It’s Monday morning and you are hit with 50 emails from owners that have rolled in over the weekend. 2 people flagged you down before you got into your car because they had maintenance issues to discuss. By noon, you’ve received 4 phone calls, and you wouldn’t even consider that a busy day.

There is a better way to handle communication and requests. Digital communication solutions will make a big difference.

Table of contents

• What is it that owners are asking for?
• The consequences of ineffective communication
• So, what’s the best way to handle HOA communication and requests?

Managing a homeowners association requires an extraordinary amount of people care.  That means responding to questions, sharing information and scheduling repairs in a timely manner.

But, regardless of whether you are a property manager or a board member of a self-managed community, staying on top of communications and requests is a challenge.

Questions come from all directions, at all times of day, making it hard to track and manage them.  

Even if you have some type of system in place, it’s easy to forget about the gardening question you received when you crossed paths with a long-time member. You had every intention to respond to him, but you had other tasks to attend to, and by the time the day ended, you had completely forgotten about that short conversation.    

What is it that owners are asking for? 

While owners will bring forward a few odd or complex requests, the bulk of the questions are simple and repetitive. They include:

• How do I pay fees/when are fees due?
• When is the next member meeting?
• Can I see the annual budget?
• Can I see meeting minutes?
• Can I review the CC&Rs?
• How can I make my neighbor follow the rules?
• How do I log on to the owner portal?
• Where can my friend park their car overnight?

Similarly, owners will ask, for the most part, the same questions about repairs:

• Does the HOA cover this?
• Who is responsible for gutters?
• Where do I report a repair issue?
• What does HOA insurance cover?

Regardless of the question, communication plays a crucial role in each scenario. Other than finances, communication will dictate how well or poorly an HOA operates.

While effective communication won’t solve everything, it can absolutely increase owner satisfaction and ultimately reduce costs associated with rule enforcement and labor.

The consequences of ineffective communication

We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. But when communication becomes chronically ineffective, the entire HOA suffers.     

This is what often happens when owners can get the information they require:

Lower engagement

Owners feel like they are not valued when responses are slow or non-existent. They become annoyed, apathetic, and even angry with management, the board, or both.

Owners slowly become less involved in their community, and fewer people show up to meetings. This makes it harder for the HOA to reach quorum, which slows down projects and productivity.

Increase in violations

Remember the owner who asked about gardening? He never got an answer, so he went ahead and planted a vegetable garden in his backyard. Unfortunately, the HOA doesn’t allow vegetable gardens because they attract invasive species native to the area.

Now the board or manager has to notify the owner, and follow up to ensure that he dismantles the garden.

More complaints

You probably won’t hear anything from owners if they are satisfied with the work you are doing, but you’ll get an earful if they are unhappy. When owners lack critical information, they will take up more of the board’s time, and show less support.  

Additional maintenance expenses

If information about a maintenance issue doesn’t get to the correct person within a day or two, the problem could become worse depending on what it is. That means a small repair could morph into an expensive emergency repair.   

So, what’s the best way to handle HOA communication and requests?

That’s a bit of a trick question, because there is no one “best” way to address this challenge. Instead, HOA communities are encouraged to use a combination of clear, transparent, and organized communication strategies, supported by HOA technology.

1.  Use multiple communication avenues
Almost every can and will use email. Even older members have email accounts, making email a cost-effective and convenient communication tool. It’s a lot quicker to reach 500 people electronically than it is by printing and mailing notices. And, with mobile apps, owners can check email from anywhere.

HOAs can (and should) ask owners about communication preferences so that they know who can email and who still prefers to receive traditional mail. This record should be updated annually.

Associations can save thousands of dollars every year just by sending more documents and notices electronically. Plus, it’s easier for owners to find information in their inbox.

Ensure to create an account exclusively for HOA communication. You don’t want business emails mixing in with your personal messages.

If you know your community well, then you can use appropriate secondary avenues like new letters or social platforms. Just be careful to only share appropriate information on platforms like Nextdoor, such as meeting reminders or policies, since they aren’t designed to protect privacy or serve as official HOA platforms.

 2. Give AI-powered software a try

Industry-leading companies that specialize in creating HOA software are slowly integrating AI technology into their platforms.

There are two reasons for this: AI will eventually be programmed into most technologies since the demand for it is growing, and AI has already proven that it can produce positive results for HOAs.  

HOA management platforms like HOA Central are already using AI for simple but important tasks like answering questions from owners. Owners can log in to their accounts, type in questions about pets, paint colors, or parking, and HOA Central’s chatbot replies with a concise, policy-accurate answer pulled from governing documents that were uploaded to the document library.

Not only does the chatbot handle many of the questions generally directed at the board or property management team, but answers come with actionable next steps, such as links to submit requests, so owners can complete tasks on their own when possible.

3. Create and promote processes for submitting questions and requests

Using email or HOA management software is effective…as long as owners actually use the communication tools.

Adopt a formal process for submitting, reviewing, assigning questions and requests. Not only does a formal system consolidate submissions and discourage frivolous complaints, but it also helps the entire community to be more organized.

Predetermined workflows speed up processes and result in faster repairs or answers, and digitizing these processes is best. When an owner submits a request online using a dedicated request management tool, it can automatically be directed to the right person, and it doesn’t get buried by other emails.

Just make sure owners are clear about how and where to submit questions and requests.

4. Don’t forget to manage expectations

Board members and managers simply can’t solve every problem or make every owner happy all of the time. But they should be able to respond to concerns and questions within a reasonable amount of time.

Even if it’s not possible to provide an answer to a question right away, acknowledge that you’ve read the question and let the owner know you will follow up soon.

Conclusion

In order to effectively handle questions and requests from HOA owners, boards and managers are encouraged to use digital communication tools such as email and HOA software, take advantage of AI chatbots that can respond to common questions, and create formal submission processes to keep requests organized.