Community Management: Should You Run for the Board?
You probably feel like you know the wants and needs of your community rather well. You may also have some ideas about how the neighborhood could be changed for the better. So, why not run for a position on the board of directors for your community? Thousands of people in planned communities ask themselves this question each year. What determines whether you should try to serve or not? In most cases, the question is answered by the following considerations.
Do you have enough time?
Being a board member is a volunteer position, but it can still require you to spend a meaningful amount of personal time on issues pertaining to the neighborhood, such as the collection of late assessment fees, resolving disputes between residents, and holding meetings, to name a few. If you have a job that requires you to work long hours, or a young family that has plenty of children's activities scheduled, you may not have enough time to fulfill neighborhood duties.
What is your stress level?
Depending on the business at hand, serving on the board can be a bit challenging. On the flipside, it can also be relatively stress-free position when everything is running smoothly and no problems are on the horizon. If your work life and family life don't involve much stress, you could probably weather the duties of handling community business without much trouble. If your stress level is high, on the other hand, being a community director may not be the best idea.
Does the community have a community management provider?
Planned neighborhoods that have a community management provider make serving on board easier in terms of handling administrative duties and making decisions in areas of expertise, such as financial planning, construction oversight, and legal advice. If your neighborhood has a community management provider that handles such areas of expertise, you can run for the board knowing that you will not be asked to handle those types of issues.
Is it you or other people who want you to be on the board?
Sometimes a prospective board member doesn't really want to serve, but encounters a significant number of residents who ask him or her to run for the position. Before declining the offer, ask yourself why others are encouraging you to participate. After careful consideration, if you don't want to be a part of the governing body of your community, decline the offer to run for a position and leave the opportunity to people who think they would enjoy the position.
Conclusion
Being a member of the HOA board is a voluntary position that involves important duties that are typically associated with professional, paying jobs. Like these jobs, being on the board can be stressful at times, time consuming, and requires a high degree of dedication to business at hand. The answers to the questions above should help you determine whether you are in a good position to serve as a director for your planned community, or whether you should wait.
Do you have enough time?
Being a board member is a volunteer position, but it can still require you to spend a meaningful amount of personal time on issues pertaining to the neighborhood, such as the collection of late assessment fees, resolving disputes between residents, and holding meetings, to name a few. If you have a job that requires you to work long hours, or a young family that has plenty of children's activities scheduled, you may not have enough time to fulfill neighborhood duties.
What is your stress level?
Depending on the business at hand, serving on the board can be a bit challenging. On the flipside, it can also be relatively stress-free position when everything is running smoothly and no problems are on the horizon. If your work life and family life don't involve much stress, you could probably weather the duties of handling community business without much trouble. If your stress level is high, on the other hand, being a community director may not be the best idea.
Does the community have a community management provider?
Planned neighborhoods that have a community management provider make serving on board easier in terms of handling administrative duties and making decisions in areas of expertise, such as financial planning, construction oversight, and legal advice. If your neighborhood has a community management provider that handles such areas of expertise, you can run for the board knowing that you will not be asked to handle those types of issues.
Is it you or other people who want you to be on the board?
Sometimes a prospective board member doesn't really want to serve, but encounters a significant number of residents who ask him or her to run for the position. Before declining the offer, ask yourself why others are encouraging you to participate. After careful consideration, if you don't want to be a part of the governing body of your community, decline the offer to run for a position and leave the opportunity to people who think they would enjoy the position.
Conclusion
Being a member of the HOA board is a voluntary position that involves important duties that are typically associated with professional, paying jobs. Like these jobs, being on the board can be stressful at times, time consuming, and requires a high degree of dedication to business at hand. The answers to the questions above should help you determine whether you are in a good position to serve as a director for your planned community, or whether you should wait.
