If you live in a condo or TIC, like the majority of homeowners in San Francisco, you probably have a homeowners association (“HOA”). HOA management can be complex, but with some planning and organization on the front end, can lead to a more peaceful living arrangement for years to come. Here are some best practices for managing your HOA.
Best Practices for Managing a HOA
- Keep clean records (accurate bookkeeping is often the most complicated practice to maintain)
- CC&Rs, TIC Agreement, and amendments
- Financials
- Bill payment and invoicing
- Collection and deposit of monthly dues
- Monthly bank statements
- Quarterly contribution analysis and adjustments
- Co-owners open invoice tracking and penalty tracking, where required
- Quarterly Budget versus actual tracking and reporting
- Property maintenance
- Purchase records
- Annual property tax calculations and changes in tax rates
- Annual HOA Meeting attendance
- Develop a secure and consistent system with “checks and balances”
- Set up a dual signature requirement for bank transactions
- Do not rotate treasurer responsibilities; stick with the person who is best suited to the job
- Prepare an Annual Operating Budget
- Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports, and month-end reconciliations
- Know exactly what is in the account at any given time
- Undertake a Reserve Study of your property (this is the study of the reserve funds in your HOA to ensure there is enough money to support future projects)
- The study should be in a clear format
- It will enable you to ensure there are sufficient reserve funds in your HOA
- Without this study, it will be more difficult to assess whether sufficient funds are being contributed
Source: Sam Clonmell, Bank of SF
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If you need any help managing your HOA or finding an HOA manager, please reach out.
Crystal Schip 
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