Abigail Guevara • • 5 min. read

How self-managed HOAs save time and money

Time is money. Often, self-managed HOAs need to be careful with both, as they are limited commodities when managing their communities.

Self-managed HOAs typically have 200 units or less in a single community and are run by a volunteer Board of Directors without the help of a professional property manager or property management company.

As a result, the volunteer Board and the community it manages must rely on their knowledge to best manage their time and community finances.

Let’s look at some of the ways self-managed HOAs are successful at saving time and money starting with how they operate.

Requirements to operate a self-managed HOA

A self-managed HOA has unique needs for it to run optimally.

As noted earlier self-managed HOAs don’t use a paid property manager, so all the tasks a property manager would usually take on are performed by the Board. These tasks include:

  1. Collecting fees
    Self-managed associations need to ensure
  2. Managing fees
  3. Enforcing rules and regulations
  4. Sending out communications to members
  5. Administrative tasks
  6. Ensuring maintenance requests are addressed
  7. Connecting with members for feedback and inquiries

As you can imagine, all of these tasks consume a lot of time, often spilling over into evenings and weekends. Also, keep in mind that they are repetitive. So, it’s a revolving door of ongoing tasks.     

Saving time and money is the goal that self-managed HOAs want to reach.

Let’s explore some of the ways they can achieve both.  

Useful time-savers for self-managed HOAs

As a volunteer Board, with no support from a property management company, consider the following time-saving tactics.

Use technology
Technology is becoming a preferred choice for self-managed HOAs to save them time. Both offer similar time-saving features, but depending on the size and complexities of your HOA self-managed community, you can choose between HOA management software or an HOA website.

Here are some features they have in common that will save you time.

  1. Online document filing
    The ability to file numerous documents online means efficient record-keeping. You’ll save time with quick and easy access to documents, maintenance files, and reports.
  2. Online payments
    You can collect fees online. No more waiting for checks to be mailed in or dropped off. You’ll get your accounting done much faster.
  3. Speedy communication
    Send as many mass emails and text messages as required, in mere minutes, to keep residents informed.  You’ll save time by avoiding printing and hand-delivering communications or sending communications through the mail.
  4. Member amenity booking
    Members can book community amenities themselves online, instead of using the Board’s valuable time to reserve dates.   
  5. Post announcements
    Posting community updates online, as they happen, will keep residents informed and save the Board a lot of time answering questions repeatedly.

Call out for volunteers
The self-managed HOA Board can’t do it all themselves. It’s fine to share responsibilities with other community members via committees to help save time managing various tasks.

For example, you can have a garden committee or an events committee. These and other committees can save Board members a lot of time as the committees conduct research and create proposals for the Board to review and approve.

You can also have one-off volunteer days where residents come together to do small projects around the community like putting a fresh coat of paint on fences, cleaning up litter, or making small repairs.

These are some great starting points to save your self-managed HOA time. Let’s look at some strategies to save you money.

Useful money-savers for self-managed HOAs

Often, time and money are connected. If you are managing one well, you’ll find that the other is following suit. So, you won’t be surprised that some of the strategies used to save time will also save self-managed HOAs money as well.

Use technology
When you use HOA management software and/or an HOA website they will provide you with features that will save you money.  

Technology helps self-managed HOAs save money in the following ways.

  1. Paper, printing, and mailing costs
    Self-managed HOAs can save thousands of dollars on communications when they are distributed digitally. Think of all the money your HOA can save by making newsletters, announcements, notices, and voting materials available online, instead of printing them on paper and sending them through the mail.
  2. Built-in accounting
    Using accounting software built into your HOA website or HOA management software keeps your financials accurate and coordinated in one place. This ensures accuracy and timely updates to ledgers. Accuracy is an important aspect of tracking and saving money. 
  3. Automatic reminders
    You can set automatic invoicing reminders to be sent to residents; ensuring fees are collected on time and your community finances are not lacking.

Prevention is best
Save your self-managed community a lot of effort and money by conducting regular inspections on major equipment and amenities. By doing regular maintenance, you’ll avoid downtime for these assets.

Budgeting
A well-planned budget is necessary for self-managed HOAs. Having a budget and adhering to it is like having a road map that leads you to where you want to be financially.

Energy saving items
Try implementing energy-saving models of things your HOA community uses like light fixtures and light bulbs. Solar panels may be supplemented with government funding to save energy too.

These are excellent ideas for saving your self-managed HOA money.

Self-managed HOAs can save time and money

A well-managed HOA is always conscious of saving time and money in addition to managing the community effectively.

There are many ways you can do this, starting with using technology, which will free up both time for the Board and help to reduce costs.

You can also get more help via establishing volunteer committees and individuals to lend a hand when necessary. Doing regular maintenance for common elements and amenities is a must. Adhering to a strong budget plan will help when surprise repairs arise and using energy saving features in common areas will save you bundles by the end of the year.

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