Can altruism survive in an HOA?

Started by DanielH1 • 8 replies • 1685 views

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DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

In my HOA, we have one idealist Board Member and a few with idealist tendencies. But they seem to get ground up.

Our idealist Board Member always says, "We've got to find out what people want done." But, when it comes to hitting the bricks and doing that, he gets demotivated and just doesn't do it. He has the right sentiment but, when it comes down to being a total altruist and doing what other people want with no thought for himself, he just can't sustain his interest. As soon as he runs into a roadblock or a setback, he gets frustrated and gives up.

Several of our Board Members tend to sit quietly for a few meetings, then suddenly launch into a fierce idealistic diatribe, only to seem to run out of gas and collapse back into passivity. Sometimes, there will be a day or two were the person goes out and does something random to improve the complex, only to fall back into months of inactivity (usually not finishing or continuing what he started).

Some people volunteer for jobs, thinking that by having a volunteer do the job, the HOA will save money. But, they end up losing interest and the job doesn't get done. Some feel that they are a good person merely for volunteering: actually doing the thing that volunteered for is like "bonus points".

Personally, my opinion has always been that volunteer labor usually turns out to be inferior to paid labor. If I pay a guy to build a fence, he'll do a better job and do it faster and be more motivated than a volunteer. If I pay a guy to be a director, he'll see the job as a real job, not as some kind of "optional" obligation. But, lots of HOAs have clauses that restrict owners to being volunteers and altruists which means that a lot of HOAs (IMHO) end up being poorly run.

Then, I feel a bit sorry for the dedicated altruists. They fix lights and replace plants, only to have them thoughtlessly broken or trampled by the uncaring residents for the Nth time. I want to say, "You're a good person. Go help a Haitian charity, instead. Let the problem get bad and that will force the HOA to spend money to fix it. Don't cast your pearls before swine."

Can altruism survive in an HOA?

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

It might, if people blend idealism with a bit of reality. I admit there are times when I, too, am very idealistic, but I try to bring ideas to the table with a plan on how to bring the idea into action. So, it may be helpful to encourage your board member to think things through - not to discourage him or her, but to force them to identify the problem, what's caused it and what's the best way to address it.

The problem can also be broken down into small parts. For example if one person says "we've got to find out what people want done," ask which problem he or she is talking about? Has that person spoken to a few other homeowners about the problem? If so, perhaps those people can attend the meeting and provide more information on the problem and go on from there. If they're truly interested, you may have the genesis of a small committee.

Elsewhere on this site is an interesting discussion on homeowner apathy (there are several, actually), and I recall one homeowner suggesting that perhaps boards can recruit people to do specific tasks as opposed to serving on a committee (which can get bogged down with meetings and not getting anything done). For example, if there have been problems getting the newsletter distributed, you could ask someone to fold them up, and a few others to distribute them to certain parts of the community - this way, no one gets overwhelmed with the task and the work gets done faster.

You have a point about getting a better quality of work, not to mention control, when you pay people as opposed to relying on volunteers. But this could also be a way to recruit - ask people if they'd rather pay to have something done as opposed to a few people VOLNTEERING to knocking the thing out quickly. When people see they're getting "nickeled and dimed" for every task, you can say, "well, we asked for volunteers and no one did, so...."

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Daniel we sent a 25 question anonymous questionnaire to all homeowners with a stamped return envelope. Most of the questions required simple yes/no answers but we left space where they could add to their answers if they wanted. We got back a little over a third of them. If your HOA has a website you could also post it there.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Glen,

Actually, a little over a third returned is a staggeringly high number. We did a survey once, with stamped return envelopes and got back 21 out of 197. That made me irrate so I got a few friends and we went door to door, standing there until some of the question boxes were checked. It was a survey on "what do you want to see done by the Board, what changes or improvements do you want," etc. Exhausting work for the few who want to make a difference.

DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

Good points all.

Our idealist Board Member in general thinks that the HOA is poor value for the money. He thinks that the HOA should do more for the community. But it is very hard to nail him down to specifics. He says that our fees are too high, service is too low and the Board takes too long to get anything done.

Our volunteers usually are a result of getting a quote and some Board Member saying, "Forget that! I'll do it for free (or cost)!" Then, he is happy that he saved the money for the HOA. He starts the task with a burst of energy but, then over a month or two, the task tends to linger. This happened with the web site. Another Board Member wants to get rid of the Management Company and have us do it all ourselves (except that I know that he'll be the first person to bail on the work). No way, on that one.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

The board must think like a business.

Keep things objective, not subjective (But he's such a nice guy, he can keep his shutters purple)

Tough job, but someone has to do it.

MichaelT6 (California)
Posts: 46

Posted:

"Daniel we sent a 25 question anonymous questionnaire to all homeowners with a stamped return envelope. Most of the questions required simple yes/no answers but we left space where they could add to their answers if they wanted. We got back a little over a third of them. If your HOA has a website you could also post it there."

Wow - this sounds too idealistic to me. I am packing and leaving California for Ohio, let me tell you! ;-)

Web-site? I right the direction you thinking. I definitely need to move to Ohio...

"The board must think like a business" - here we go again.

I'll go check the map - can't remember where Ohio is...

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Well,
I thing what is important, that is not addressed so far is: How do you measure success? I think we can agree there are some floating answers. Floating because any measure of success is relative to the individual association. One size does not fit all, we know that, Another floating measure is how long is the time frame for the action? My experience with HOA's is any measure of production has to be considered over a long pull. How long? Depends on the association. Another consideration is can success be realized if the tasks are not so daunting, broken down into smaller bites?

For some folks waking up one day and realizing their HOA is a mess, results in a rush to fix the world of their selection. They want to (and I speak from experience) clean house and put the house in order, throw the bums out and install new leadership, and finish the job so it don't interfer with the cruise you have planned next week. Changing one of these monsters is as bad as changing the government, you punch it in here and it sticks out somewhere else, like a marshmallow.
So, I have developed over the years, right or wrong. the approach of the old bull over the approach of the young bull. The two bulls were standing on the top of a hill and they looked down in the valley and spied a group of young heifers, The young bull starts pawing the ground and snorting and proclaims,"I am going to run down there and seduce one of the cows." The old bull smiles and says, "Why don't we walk down there and seduce all those cows."

Just two different ways to measure success.

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

moooo. . . .

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