Common HOA Issues and How to Deal With Them

All sorts of issues can come up when you live in an HOA. If you’re on the board, you have to figure out how to deal with these in ways that will help people live well without hampering too much of their independence. Here are just a few of the issues that people we work with deal with on a regular basis.

Barking Dogs

If barking dogs are an issue in your neighborhood, make sure that you have or pass rules and guidelines about what constitutes too much barking and what will happen if the problem continues. Take complaints seriously, but be sure to verify the problem before you issue any citations.

Work with homeowners to find solutions for their pets that will help. No one wants to get rid of a dog they love because of barking problems! Help people access training and other solutions that might help before you start sending letters about fines or making ultimatums about their pet.

Unauthorized Changes

Sometimes, people make changes to their homes or yard without getting HOA approval first. People might be legitimately confused about the process or worried that the changes they want won’t be acceptable.

Work with homeowners in these situations. If they have done something truly outside the rules, they will need to fix it. However, sometimes there are ways to educate people and help prevent them having to spend even more money to take something down.

It helps to assess whether homeowners were ignorant, confused, or deliberately broke the rules. Knowing this may change the way you choose to deal with the unauthorized changes they’ve made to their property.

Parking Problems

Parking problems can abound in an HOA. People might park unauthorized vehicles, put them in unauthorized spots, or abandon a vehicle without any information that would identify the owner. All of these are difficult situations for an HOA board.

One one level, you can treat each case individually. Do what needs to be done – ticketing, towing, sending fine letters, etc. – to take care of the problem and let homeowners know what is expected of them.

If you’re having a lot of repeated parking problems, it may be time to educate your members as to what is expected of them when it comes to their vehicles. You can send out a refresh of the rules or post about them in your online forum.

Get Help With These Problems and More!

If your HOA is facing these problems or others and you’re not sure what to do, contact us at AMI today. We will help you find and implement the solutions you need so that everyone – board members, homeowners, and more! – are happy.

Call Advanced Management Inc today to get a detailed plan for how we can improve life in your HOA. We’ll determine how our professionals can help you achieve all of your goals for your neighborhood.

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