Why does anyone become a Board President?

Started by SusanO3 • 28 replies • 553 views

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SusanO3 (California)
Posts: 163

Posted:

I understand folks who become politicians, at least they get Paid! But the total lack of support HOA Board's get is unbelievable. I won't share what leads me to despair, and I know I can always not stand again, but my God, do homeowners have no empathy for the volunteers on the Board trying to work on their behalf. Rant over. Sue

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

Sue, most people have an appreciation for their HOA boards by virtue of their silence (and their silent refusal to volunteer themselves). The loud, finger-pointing minority that all boards face is the biggest distraction. I say that when a president has been in office so long that their volunteerism is taken for granted, it's time to step away.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

It goes with the territory. You need to know what you're doing (so that the uninformed activists can't force an agenda that's contrary to how things should work). You need a thick skin. You need a certain tolerance for colleagues who don't know what they're doing. And you need the right temperament (I aim for professional and no drama).

There are ways to deal with these folks in order to limit the damage they do, both to individual board members and to the community as a whole.

And you can quit. It's not indentured servitude.

Also, the board is a team. "President" is your officer position, and it just describes your duties - ie, signing contracts and presiding at meetings. The president has one vote, the same as the rest of the board members. The president has no more authority or responsibility than the rest. If the board is going to heck in a hand basket, all are accountable.

That said, I believe that homeowners get the boards they deserve and that board service should be a paid, professional job - a "receivership lite" sort of thing. Unfortunately homeowners wouldn't like it, and it would increase the cost of home ownership - something we don't need right now. So it's not happening. But I can dream.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Susan,
I agree with almost everything Cathy stated with the exception of the last paragraph. I have no desire to be compensated for any volunteer position and feel like this would lead to new issues.

As someone who has been president for a long time now over 10 years, I feel that the thing that makes it hard is social media. It gives people who have very limited facts and, in some cases, no actual facts the ability to speak as if their opinion matters. This same tool also gives people with nothing else to do but poke those same know it all's into arguments. Very little ever gets settled over this media.

I think the only way I have remained sane is to limit or stay off of the SM. I have never had an account on any of the FB groups in my communities. I also feel like it has hurt many more people than it ever intended to help. If someone wants to talk to me or send me an email, we have a board email that goes to the entire board. I will normally copy our PM on my response and remind the sender that these inquires usually start with the PM or PMC and we are here as a backstop if needed and I also state that I am not speaking for the board because I am just 1 of 5 board members that make our HOA board.

It is also important to know that it is impossible to make everyone happy. The job as President IMO is to lead a group of volunteers and management in the right direction. Majority rules in all cases and as Cathey mentioned we each have just a 20% of the decision-making process.

We are in the middle of election season, and it was my term along with 2 other board members. We have 1450 homes in our SFH community and no one other than the incumbent candidates applied. We are very lucky that we have a great team, and everyone has the best intentions. This can also work in the opposite direction if the board is filled with people with bad intentions and never get new blood to step up and volunteer.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

The first time I served on the board, I was made president.
I didn't seek the office.
The past president said he didn't want to do it anymore but would be secretary.
He then went around the room starting to on his right.
I was sitting on his left.

Often, one becomes president of an HOA board simply because nobody else wants the job and it's the only job left.

GregoryT1
Posts: 315

Posted:

Susan,

Hang in there. Cathy item is important in getting a thick skin. I think we are all conscientious on this discussion board. The same folks who have responded on this thread have helped me quite a bit. My condo was close to coming to a lawsuit. It was averted. We are operating out of zero-sum game of nuclear war fear. The solution to fear is getting educated. This website helped me tremendously in getting educated. Operating out of the condo docs, local and state laws eliminates all political nonsense. An engineer once told me he can figure out what is broken, what are the solutions, how much time and money it will cost to fix it. That is the easy part the PEOPLE part was difficult. You have people and money and that makes a keg of dynamite combination for a condo. But then again it is no different than families. I will think twice before moving to another condo.

This might be another thread but I agree with Mark that being paid for the position might bring in a host of different problems.

MarshallT (New York)
Posts: 414

Posted:

In most cases, owners probably have no idea how challenging it is to be a board president. That's because most have never served on the board. Those that do run want to improve the community, but it certainly can be difficult if your members are not supportive.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 08/21/2024 6:39 AM
The first time I served on the board, I was made president.
I didn't seek the office.
The past president said he didn't want to do it anymore but would be secretary.
He then went around the room starting to on his right.
I was sitting on his left.

Often, one becomes president of an HOA board simply because nobody else wants the job and it's the only job left.

True this.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MarkM19 on 08/21/2024 5:52 AM
... snip .... I have no desire to be compensated for any volunteer position and feel like this would lead to new issues. ... snip

I don't either. I just don't think multi-million dollars corporations should be run by volunteers. It requires a level of knowledge and skill that comes with a price tag. By using volunteers, we're basically saying that it's not important if they mess up six ways to Sunday. Who cares if a naive board president falls for the dreaded "Florida Condo Roofing Insurance Scam" and now the community has no new roofs and no insurance? Or if condo owners find themselves out on their ears after investors start buying up the distressed properties? Too bad, so sad. Too few people get hurt to make things really uncomfortable for our elected officials - at least until buildings fall down - and the investors are positively gleeful. So we keep pretending that this is a good idea.

I'll say one thing about volunteering. People tend to value things according to how much they have to pay for them. They're much less likely to mouth off to a $500 per hour attorney (because the attorney will fire them as a client if he gets his neck full) than they are to a volunteer board member. There are more volunteers where that one came from, right, so why treat them nicely? Actually there aren't more where they came from, because people are generally unwilling to submit themselves to this abuse. The unwilling include the abusers. Astonishing, isn't it?

Yes, I assume there would be other issues. There are always issues. Community associations boil down to money, and money is a reliable source of conflict in most places. There's no getting around this no matter who's calling the shots.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

If I recall correctly, Sue has worked very hard to try to include owners. She even holds board meetings in her home to encourage owners' attendance and voices. She, I think, offers refreshments. She's placed a yard sign up publicizing board meetings.

BUT, again if I recall, the other board members have been uncooperative and unfriendly. Please correct my errors Sue.

I think it's possible that the owners who're being ungrateful or worse, may been seeing contention ON the board, which kinda sets them off?

Sue, I know you'll get good advice here if you'd say a little about the nature of Owners nastiness. And relate again the size of your SFH HOA & board. Any amenities?

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

I stay on my BOD as I do not want some other Ahole getting elected.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Cathy,
Your deeper thoughts on the compensation thing makes sense. I think the only way this would make sense is if was a law passed by the states. It would have to have a per door fixed amount and those costs would surely be added to everyone's monthly dues. My fear is if it was not strictly enforced, we would end up like the Township in Dalton Illinois with the Mayor Tiffany Henyard who decided she would pay herself 10 times what the township could afford. A simple google search points out just how bad she is and yet she is still in office. You know how she got away with it? She was in charge and made it happen. Greed is a crazy thing.

Much like John C. I stay on our board because I know it only takes a few elections before the tide can turn a great board into one that is out of control.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

I doubt if the law is going to change. Too many Big Money interests are doing just fine the way things are. Those who are in the business of selling homes don't want prices to rise enough to cut into sales, for example.

Unfortunately, I think the only way to have etter volunteer boards is by having more informed and capable buyers. And again. those who are selling homes don't want to force buyers to jump through more hoops.

I don't see a good solution to this. I think amateur boards will continue to limp along or even run their communities into the ground. And the investors will buy up distressed properties and either collect the rental money themselves or - if the properties are too beaten up - tear them down and redevelop them. Around and around we go. Somehow the money never seems to end up in the owners' pockets.

GregoryT1
Posts: 315

Posted:

Question for the Florida condo owners. Did they pass a law that the board has to go to school and complete some education requirements?

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Though on my Board of 7 for 14 years (till the end of '21) I only was president once--when no one else would serve. And it's true, we've had a few terrible presidents . Almost always it's their ignorance of our own governing documents and CA HOA civil code. These handful of terrible presidents counted on our PM. Sometimes that was fine and sometime the PMs were ignorant.

As board secretary for almost all of my years, and being pretty insistent, I was able to keep things in our HOA on track and on time and true to our docs.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

I think FL has had an ed requirement for a few years now. But it's so skimpy that I was surprised. More recent legislation may have improved the # & content of the required hours.

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

There has been an education requirement for both condo and HOA boards for several years in Florida. You had to take a short course and be certified within 90 days of being elected or appointed to the board.

However, they recently put into place continuing education requirements. For condos, directors elected or appointed after July 1, 2024, must take an education course administered by the Florida Division of Business and Professional Regulation or a Division-approved course, which must be at least four (4) hours long and include instruction on milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements. Existing board members will have until June 30, 2025, to comply with this requirement.

For HOAs, directors elected or appointed after July 1, 2024, must take an education course administered by the Florida Division of Business and Professional Regulation or a Division-approved course, which will remain valid for four years before the director shall take another board certification course.
Directors in HOAs with less than 2,500 parcels must compete at least four (4) continuing education hours annually.
Directors in HOAs with 2,500 parcels or more must complete eight (8) hours of continuing education annually.

On the original question about why anyone would become board president, I have been thinking long and hard about this. It's a thankless job. People ask me why I do it and I always say it's because I like to be in charge. But really I'm not a dictator, I'm a collaborative leader. The issue is that I have problems with people who do things half way or not at all, or don't educate themselves and then obligate me, as an owner, to the consequences of their poor work.

SusanO3 (California)
Posts: 163

Posted:

Your last sentence says it all for me. Will you be on my Board!

GregoryT1
Posts: 315

Posted:

Lori thanks for the quantity and quality of the Florida rules I appreciate that. Also you responded to the original question. I agree with you 100%. I think the main item for me and why I spend so much time on the condo is that maintenance of a building(s) or machinery is a big deal for me. The bottom line I want to ensure the investment on the property and proper maintenance keeps building systems running smoothly and run longer and keeps property value up in the long run. Also I am stickler on finances. If everyone else can respond on the "why" they put up with all the garbage in running a condo because somewhere there is a special secret sauce on why all of you keep on doing what you are doing despite the nonsense you have to put up with.

WendyM5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1,522

Posted:

Tired of old board's not holding elections or even pretending to be democratic.

vis ta vie

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

My term as a board member, previous president, is coming to an end. To sum of my observations as a board member:

1. I am not an owner in the community. I am an evil dictator that beamed down from space to make people’s lives miserable.
2. Everyone who disagrees with any board action is an individual with an opinion who names themselves We.
3. No other homeowners ever complain about your property looking like crap.
4. Everyone moved into to the HOA to prevent other people from making changes to their property you don’t like, but every thing you want to do should be totally acceptable
5. People move into HOAs because they don’t like rules.
6. Fees should be low because nothing costs what the board thinks it does.
7. The HOA has reserves, fees shouldn’t be increased because of all that money isn’t being used.
8. I am not a volunteer, I am an employee.
9. Board actions aren’t bound by the declaration, they should ignore the provisions because some homeowners don’t like them.

So as I leave the Board here is my personal resolutions.:

1. Any time anyone stands in a board meeting and says “we” want or “we” don’t like, I am going to stand and ask ask how many proxies they have and who we is.
2. Anytime anyone disrespects the board at a meeting, I am going to nominate them for the next election and tell them I am looking forward to their service.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeanJ on 08/28/2024 12:31 AM

... snip ...
2. Anytime anyone disrespects the board at a meeting, I am going to nominate them for the next election and tell them I am looking forward to their service.

Actually, I did something like that. When somebody complained, I encouraged them to put their thoughts in writing so that the board could discuss them, and I brought up a list of tasks that we needed help with. People quickly learned to avoid me when they wanted to gripe...

SusanO3 (California)
Posts: 163

Posted:

Thank you all for responding, fun comments to read

DavidF17 (Florida)
Posts: 11

Posted:

I'm new to this forum so please excuse me for chiming in late to this conversation.

I became President many years ago because no other Board member was willing to take that position. I left the Board more than a decade ago because I was tired of all the complaining. Some neighbors had a complaint literally every time I saw them ... at a Board meeting ... walking the dog ... at the grocery store .... and I was fed up.

When I came back on the Board I wanted to be Treasurer. Most Board members in my experience have no idea how to be Treasurer. And it takes a critical eye to oversee the bookkeeper at the management company. Treasurer is a much more time consuming job if done well, but at least most of the complaints are not directed at me ... they are directed to the President.

I think the new laws in Florida for Board training are a good step in the right direction. I think every state should adopt similar requirements for Board member training.

RheaE (Texas)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Board Training, where can I get that? I've been looking but haven't seen anything anywhere.

DavidF17 (Florida)
Posts: 11

Posted:

Florida is still figuring this out.

One source is your local chapter of the Community Associations Institute.

Some HOA attorneys and management companies offer training, some of which is free.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Caionline.com offers pubs that help a lot; find one called something like "Board Member Tool Kit."

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

The latest statutes in Florida say, for HOAs only, board members who have been on the board more than 4 years or are joining as a new member have to take a 4-hour new board member training. Starting January 1, they also have to take 4 hours of continuing education each year. The training has to be approved by the state.

Many law firms and management companies are offering the training and they are taking attendence. You have to be there at the beginning and end and may have to do a survey in the middle to make sure you are paying attention. The state has gotten serious about training.

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