Blog

By Jacqueline Vanacek

This article first appeared in The Communicator Magazine, Spring 2025.

When I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Gulf Coast of Florida, I thought I was done being an HOA board president. Not so! Now I have one HOA foot on each coast.

It is fascinating to see homeowner associations end to end, from a builder board in Florida to an owner board in California. And boy are those board objectives different. In 2024, I attended CAI West Florida Chapter’s “Home On The Range” to learn about Florida’s HOA best practices. As a California board director living in a Florida HOA, I was looking for common ground.

WHERE DID HOAS COME FROM?

California has the largest number of homeowner associations in the country, with approximately 80% of multi-family residences in HOAs. Homeowner associations (HOAs), or common interest developments (CIDs), first appeared in the 1960s when high density housing exploded. Cash-strapped municipalities looked to “associations” to fund...

What’s Best for Your HOA Reserve Funds? 
By Lisa Beaty & John Polovick

For HOAs, financial stability and long-term planning are crucial. Funds often sit idle in low-yield accounts due to a lack of proactive investment plans and challenges from regulations like the Davis-Stirling Act. An effective strategy should prioritize both security and growth. U.S. Treasuries, especially T-Bills, provide excellent liquidity, allowing for quick access to funds. This is crucial for funding emergency projects or complying with California’s SB 326. Investing in T-Bills helps HOAs not only protect their funds, but also may increase yields over other available alternatives. This approach ensures that funds set aside for SB 326 are secure while generating higher returns, balancing reliable income with the immediate liquidity needed for urgent financial needs.

THE APPEAL OF U.S. TREASURIES AND CDS

U.S. Treasuries: Introduced in 1913, U.S. Treasuries are considered one of the safest investments, backed b...

By Maria C. Kao & Matt Meadors  Note: This article first appeared in the Summer 2024 Edition of The Communicator Magazine.

EVERY DEVELOPMENT GOES through a transition where the original developers hand over the management and operations to the homeowners. Such a transition will include the finances of the association. Here, we focus on an association’s legal obligations, but also offer real-life advice from a professional manager experienced in turning over a community.

The finances should not be overlooked during the transition phase, and it is of utmost importance to make sure the basics are set up correctly. They should include assessment calculations, reserve studies, a thorough investigation into the operating budget and many, more discreet issues. Let’s synthesize the legal obligation information together with operational know-how for those interested in setting up the future of financial stability for a transitioning project.

OPERATING

Pursuant to the Department of Real Esta...

By Ed Morrissey Note: This article first appeared in the Summer 2024 Edition of The Communicator Magazine.

HOW IMPORTANT IS a budget in operating a business? (And yes, HOAs are businesses. They are non-profit corporations licensed in the state of California.) The importance of a working budget and its implementation can be measured by the health and happiness of the homeowner’s association. 

A strong HOA community has underpinning practices that create an environment of neutrality and harmony when operated correctly. This promotes stability, which supports social equality. In order to achieve this, financial stability is a necessity. In other words, no monetary (assessment) surprises. Surprises destabilize HOA residences’ finances, particularly in lower income households, resulting in community pushback and the postponement of needed work. This scenario is the start of a downward spiraling trend that begins to envelop all aspects of HOA community life.

A budget is a wonderful thing ...

By Kelly Zibell

Community Associations play a crucial role in maintaining community harmony and property values. In the past, HOA management involved intricate paperwork, face-to-face meetings, and manual administrative tasks. Due in large part to the recent pandemic, the industry is experiencing a rapid paradigm shift. This article explores the evolving landscape of HOA management and new tools available to streamline processes and enhance efficiency.

THE ROLE OF AI IN HOA MANAGEMENT

In case you were not watching the news in late 2021, Microsoft, Google, and other providers rolled out the first largely available AI tools. This set off a race between technology providers to add artificial intelligence tools to their products or tout the tools that already include this technology. In community association management, AI is revolutionizing the industry by streamlining administrative tasks, enhancing decision-making processes, and providing predictive analytics for financial or mainten...