If you’ve recently moved into an HOA-managed community and you’ve never had the experience of living in such a community before this, you probably have a lot of questions regarding the HOA and its board of directors. To help you stay informed, here are a few things you need to know about your HOA board:
1. Members of the board of directors are elected by the homeowners
When a seat becomes vacant, any member of the HOA may express their desire to fill the vacancy, and if they qualify, the homeowners will decide who gets the seat by popular vote. There may also be times when a board member taps a homeowner for the vacancy. But an election is still required, even if the Board recruited them.
2. Members of the board can be removed
If a board member can be removed if he or she is suspected of neglecting their fiduciary duties or have been abusing power (or found ‘guilty’ of anomalous/deceitful activities), but it will be a tedious process. First off, you need to know your HOA’s bylaws regarding the removal of board officers. Secondly, you will need enough evidence to support your request for automatic removal.
Usually, the actions taken by the board and homeowners regarding problematic officers is to let them finish their term and elect someone else for the vacancy. Sometimes, the board might elect to remove the officer from their position (president, treasurer, etc.) but not of the board. This significantly reduces their authority over HOA matters.
3. Board of Directors salary
Homeowners associations are not-for-profit organizations, and as such, working for it as a member or officer of the board of directors is voluntary. This means the board of directors shouldn’t receive a salary. There are, however, some HOAs that give their board of directors an allowance or compensation for their “volunteer work,” which completely negates the “volunteer” part of the job. Check your HOA’s bylaws about salaries or compensation (or other ‘financial assistance’) credited to the board of directors regularly.
If you wish to learn more about homeowners’ associations or for professional HOA management services, we invite you to give us a call at 951-270-3700 for questions or inquiries. If your HOA is in or around Southern California and you would like to request for an HOA management proposal, please click here. We look forward to hearing from you.