What is an Association

This is for owner controlled/owned HOA's... Homeowner's Associations are made up of homeowners. One has to be a homeowner to be a member. The board of the HOA is made up of the owner's/members to represent them as a "whole". The board is to do the daily business of the HOA general members on their behalf.

A HOA works both as a quasi-government and a corporation. The owners are basically shareholders in the corporation. A HOA is only funded by it's members for it's members. The government portion is when elections play a role in the HOA. The board members politic to be voted onto the board. The board then elects it's officer positions from within the elected board members.

Now HOA's were created as "sales tools" by the developers. They were set up to entice potential buyers to buy into the concept that they the owners had control and say what happened in their neighborhood. Who doesn't like the idea that one can enforce rules/regulations to keep "home values" up? That atleast is the speal most people hear. HOA's really don't keep home values up. What they do is keep the neighborhood ATTRACTIVE to potential buyers.

The Homeowner Association was formed to serve as the voice of 258 plus property owners - would this be a correct wording? I feel personally that this wording is TAKING AWAY THE VOICE OF THE MEMBERS. An example of which could be the association has to make guidlines for the use of the common areas - so would that mean the board has to make guidelines or the members as a whole?

HOA boards are similar to your city council, school board, state legislature or most other organizations. The officers/board of directors make decisions on how the organization is run – ideally, it should get input from the members, who should be paying attention to what’s going on and why. Your Bylaws may also give the board the power to make additional rules, provided they don't contradict the CCRs, Bylaws and state/local/federal law - and board members are just as obligated to comply with those rules as you are, so you need to watch for selective enforcement.

A good HOA board will take the time to listen to homeowners to explain why things are or aren't being done, but homeowners have to do their part by attending meetings (at least the annual), read board meeting minutes or other communication from the Association regularly, and ask questions about anything they don't understand. CCRs and rules aren't set in stone and can change - community demographics change, government laws change, tastes in exterior features changes., etc. so you may need to adjust your governing documents to keep up. Homeowners usually have to approve CCRA changes, so they need to educate themselves on the issues so they make an informed decision. If you have a board that's trying to be a law unto itself and ignoring the homeowners altogether, the homeowners need to do their job and vote these folks out or recall them. There shouldn’t be any taking away the voice of the members unless the members allow it by sitting at home and doing nothing, or not speaking up. I always say change isn't easy and doesn't necessarily happen overnight, and sometimes there's lots of pushback. It may come down to how much do you believe in the change you want and what you're willing to do to get it.

You should also remember all homeowners agree to comply with the association rules when they buy a home in the community, which is why it’s a good idea to read them before you buy to determine if those are rules you can live with.

A definition of "Association" should be in your CC&Rs, Dorrinda. Start with the definitions section at the beginning of your CC&Rs (covenants; declaration). Then read more within your CC&Rs. there you should see the purpose of the Association. Often it'll say something like to protect & maintain the assets of your Association. These include your common areas and your finances. this set ion of your CC&Rs also probably say that the Association is responsible for certain things, e.g., certain kinds of insurance, maybe trash collection, etc.

what is an Association per your CC&Rs, Dorrinda.

It also might say that the Association is managed by a Board of Directors that makes sure the above happens as per Douglas' point

Boards often have the authority to make rules. the procedures vary by state. And usually, Owners have a way to protest against new rules as per sheila's pint.

Dorrinnda,

I haven't read all the responses, so I may be repeating what has already been said.

An Association is a separate entity. Think of it as a company (in fact, it actually is a corporation regardless if it is registered as one or not). The Association comes into existence when the development began and deed restrictions (your CC&Rs) were filed with the County.

This corporation has specific responsibilities which are outlined within your governing document. Typically, these include maintaining the common elements and, perhaps, providing specific services (snow removal, trash collection, etc.).

The owners are members of the Association (happens when the CC&Rs are filed). You can think of members as share holders but that isn't really what they are. The members elect a Board of Directors to make the decisions of the Association (company). The Board appoints Officers (typically from amongst themselves) to handle the day to day tasks of running a company.

Again, the answer to your question is that the Association is neither the members nor the Board. It is a separate entity (a registered or unregistered corporation). Although, because the Board speaks for the Association, the Board is often seen as "the Association".

For more info, see:

What is an HOA and What Is It's Purpose?

Homeowner association from wikipedia

Homeowners' Associations—What Is an HOA?

When enough homeowners are unhappy enough with the current board to elect a different one.

Dorrinnda,

I'd like to comment on some of your statements:


This would be a transparency issue. Many members of Associations have gotten upset enough to gather support and recall or simply not reelect those individuals that won't be transparant in their actions.

However, keep in mind that although it can be annoying, there is no requirement I know of that a Board tells the membership of their decisions. Typically, members who are interested in how the Association is being ran will attend the meetings to observe how the Board conducts business or request copies of meeting minutes.


Apparently, if the members approve the budget they have approved the increase.

Not knowing how old your development is, Declarants (developers) will tend to artificially keep assessments low in order to attract sales. Then when control is turned over to the members, the reality of the situation hits and major increases in assessments are common. Older developments who fail to set aside enough funds (this often happens because the members think that they will not be living there when things need replaced or repaired) will see increases in assessments to properly fund reserves and to make needed repairs.


The reality of budgets is that they are indeed guidelines and not requirements. Members elect individuals to serve on the Board to make decisions for the Association. If the members are not happy with those decisions, the remedy is to gather support and replace those individuals with others that make decisions the members are happy with. Perhaps you will be willing to serve on the Board and be part of the decision process.


Although a common misunderstanding, I have never heard of an HOA or COA being declared a charity by the IRS in order to achieve tax exempt status. Being a non-profit corporation does not mean you are tax exempt. It is simply a category a company can incorporate under. What likely happened is the State administratively dissolved the Corporation for failure to file annual reports. This is easily remidied by going through the process imposed by the State. I would encourage your Association to be incorporated as there are advantages to the membership under the law.


Again, the fix is to gather support from the membership and replace the Board with others who are willing to serve. If others are not willing to serve or don't want to participate by voting, then those who are willing to serve will be elected (regardless of how they have acted in the past).

What needs to be done is an education of the membership. This isn't easy, may end up creating more enemies then friends and will take time. It took me 3 years of informing the membership before they started to take action. It was 4 years before I was elected to the Board (that's when I got my education - which is another story). The bottom line is that changes can happen if the members are willing.