Board of Directors Qualifications.

Thee number one qualification to look for? The candidate knows to respond to owner, director, manager and attorney questions with, "Show me where in the Declaration, Bylaws or state statutes it says what you claim."

Being that this is going to be a new board after turnover it is really hard to evaluate what you have before you have it. Once the board is established, I always am on the lookout for people to fill holes in our existing board.

If I were you and was writing a what to look for sheet here are things that may help.

1) Someone willing to give more of his/her time than just show up at meetings.
2) Someone who is easy to get along with in a crowd.
3) Someone who can take criticism without getting angry. This is a tough one because you won't know till it happens. It will happen.
4) Someone who does not have 1 goal they want to get elected to accomplish. They check out after it happens.
5) You always should have at least 2 or 3 people willing to step in and help with from time to time.

Many HOAs do not get to pick who serves because not many people have any interest at all.

My HOA has over 1450 homes and the recent election had 2 openings and only 2 candidates applied. The thing to look out for IMO is the person who only wants to get one thing done. If they get it, they check out and if they don't they become angry and don't play well with others.

Like Kerry I have also been on boards for 14 years and have also had 25 different members on my boards over the years in 2 separate HOAs.

A competent board member is basically a unicorn. That person needs to:

* Have working knowledge of the community's governing documents (CC&Rs and bylaws) plus state law governing that particular type of association (condo vs. HOA) plus a smattering of federal laws that come into play (Fair Housing, Housing for Older Persons, Telecommunications Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Debt Collections laws - and the new Corporate Transparency Act *may* also apply to community associations although they were not the intended target of the law).

* Understand accounting and finances, insurance, building and grounds maintenance, and general managerial/people skills.

* Be able to deal with the short-term while planning for the long term. One of the biggest challenges for most HOAs/condos is that their budgets are set unrealistically low because owners squawk over assessments, which forces the boards into short-term thinking. This will eventually come back to bite everyone, with the Surfside condo collapse showing just how bad it can get when a community runs out of road to kick the can down.

* Understand what the job is about: A community association is a nonprofit corporation with a corporate form of governance. It's not a social club or a charity or a fraternal organization or a democracy - it's a multi-million dollar corporation that is regulated by law. Far too many people buy into a community association expecting a loosey-goosey social club where they have a lot of say in how things are run, and they get upset when they find out otherwise.

* Understand the concept of fiduciary duty. The board is obligated to act in the best interests of the association. Homeowners who are not on the board have no such duty.

I also agree with others' comments, including the importance of having a suitable temperament. If I'm on the board, I would much rather have newbie colleagues who don't understand the laws and the money and whatnot but who have the right mindset. They can learn all of the other stuff. But if they are power hungry or drama llamas or can't work effectively with others, these things are not easily fixed - and they'll make everyone else's job that much harder.

I also agree with the comment about possibly not having much choice about who is on the board, because nobody wants the job. A brand new community will probably have enthusiastic volunteers in the beginning. But once the reality sets in, you may end up begging and twisting arms to fill all of the board seats.

Since it's so hard to find competent board members who can do it all (somebody called them "unicorns"), you can take the team approach. Come up with a slate of prospective officers where each person fills a needed role. For president, you need someone who understands leadership. A big picture, strategic, long-term thinker. For treasurer, you need someone who was an accountant, bookkeeper, or CFO. Maybe a small business owner. Someone who can interpret the finances when other members can't. You also need a person who has their pulse on the community - is a social person or knows a lot of people or is simply a "people" person. Having an engineer or someone who understands construction is extremely helpful.

My point is that the most successful boards are made up of a lot of different kinds of talents. Someone who wants to do it all is the the kind of person you don't need - either they can't work with others, don't trust others, or they burn out really quickly. You don't want people with a personal agenda - the "one trick pony" that others have warned you about.

If the candidate says they are going to lower fees but can't say exactly how, then they aren't qualified for the board. Has a lot of grand ideas but no details - not qualified for the board.

Robert,

Take a look at these resources:

What are the Top HOA Board of Directors Qualifications? from a management company

HOA Board Member Roles Explained also from a management company

10 Traits of Successful HOA Board Members from HOA Leader

Reasons YOU Should Serve on Your HOA Board from a management company

Once your on the board:

The Board Member Took Kit From CAI

Best practices Reports from Foundation for Community Association Research
(Since your association is taking over from the developer - check out the one on Transition)

Subject: Reserve Studies/Funds 101 a thread on this forum. It's an old thread and many of the links no longer work. However, it is still good information and the links that do work provide good info. START YOUR RESERVES EARLY!

Hope this helps,

Tim

Thank you Kerry. Very helpful website. Florida requires that a Board of Director take a Certification Course, but also one can sign an affidavit that this BOD has read all of the CCR's and Bylaws and fully understands the content. I do not think I want to run at this point. I would sit on a Committee (Finance).

Thank you Tim

Thanks Lori. Point taken

CathyA3 wrote:

> * Understand what the job is about: A community association is a nonprofit corporation with a corporate form of
> governance. It's not a social club or a charity or a fraternal organization or a democracy - it's a multi-million dollar
> corporation that is regulated by law. Far too many people buy into a community association expecting a loosey-goosey
> social club where they have a lot of say in how things are run, and they get upset when they find out otherwise.

This. Many people in my neighborhood seem to think the HOA is some kind of poorly-defined democracy where major
issues are settled by popular vote. Ie “I think we should vote on our pool rules” etc. That’s not how it works.

CathyA3 wrote:
> I also agree with the comment about possibly not having much choice about who is on the board, because nobody
> wants the job. A brand new community will probably have enthusiastic volunteers in the beginning. But once the
> reality sets in, you may end up begging and twisting arms to fill all of the board seats.

This (also). In addition to the aforementioned “one-trick ponies”, I’ve seen a number of people step up with all good
intentions - only to discover that they simply don’t have the time or energy to do the job. And so they’ll either resign or
stay on as a no-op. I’m not certain which is worse. (One of my huge pet peeves is a Board member who feels that they
are ‘serving’ simply by showing up with no preparation or knowledge of the agenda; their ‘service’ is merely voicing
their (often ignorant) opinion on some matter)(I also have a huge peeve re “idea people”, who have tons of great
suggestions for what *someone else* needs to do. I’ll usually respond “Great idea! Go do that!” and they will typically
say “I don’t have time!”) But my point is that, to whatever extent it is possible, you should plan for resignations and
vacancies.

Retired people seem to perform well on HOA Boards. It’s not a 100% thing - and there are those
who would argue that it’s not good to stack the Board with older people who all share a similar POV - but a retired person
who has some free time can be a real asset. And possibly a huge PITA, too.

Final comment: in my limited experience, people who are extremely conflict-averse do not make good Board members.
If your primary concern is “I want everyone to like me”, then you’re not going to be good at making those “necessary
but unpopular” decisions that pop up regularly.

MHO,

Bill