Welcome to 
HOASupport.com

This site is dedicated to those volunteers who serve on the boards and committees of a Common Interest Community and others who provide services to this industry. It is the dedicated and committed members of these two groups who make the community association concept work regardless of all of the forces striving to make it fail. These people need all of the help they can get. It is the intention of those developing this site and others associated with it to provide that help. We hope to accomplish this by providing useful information, tools and support.
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Home Invasions

You can prevent or at least minimize the chance of suffering a Home invasion. This new article in the "Library" is worth reading and sending out to all homeowners. ... Link
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Quote That Will Always Hold True

 "NEVER ARGUE WITH AN IDIOT; THOSE WATCHING MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE!"
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Managing The Community Association

For those new to the industry, Community Association Management has often been a thankless job for both layman and professional. Whether an association is managed by volunteer board members or by a Professional Community Association Manager, the job is the same, long hours and less than adequate, if any, remuneration. Over time, this fact has become ever so more evident as law making bodies, a litigious society and more difficult people make the job even more challenging. As passing time unveils its surprises, we are likely to realize even greater changes within the industry .. some good, some not so good. As a result, we will see constantly evolving challenges for volunteers and the professionals who work with them. With this ever changing and challenging environment also comes ever increasing liability for volunteer and professional alike and while most management professionals are prepared for these challenges and the resulting liability exposures, most volunteer board members are not. It behooves the professional and the volunteer alike to seek out the knowledge and skills necessary to protect themselves and the people they serve. This site is dedicated to that purpose.

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It's ASSESSMENTS!

... Not DUES!!

Many individuals in the Common Interest Industry still refer to the fees paid by an owner as DUES. These fees are not dues, but ASSESSMENTS. Owners pay assessments on their home and property and realize that if they do not pay these assessments their home can be taken away. This is no different between this and association assessments. Community Managers and members of the board do their owners a disservice when they refer to Assessments as Dues. Terminology is important in any industry and proper use of the term "Assessment" is critical in the CIC industry. One pays dues to a golf club and can quit any time. One cannot quit a homeowners association, short of selling their home and moving.

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SOCIAL NETWORKING

and IT'S DANGERS

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Beware of the Dangers and Risks associated with so called "Social Networking Sites" on the Internet. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and other such sites offer much to those who wish constant contact with others in their personal or work circles. These sites, however, are key targets for Identity Theft. Most people are unaware of the exposure. Simple things said, photos posted, comments made, etc can also find their way to people and (employers) who may monitor these sites. THIS IS HAPPENING ALL THE TIME! More and more companies are monitoring this information on in-house systems and on the social sites themselves. Remember ... Once it's posted out there in the Cyber world of the Internet, it's accessible to anyone who wants to see it and the tools to do this are quite readily available. Facebook is only one site that has been the target of a number of charges having having to do with exposing, if not selling, personal information on members. Besides this type of threat, just having an open account, without tight privacy controls, on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites can allow anyone to search for information on you.

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Just as any wired or wireless communication is open to hackers, information on social sites and throughout the internet is highly vulnerable to theft. Beware of this danger and know the site you plan to use. Thoroughly investigate the options and settings page so that you can severely limit the site's ability to share your data. The Internet is a dangerous place for personal data. Know the dangers and beware when using Social Networking on the Internet.

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Urgent Management Company Notice ...
Cyber Crime Targeting Association Accounts

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If you have access to your clients banks accounts (the association's accounts) and have to enter a user name and password to get into those accounts, please be aware of the latest scam.  Individuals have realized the amount of money in HOA operating and reserve accounts and that management companies transfer money into and out of those accounts. These cyber criminals are able to attach some type of spy ware that captures the user name and password when it is entered.  They then transfer the money out of the accounts to an account out of the United States and the money is gone with no recovery.  Since a valid User Name and Password  had to be entered the bank may not be responsible.  

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Please schedule meetings with your bankers and insurance agents and this is a serious issues that has just surfaced and you need to look at solutions.  The Bankers are working on it as well, but are your systems vulnerable.  This is very sophisticated crime and you need to make sure that your systems have sophisticated  protections.

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CODE OF ETHICS

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How many of your companies and/or associations have adopted a Code of Ethics? If you have officially adopted a Code of Ethics, try sending it out with the RFPs to get the bidding parties to understand that if they want your business they must play by the rules and be ethical as well. I do understand that everyone was raised differently. That means that everyone came in to the job with a different "internal" code of ethics, but our industry needs to do everything that we can to clean up the perceptions and the actualities of the perceived ethics (or lack of ethics) within the industry. If any of you have adopted Codes of Ethics for your members of the board or for your community managers and want to share, I will post samples on the web-site to help up make a concerted effort in this area. Thanks for any help you are willing to give.

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The "CLOUD" ...

What is the Cloud?

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All we ever hear about is "the Cloud". Put your data in the Cloud. The Cloud is the place to be. It is your safety net. Everything you do should and will soon be in the Cloud.

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Be very careful. This is nothing more than a new term applied to the maze that's out there called the Internet. There is nothing new. Since security of personal data on the Internet has become a front page issue, it's easier to put a new face on the culprit. For those who don't know, the Internet is nothing more than a world-wide interconnected maze of computers mostly connected via satellite and other forms of wireless communications. In this world of interconnected computers, a file, an email or text message sent by you to someone in the US will most likely get routed in anything but a straight line to get to it's destination. You might be surprised and shocked to find out where your communications pass through.

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Companies involved in the internet and communications industry are less than concerned about the safety of your data. This is a highly competitive industry and companies are always trying to be on the leading edge with software and hardware technology to keep ahead of the other guy. Most of this technology, when introduced to the marketplace, is relatively untested particularly when it comes to the safety of your personal data. There is only one person who must take the steps to TRY and protect their personal data as it wanders out in to the Cyber World of the Internet maze of interconnected computers. ... that one person is YOU. If you don't feel you have the expertise to do this, talk to the IT person in your company. There are also numerous articles on the Web that speak to this issue. Search for "Internet Security", "Protecting my data on the Internet", "Personal data and Social Web Sites", etc. Check the source of the information and go for it! .. "Cloud Computing" is another topic for discussion at a later date.

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"Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities" Principles for Homeowners and Community Leaders

 

More than a destination at the end of the day, a community is a place people want to call home and where they feel at home. This goal is best achieved when homeowners, non-owner residents and association leaders recognize and accept their rights and responsibilities. This entails striking a reasonable balance between the preferences of  individual homeowners and the best interests of the community as a whole. It is with this challenge in mind that Community Associations Institute (CAI) developed Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities ... link to article

 

These articles are part of "Board Member Basics" which can be found on the CAI website (see below) and provide a basic understanding regarding the governance and management of hoas and condos. Those new to the industry and those who might want a refresher will find it very helpful. Link to Board Member Basics

 

Please visit CAI Online. These helpful articles and many more can be found on www.caionline.org and are available to anyone. However, as a member, you will have additional access to numerous other sources of information and guidance as a Community Association  Industry leader.