What can I do as a board member to improve the value of our homes?

The primary purpose of a homeowners association is to manage a neighborhood's common areas such as roads, parks and pools. Homeowners are obligated to pay dues which can be anything from $100 to $10,000 a year, depending on the neighborhood and its amenities.

Think you have things a little screwed up!

I agree. I will add to keep the appearance/looks of the neighborhood up. Be sure when someone drives thru they think "this is a classy looking neighborhood".

A HOA should do that to the extent that it's addressed in the governing docs. When HOAs try to go beyond that and start making things up based on a BOD's interpretation or opinion, they run into trouble.

I agree with both of the priorities Cathy described.

Greg,

Maintaining the desirability of a home is not the question you asked.
You asked how to maintain the value of homes within the Association.
Two very different things. One of which, the Association has nothing to do with (actual value).

Associations are typically tasked with maintaining the common area and ensure properties are in good order and repair.

Maintaining common areas, is fairly straight forward. However, in my opinion, it also includes having the resources to properly maintain the common areas. In other words - properly funded reserves.

Ensuring properties are in good order and repair is done by enforcing the covenants equally as outlined within your governing documents.
My Association does annual inspections of the outside of the property to make sure things are being kept up.

If your board does these things, your development should be attractive to buyers looking in your area.
Obviously, many things come sway someones opinion to buy or not.

Desirability of the development and healthy HOA finances are the only two things an Association has any real control over.

A HOA is a "sales tool" to keep up appearances so people will want to buy. Property value is based on "REAL" numbers. It is based on what other homes within a few mile radius with similar size (bed/bath) have sold or foreclosed for in last 6 months.

I use this as an example. Was looking at houses and found one I hated the wallpaper. Does that mean the house property value was less? No. It was still worth what other homes were valued. It just did not hold a value to me. How then would a mortgage company loan money if there were not real numbers involved? It can't be what "value" we assign it.

A HOA acts as a way to put in place a way for the neighbors to pool money together to maintain the appearance and common shared amenities maintenance. A pool doesn't pay for itself once the HOA is turned over to the owners. A HOA without a pool or some other amenity may not be that attractive to potential buyers who want that amenity.

It isn't what the board can do to improve home values. What is how the HOA board can spend the fellow member's money on keeping the common areas in good condition and pay for projects it's responsible for.

I believe an HOA BOD does have some control over the value of a home. Granted the market has the ultimate control but the HOA can certainly help maintain the "value" of a neighborhood. I have seen HOA's allow the inmates to run the asylum by not enforcing the docs and allowing the neighborhood to deteriorate. Some non-cost to the HOA examples:

Not enforcing no derelict cars allowed.

Not enforcing landscaping guidelines.

Not enforcing upkeep standards like repainting a house.

Not enforcing fencing regulations.

Not enforcing no parking on the grass regulations.

Not enforcing no trailers parked in the driveway.

Especially if those violations exist in the beginning of the neighborhood. Over the years when I was looking to buy homes, a real estate agent would take me around looking at homes. More than once when we turned into a neighborhood, I would say turn around. This neighborhood looks like $hit. Some would say but the house is awesome. I would say no, drive on. The HOA was "killing" the sales possibility of that home. Killing the home value? Maybe not if priced accordingly but certainly killing the sales potential, at least to me.