Attending HOA meetings

Started by JaiK • 3 replies • 1603 views

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JaiK (California)
Posts: 1

Posted:

We are new members to a HOA. We attended our first meeting, and the President was very rude, irate and condescending in the way she specifically spoke to us. It was very insulting. She is a disturbed woman, and obviously enjoying her power trip.

We are inclined to not put ourselves in this environment again, let alone, sit across from her at these meetings.

Do we have to attend these meetings? Can they communicate with us via writing instead? What do we forfeit by not attending?

Thanks

PaulH3 (Connecticut)
Posts: 29

Posted:

“Do we have to attend these meetings?”

You are not required to attend any meetings. However, I would recommend that you attend as many as you can. But not attending, will miss out on some of the subtleties that your Board and Directors use in running your Association. Remember, you have a lot invested here. You need to be aware of what is going on that could possibly impact you personally from both a lifestyle and financial perspective.

As far as the president being on a power trip, that would prompt me to want to attend every and all meetings even more.

“Can they communicate with us via writing instead?”

The Association most likely has some specific requirements for communicating to the members of the Association. However, I would not rely on occasional outbound communication. You most likely have the right to review and audit the financials, meeting minutes, contracts, etc. that pertain to the operations of the Association. I regularly review the minutes of Board meetings even if I attended the meeting as an observer. Things occasionally do not get recorded properly. They need to be corrected before the minutes get accepted at the next meeting.

LizJ (Florida)
Posts: 34

Posted:

You ABSOLUTELY MUST attend as many meetings as you can. That is the only way you will have an accurate idea of how your board conducts itself. Unless you are a financial specialist, the annual financials report that you are entitled to receive will likely be clear as mud. Annual Meetings alone do not give a true picture of what is going on with funds.

Remember, the board is elected to spend other peoples' money - YOURS!!!! I have been a member of the board at my HOA for just a year; I have been a homeowner for just under 2 years. As soon as I could figure out when the board meetings were held, I began attending. When I joined the board, I tried to get more homeowner involvement and I was shocked at the attitude my fellow board members expressed - Oh, the homeowners don't care, they won't get involved, look they don't even bother to come to meetings. Translated, I found that means that the board thinks they can do anything they d___ well please. So, do yourself a favor and do not be intimidated by the personality quirks of your president. Just smile and observe. Hang in there! LizJ

RonaldW (South Carolina)
Posts: 901

Posted:

Not only should you attend the meetings, but you should get involved in any way that you can. Become friends with your neighbors and discuss any problems you have with the board. Eventually, you may get yourself or a like minded friend elected to the board. As someone else posted, it's your money and your neighborhood.

Ron
SC

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