The HOA Board Quarterly Fall 2013 Issue #7 | Page 4

What is a Homeowner’s Association and what is by Brian Blackwell, CCAM H omeowners’ associations, or HOAs, are formal legal entities created to maintain common areas. Most condominium and townhome developments and many newer single-family subdivisions have HOAs, which are usually created when the development is built. Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R’s) are issued to each homeowner, and HOAs are established to ensure that they are adhered to in order to maintain the quality and value of the properties involved.  • Membership is mandatory for all property owners within the development. • Members are usually charged monthly assessments to cover the costs related to the community expenses (see a typical budget following this article). • Homeowners associations have the authority to enact and enforce maintenance and design standards in addition to those established by City ordinances. • Homeowners’ associations are corporations with formal bylaws - there is usually a governing board which hires a property management company to handle maintenance and enforcement issues. • Many homeowners’ associations publish a newsletter to keep owners’ “in the loop” and abreast of community issues, news and projects. Transparency! • An estimated 50 million Americans live in association-governed communities. Some 1.25 million people serve on community association boards, with another 300,000-plus serving as committee members. • About 6,000 to 8,000 new community associations are formed every year. This includes condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities. It is estimated that more than four in five housing starts during the past 5-8 years have been built as part of an association-governed community. • The estimated real estate value of the homes in all community associations is about $2 trillion, approximately 15 percent of the value of all U.S. residential real estate. • Estimated annual operating revenue for U.S. community associations is $30 to $35 billion. Contributor, Judy Heeding, About.com 4 | The HOA Board Quarterly | Issue #7 | Fall 2013 STATISTICAL REVIEW: The Foundation for Community Association Research retained Zogby International to conduct a nationwide survey of community associations. The 2012 poll found that California was number two behind Florida as the state with the greatest number of associations. Zogby found that: • 70% of those polled rate their community association experience as positive and 22% were neutral. [That means that only 8% were negative--unfortunately, these are the ones who legislators seem to listen to and who generate the most litigation.] • 88% stated that their board strives to serve the best interests of their community. • 81% say they get a “good” or “great” return on their assessments. Legal solutions through knowledge, insight and experience.” We are friendly lawyers; when your association needs counsel, email us at info@ adamskessler.com Brian Blackwell, CCAM, CEO / Senior Manager West Coast Management Firm, Inc. 619.704.7393 Direct [email protected] www.westcoastmanagement.com