7 tools every self-managed HOA needs

Self-managed homeowner associations (HOAs) operate without a property management company. Instead, they are operated by a Board of Directors who are members of the communities and volunteer to be elected to the Board.
Of the estimated 370,000 homeowner associations in the U.S., between 30% and 40% are self-managed; that’s between 11,100 and 14,800 communities with millions of people managed by volunteer Boards.

With so many self-managed communities, volunteer Board members must have the tools they need to operate their communities as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Several tools can be invaluable, but first, let’s explore some of the challenges self-managed HOAs experience to determine how certain tools can provide solutions.
Challenges self-managed HOAs experience
There are thousands of self-managed HOAs, which suggests that they can be successful. However, managing a community is never simple.
Some of the challenges self-managed HOAs experience include:
Professionalism and branding
Self-managed HOAs may not appear professional and efficient to members and visitors without a professional property manager. The community may not have an image that members can connect with. This could make members and prospects think the community is not well operated, even though it is.
Poor maintenance upkeep
Connected to volunteerism, many Board members in a self-managed HOA also have jobs elsewhere. So, their time is limited. They don’t always have the time and commitment required to ensure maintenance requests are addressed promptly, leading to ongoing neglect.
Communication
Self-managed HOAs can sometimes struggle to get community announcements out to members promptly. Announcements and meeting dates are printed on paper and then hand-delivered or mailed to homes. It works, but it’s not an effective use of time or resources.
Money management
If a self-managed HOA is lucky, they may have someone on the Board who is excellent at accounting on behalf of the community. However, that’s uncommon, and even if they do have some experience, that particular Board member can’t be on the Board forever. When that person leaves, the Board and community may fall into a vulnerable position.

Maintaining files
Administration may not seem complicated but it’s very involved, especially when it comes to legal requirements of filing documents and keeping accurate and accessible records of Board and community meetings and governing documents. Too often, hard-copy files are misfiled, lost, or buried in a filing cabinet.
Community engagement
Engaging members in a self-managed HOA can be problematic. Organizers need to devote time and raise awareness about community announcements and events. Many times, paper notices get ignored, or members forget about them. Additionally, if there is usually a low turnout, members just don’t bother to attend events or get involved.
Reserving amenities
No Board member wants to spend their time booking amenities for homeowners. Their volunteer time is valuable, and reserving community amenities is not the best use of it. Yet, it’s an important administrative task as members pay monthly for amenities in their fees. It needs to be done, and done fairly.
These are just some of the ongoing challenges self-managed HOAs face. Now after considering these challenges, you might be wondering why self-managed HOAs even exist. Well, there is a good side to self-managed HOAs too. Let’s explore what they are.
Benefits of self-managed HOAs
There are benefits to self-managed HOAs that might not be obvious. Let’s highlight them now.
Affordability
When an HOA is self-managed, the members and the community save money. Fees tend to be lower because they don’t have to pay a property manager’s salary or annual fees to a property management company. This results in saving thousands of dollars that homeowners would otherwise have to cover.
Genuine care
Because Board members of a self-managed HOA volunteer their time and live in the community, they really want to see their community do well and care about small details that keep their community vibrant.

Quick decision-making
Self-managed HOAs tend to make decisions quicker because they are invested in their community. They also know community members as neighbors, so it can create an environment where Board members feel and act on a greater sense of responsibility to address issues and/or developments in a time-sensitive manner.
As you can see, there are both challenges and benefits to a self-managed HOA. If you want to keep the benefits, then you have to explore ways to help self-managed HOA communities address challenges.
Let’s examine the ways to improve self-managed HOAs.
Tools that improve community management for self-managed HOAs
The reality is that tools are necessary to improve self-managed HOA communities. Tools offer:
- Increased efficiency
- Time savings
- Money savings
- Support to enhance the Board’s skills and abilities
Let’s look at some of the top tools self-managed HOAs use to maximize community management.
1. HOA community website
The primary tool a self-managed HOA should have is an HOA community website. Why? Once you have an HOA community website, you’ll have the foundation for all the other tools you’ll need to address your top challenges.
Right off the bat, your HOA community website will give your community a polished and professional image to members and visitors as you select an appealing design. You can promote your community with ideal images and its amenities on your website image gallery. Your community image will immediately improve.
Your HOA community website acts as a hub for all kinds of important information the Board can share, and where members can access it 24/7. It’s a foundation you can build on to foster trust and transparency in your community.

Let’s consider other tools you can include within your HOA website to improve self-managed HOAs.
2. Maintenance services
Maintenance response time will improve greatly with a maintenance and repair online tool. Using this tool through your community website allows you to keep on top of service and repair requests from members and track their status with maintenance tickets and email notifications.
This process ensures maintenance requests don’t fall through the cracks and are dealt with sooner rather than later.
3. Mass emails and text messages
Talk about a time saver. If you add a tool that allows you to send mass emails and text messages to your entire community all at once, you’ll save an enormous amount of time. Members will be informed as you reach your entire community in mere minutes. This tool, combined with the ability to post important announcements on the home page of your HOA website ensures information is available to members promptly.
4. Accounting software
Accounting skills are not always readily available from Board members. However, having access to easy-to-use accounting software can serve as an asset to self-managed HOAs who need to keep the books accurate and current.
With accounting software, you can invoice all homeowner units at once and avoid time-consuming individual invoices. You’ll be able to track and monitor your HOA community expenses in real-time, as they occur, for improved record keeping.
You can automate repetitive accounting tasks. If you include it as a feature in your HOA website, it can be used as an online accounting tool to access and manage financial documents in one platform for better organization.
5. Online calendar
Missing an HOA meeting will be far less likely when members can check your HOA online calendar for upcoming meetings and events. This tool is perfect for giving members a heads-up about important community meetings so they can plan to be there after glancing at the online calendar on your HOA website.

6. Online document filing
As time goes by and new HOA Board members join, paperwork can get misplaced, destroyed, and lost. With an online document filing tool you can file documents in chronological order, in folders, for easy access to the Board and members (with permissions).
Documents can be divided into categories on a documents page and/or added to any other pages you choose to have on your HOA website. It is completely flexible.
Additionally, you’ll save money on copies, postage, and administrative time as members view online documents at their leisure.
7. Self-serve amenity booking
An online amenity reservation tool, accessible through your HOA website, is an efficient way for your community to book specific time slots for various amenities. Members can book amenities themselves, and mini calendars appear on an amenity reservation page. The calendars also display color-coded dates which reflect availability.
This tool will give your community flexibility and relieve the Board of unnecessary administrative work so they can use their time more effectively.
Self-managed HOAs benefit from online tools
There are thousands of self-managed HOAs doing a great job and software tools greatly enhance their efforts. It makes sense to use software tools to improve community management operations and help Board members fulfill their roles more effectively and efficiently.
Remember that starting with an HOA website is the foundation that helps to bring operations together into a central hub. Then, you can add any additional tools you may need that act as solutions to current challenges your self-managed HOA faces.


