If your HOA management company is doing a great job, their involvement in your community might feel so seamless that you wonder why they’re there. An HOA management company not only facilitates the smooth operations of your community, but their involvement also has a long-term impact on your home’s value. Here’s how.
Expertise & Insight
Remember that with very few exceptions, all members of an HOA board of directors are volunteers. While they might be highly skilled in their profession and contribute valuable ideas to the running of the community, unless they have specific experience in Orange County HOA management, they are likely to be unfamiliar with the legal requirements and social norms of homeowners associations in this area.
HOA management companies are professionals. Through extensive ongoing training, deep experience and access to useful resources, HOA management companies bring a sense of expertise and insight to an industry that is filled with volunteers. This guidance is extremely valuable for homeowners associations to ensure that they are operating within legal limits and active strategically to protect property values in the community. Community management companies also have access to industry resources, professional connections, and vendor vetting processes that help to protect the association from liability and ensure a great value for contracted services. Each management company builds these connections and resources from their own years of experience.
Attentive Service
A quality HOA management company takes proactive action to address issues before they become problems. This includes tangible issues like landscaping changes, service and upgrades to community amenities, as well as social issues, such as communications between the board and membership.
Many homeowners underestimate the amount of time and dedication needed to communicate with association members. Orange County HOA management, in particular, can require extensive communication services, as some of the larger associations boast memberships that reach into the tens of thousands. Professional HOA managers are available and accessible to the membership. This attentive response ensures that all community members are informed and included at all times.
Community Building
One of the most important ways that an HOA management company influences the long-term success of an association is the work they do building a sense of community between neighbors. From unforgettable communitywide events to sharing the fruits of the association, the management company works hard to make the HOA feel like a warm, welcoming community for all residents. This dedication is evident to prospective homebuyers who are all-too-aware of the overall “feeling” of a community and how it influences their purchase decision.
While some aspects of property value are preventative, a quality management company provides additive value. That means that their work enhances the value of the homes in the association in an indirect fashion. As a collective unit, the members of the association are all in the same boat. An inviting association helps elevate property values for all homes. On the flip side, a strict, rigid community might drive prospects away. One of the benefits of a homeowners association is that the structure of an HOA provides you with enough options to act as an independent homeowner but maintain a certain collective standard that ensures that your community doesn’t slide into disarray.
The bottom line is that the relationship between the HOA and the management company is circular. The HOA board informs the management company of how the membership would like the community to feel—and it’s the management company’s job to carry out those wishes. An organized community with close-knit neighbors, well-maintained amenities and a clear operational structure give all homeowners the best shot at obtaining maximum value for their property.