HOA Insterests? How can you stimulate interests in the apathetic?

there are a lot of ideas to motivate people, but apathy is tough to overcome. If you can collect proxies, you could get enough to vote some new board members in, if someone else will serve. You could volunteer to assist the board, and perhaps use a long term plan to get more interest built up over the summer, next fall, etc..

If everyone is happy with the HOA as it is being run, they will have little motivation to change it. Laziness, apathy, and "the HOA doesn't affect me" are hard to change.

Why do you want owner involvement? Why do YOU want a change? What are YOUR expectations for this change? It may be more productive to look at why YOU want to expend energy into a change, than to try to figure out how to spend that energy.
You can at least meet your own expectations, and possibly change yourself. You are not likely to meet or change others as easily.

And I would strongly argue that it's often less about "apathy" and more about "complacency" or even, as John and Brian said, contentment with the status quo.

Most people who move into deed restricted communities do so with no intention to EVER be personally involved with the day-to-day operations of the association. This is their HOME, their castle, their place to "get away from it all," ("it" being anything and everything that they deem not critical to their leisure time at home).

Running the HOA? That's the job of people who "like to do that sort of thing."

As long as there is nothing in crisis, they see no reason to participate.

Why should they?

This is their HOME not their place of business.

The community must be just fine for them.

Again, that's not so much apathy as complacency.

It's not that they don't CARE, they just prefer things to be handled by someone else, not them.

Again, I didn't move into my home expecting to devote the number of hours per month to my association (community) as I do.

When we move to another subdivision, I will probably have nothing to do with the association.

Now, if there were something CRITICAL that were occurring, something that would stir people to act, like a steel plant moving in next door, or a prison being built next to the common area, my guess is that people would begin to step to some plate somewhere to do something active to prevent such a thing.

But, since there's no need for that, and other people are taking care of the "business" of the HOA, it's just simply not on their radar screen.

I would focus less on trying to find some way to get EVERYONE involved and start addressing how to get one or two who could be groomed involved.

Then let the cycle begin again. . .

What a refreshing change from the thread on apathy just a few months ago. The operative words here are, indeed, contentment and complacency.

If member involvement is so critically important, then do something outrageous: (1) make volunteer development part of the budget, and (2) put together a long-term plan to deal with the issue. Make the issue part of every board meeting agenda for consideration and (most importantly) action.

And, for the professional managers--what services does your firm provide to stimulate member involvement? (Or, are you part of the problem?)

It seems that the lack of member involvement only raises its head when it is time for nominations and election, and then forgotten for many months. Volunteer development/member involvement should be an ongoing issue, not much different than building maintenance. Call it "member maintenance" if you like.

How about establishing a new officer--"vice president for member involvement" charged specifically with developing member interest and involvement.

Let's stop bemoaning, and start acting.

Michele writes:

>>>As long as there is nothing in crisis, they see no reason to participate. Why should they?<<<

Can't disagree with that. But I would add - or unless something really ticks them off.

To quote one of my fave opening lines of literature:

"A thousand injuries I had borne at the hands of Fortunato. But when he ventured on insult, I vowed revenge."

In my first six years in our HOA, I'd attended but a single Annual, the turnover. After that, I didn't want to be bothered, esp. as I didn't like the setting - a dreary, flourescent-lit Township public room six miles distant. In 2007, from my unique vantage point of our common areas, I noticed they were falling into disrepair. So I phoned the PM who essentially told me that was none of my business. Okay. Then I suggested perhaps we'd have a better turnout of Membership if we held Annuals in the neighborhood. I'd even host. No, I was told. That would be "an inappropriate location." Oh? I queried. Not according to our docs, which stated the BOD (of which I wasn't a member) could choose. To which PM replied: "We (the PM company) have attorneys who understand these things." To which I responded: "I'm an attorney and I understand these things, too."

"Thank you for your input, but you don't."

Thank you for that impetus, Ms. Fortunato. I'll see you soon. Which I did at the next Annual, when I and another (mutually ticked) HO offered to run (and were elected) for the pair of vacant seats on the 3 position BOD. I was figuring it would take perhaps a year to dump the PM, but a few months later, when PM submitted a huge bump in dues to pay for her services, my goal was easily realized.

Petty, selfish, childish, vindictive on my side of the line? You bet'cha. But all's well that ends well. And continues to be well.

Why this bellybutton examination? Simple. The Gods at Augusta aren't allowing 3rd day coverage to begin until 3:30 EDST!

Oh, and also - to encourage anybody experiencing HOA tickedoffedness to step up to the tee and knock one 280 yards.

Peter, I absolutely agree with you.

They SHOULD be involved and they SHOULD care.

I'm just into the semantics of it, it's not "apathy." Calling it apathy is a cop-out, in my opinion.

It doesn't address the root of the issue.

That root is that their expectations in buying their home was that the HOA functioning and management is someone ELSE'S concern.

To them the HOA is like the police or fire department. They don't see the need to volunteer for either, but they do expect both to protect their interests.

It's not that they are apathetic to the police department or the fire department, they just don't see that they have any role or responsibility in it.

I think your idea on building the rebuttal is an excellent way to come up with "counter programming," so to speak, and help provide an awareness of how and why they are key to their own home's place in the association.

John,
Ah, perhaps you should have offered that PM a glass of wine...

At my first meeting as President I was dismayed that so few homeowners showed up. The same folks who always show up showed up. I was later told that actually that's a good thing. It means that people are content. And isn't that what the Board wants? When they are not happy they let you know, or they let someone else know, who lets someone else know until the Board finally gets whipped by the tail of the gossip viper.

The second meeting more showed up, enough for a quorum, and it wasn't because the contentment was less. I think it was because the curiousity was more - curiousity of this new President who keeps everyone in the loop of what is going on in the hood. Now our next meeting, which will be a special meeting to talk about our covenant review, I'm expecting even more, because now we are getting into the self-interest of the "home is our castle" crowd.

I believe there is a love-hate relationship with CC&R's. We love imposing them on others who clearly have rotten taste and low morals, but we hate having them imposed on us, who are clearly superior in mind and deed.

I tend to not take responsibility for anyone's choices. Everyone knows what they need to do to get what they want, as did our dear John and his cohorts. Anyone who wants to be on the Board, please step up. Anyone who wants the Board changed, please speak up. If you as a Board member or committee volunteer are done, resign with grace and no regret. If no one steps up let anarchy reign and see what happens. All societies fix themselves one way or another. It is not the Board's responsibility to spend an inordinate amount of time playing cheerleader. The mission of the Board is to have a well-managed association, with contented home-owners. The way that is done is with knowledge, information, equanimity and levity. And as Michelle so eloquently and concisely pointed out that's really want the homeowners want.

Dorothy

John, just so you know, being a writer and former "spinmeister," dictionary definitions mean nothing to me (and very few other people, either).

The fact of the matter is that most words carry denotative baggage with them.

Some of that baggage belongs to Good Witches, and some to Bad Witches.

The word "apathy" is one of those words whose denotative baggage that hangs out with a Bad Witch.

Not always, but most of the time.

When applying the term to oneself, it's generally self-depricating.

When applying the term to someone else, or in this case, lots of someone elses, it carries with it an undertone of blame or judgment.

At any rate, I agree that there may well be HOAs where the homeowners are apathetic, in the extreme. And they more than likely deserve the pronouncement.

But I think it's a less pejorative condition that most homeowners in HOAs exhibit.

It's not that they don't CARE, it's that they are quite content with letting the ball be carried by another player.

It's like trying to "nail jello to a tree or a cotton ball through a concrete wall"....just ain't gonna happen. Most want the benefits offered, but want only to drive home and go into their house, shut the door and close out reality.

I like those questions, KevinK7 - we're putting together a strategic planning committee in my HOA and I know owner apathy is one of the hot topics we'll need to adress. These will give us a good start (let's hope people are honest in their answers).

Another problem we have (along with other HOAs, I'm sure) are off-site owners. We have lots of them - a few live elsewhere in Indy and the rest out of state, so we don't hear ANYTHING from them. (yes, these are also the ones who rent out their units which is a whole 'nother issue).

I'd like for them to tell us what are their intentions for this community? If they're going to rent, rent, rent until hell freezes over, I'd prefer for them to buy out the rest of us, then they can run the community anyway they want. If they eventually want to sell at a profit, they're going to have to figure out a way to get more involved. At least send their bloody proxies so we can have more participation in elections and ratify these new CCRs once and for all.