How to Establish a Homeowner's Association
- 1). Spread the word to your neighbors that you are forming a homeowner's association. You can do this by putting up fliers in your community, running a classified notice in the local newspaper or sending letters through the mail. However, if you have the time and are so inclined, the best way to spread the news is by going door to door and informing your neighbors personally. Not only does this give you both a chance to chat, but it also promotes a close-knit vibe in your neighborhood, which is important to the success of a homeowner's association.
- 2). Establish a board and elect officers accordingly. These positions are usually: Chairperson, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Some associations also elect a Spokesperson and Community Affairs Liaison, to interact with other homeowner's associations in your city. Either way, choose officers that make sense for your particular situation and for the size of your association. A good rule of thumb is that the larger your homeowner's association, the more people you will need for regular, specific duties. The smaller it is, the fewer people you need in key positions.
- 3). Draft your community guidelines. One of the chief purposes of a homeowner's association is to establish a set of guidelines followed by the residents in the community to maintain a peaceful and harmonious way of life. The best way to do this is to research the guidelines of successful homeowner's association or planned communities in your city and take the best from everything you find. Apply a little bit of everything to the ideas generated from the people in your community and use that to form your own set of rules or guidelines. Most associations have certain guidelines that are the same among most groups, such as the fact that membership is mandatory if you reside within certain boundaries of the community or the fact that all homeowners must pay dues of some sort. However, be sure that your guidelines are written in a way that sell your neighbors on the benefits of the association instead of pushing them away.
- 4). Set a regular meeting time and make the first one a grand opening party. You want to entice your neighbors to really get involved in the association; not just send in a monthly dues payment. So for the first meeting, hold a party and really do it big. If there is a pool in your community, get a grill going and maybe find a neighbor with a great sound system or a talent for playing live music. Hand out copies of your guidelines and an agenda for the next meeting to neighbors as they come and/or go and be sure members of the board are on hand to casually answer questions.
- 5). Be inclusive. There is nothing that turns homeowners off to an association more than feeling like their association is a clique they can't be a part of. Be welcoming to new members and encourage them to take an active role in the decision-making process of your homeowner's association. Assign them tasks and make sure everyone has a voice during meetings. This can go a long way towards enhancing the appeal of the homeowner's association to members of your community.
- 6). Make sure information is accessible. For this purpose, it is best to set up a website detailing who the homeowner's association officers are, contact information for all members and minutes from every meeting. Many homeowner's associations spend a great deal of time keeping their sites regularly updated with pictures from community functions, the latest information from local government, links to local resources and more. All of these are great ways to ensure that the association stays active and involved in the community.
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