officers. Am I reading this correctly?

RogerL3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 6
Posted:
Thanks Tim for your reply. Our HOA is for condominiums all privately owned. I am an owner who has taken on the management responsibilities primarily because the property management companies (realtors)did not want to "bother" with a small, 24 unit community or they wanted an outrageous amount of money to do so. I believe that when it comes down to the members having to decide realizing the alternatives they will accept the challenge and volunteer, although I will end up doing all their work.
RogerL3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 6
Posted:
Thanks Tim for your reply. Our HOA is for condominiums all privately owned. I am an owner who has taken on the management responsibilities primarily because the property management companies (realtors)did not want to "bother" with a small, 24 unit community or they wanted an outrageous amount of money to do so. I believe that when it comes down to the members having to decide realizing the alternatives they will accept the challenge and volunteer, although I will end up doing all their work.
RogerL3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 6
Posted:
Thanks Tim for your reply. Our HOA is for condominiums all privately owned. I am an owner who has taken on the management responsibilities primarily because the property management companies (realtors)did not want to "bother" with a small, 24 unit community or they wanted an outrageous amount of money to do so. I believe that when it comes down to the members having to decide realizing the alternatives they will accept the challenge and volunteer, although I will end up doing all their work.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Always make sure you have liability coverage for your board members. That way they can't be sued as individuals when they make decisions as HOA board members. This is the one benefit we had to offer our board members. That way it took the pressure off of personal liability issues on their personal budgets.

Former HOA President
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Always make sure you have liability coverage for your board members. That way they can't be sued as individuals when they make decisions as HOA board members. This is the one benefit we had to offer our board members. That way it took the pressure off of personal liability issues on their personal budgets.

Former HOA President

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