How to set up a Residents advisory committee for the Developers POD Board

Residents would like to set up an advisory committeed to the POD's developers Board. Please advise prosedures.

Before even trying to do this, I strongly recommend learning what HOAs are about. Sheila recommended CAI. They have training materials available for homeowners and board members - both are helpful.

One of the first things homeowners should understand (and which few do understand) is the extent to which community associations are regulated by law. Boards can't just do whatever they want, and neither can homeowners. Your state will have relevant statutes. Some have different ones for condos and HOAs. Some lump them together. Some may have none, in which case you default to the statutes governing non-profit corporations. Read them. Also: remember that thick wad of paper you were given when you bought your home? Read it in its entirety. And whenever you think you know the answer to something, read it again.

I usually agree with everything Sheila says. But I don't agree that it's the developer's job to training their customers. You could maybe make an argument that it should be - somebody should do it. But a developer is in business to make money, and that means developing and selling as quickly as possible. Anything that distracts from that negatively affects the bottom line, and you'd have a very hard time convincing a business person that it's a good idea. (The builder I work for tracks days to completion, days to closing, and carrying costs, among other things. The goal is to minimize these costs as much as possible without compromising the quality of the product, and they aim for that sweet spot consistently. Any business person who knows what they're doing behaves this way.)

Also many states operate under the principle of "caveat emptor". It's up to a buyer to understand what he's buying, and if he doesn't - oh well. In my more cynical moments, I think if buyers truly understood what they were getting into, many would think twice - or not buy at all. Ignorance is in the best interests of everyone except the buyers. (I did say that I'm cynical.)

There is also the issue of homeowners wanting to "advise" a developer. They're basically telling him that he doesn't know his job and he's doing it wrong. That's unlikely to lead to a productive discussion - especially if the buyer has already closed on deal. The only times I've seen developers change course is during economic downturns - they're forced into it.

Long story short: the first order of business is making sure you know what you're talking about. A wish list is a waste of time unless it's built on a solid foundation of knowledge. And people are more likely to listen to you if you're not talking out of your hat.

Planned Unit Developments: https://www.nar.realtor/residential-real-estate/planned-unit-developments

They can be either condos, townhouses, or single-family home HOAs.

HOA not AOD

I moved into my 200 unit 25 story high rise HOA a couple of years after it opened in 2001.

The developer was "the Board" before turnover and he, wisely, formed what he called a "Builiding Committee," but there are better names. Seven owners volunteered to his invitation. They wrote together what the Comm. would be doing. Mainly it was inspecting non-mechanical aspects of the twin towers and the common areas.

A couple of them had a background in construction. The suggestions and observations they wrote in their required weekly report were VERY worthwhile. The developer owns 5% of the "lots" in our HOA and the Committee Chair had full access w to him. The Comm. as a whole met with the delvelopr & usually his lead engineer weekly. This Comm. even persuaded the Developer to change the surface of some interior common area walls.

Their observations also helped, after turnover, the Owners Board to hired enough custodial, & security vendors.

The reason I know all of this is because/c I read all of their reports and meeting minutes when I joined the Board 6 years after the buildings opened. It was truely valuable info to me.

What the Committee missed and I didn't notice until a couple of years after I starting serving was the Reserve Study. One is required by my State before it approves any HOA. And there was, to be sure, a detailed one. BUT some reserves components' useful lives were estimated as too long. And the cost to replace some other components was underestimated. This allowed the developer to show "lower" assessments when the Units were marketed.

So, the Committee and the developer had a very cordial relationship. And it was very productive. A couple of the members go on to serve on the Owers Board. Any such committee, however, must try to estimate the reserve Study components. The easiest part is to make sure all component for which the HOA must maintain, replace and repair is listed on the Study. Our developer "missed" quite a pricy one.

A good source of info for the Committee is the Maintenance Manual, which certified reserve specialists should review. It often will estimate the useful life of various items, frequency of PMs on mechanical components, etc.

There might be a different committee that learns what an HOA IS & focuses on the governing documents & state laws.