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A Letter to Your Future HOA

If Your HOA wrote a letter to its future self, what would it say?

Ink Pen on Notepad

In school, children are often asked to write a letter to their future selves, to be opened in the following years. Most revolve around dating, grades, extracurricular activities, sports, etc. But what if the letter was written by your homeowners association to its future self? If you were to write a letter today to your future HOA, what would it say?

Would it read, “Keep up the great work,” “the association couldn’t be better,” “I can see my dues dollars at work,” and “the board has my full faith…”

Or would it say, “Are more owners current on their payments?” “Is that common area repaired and safe?” “Did the board finally come to a conclusion on X, Y and Z?” or worse, “are we still unable to come to consensus to get anything done?”

Would the letter be a happy one? Would it be hopeful of upcoming improvements and opportunities for growth? Or would your HOAs letter be pessimistic and full of frustration? The answer is likely a combination of positive points and some things you’d like to see change.

As a kid, the last thing you’d want would be to open that letter from the past and realize you hadn’t followed through on your aspirations and desires. That you’d cheated yourself by failing to pursue what you knew you wanted in the elapsed time. Don’t let that happen to your HOA. If you have desires for the years ahead, it’s time participate in the democratic process and attend those association meetings to make your voice heard.

We know a lot of homeowners choose not to attend meetings, but staying home diminishes your say in the direction of the association and sets you up for ongoing dissatisfaction. It means that when you look back in a year, you’ll only have yourself to blame for your any regret and disappointment. No one wants that.

And by the way, calling your property manager is the right thing to do when something goes wrong in the community – when unexpected damage occurs or when something isn’t clear. But broad decisions on the direction of the community ultimately lie in the hands of the owners. It’s important not to forget that.

Instead, be part of the direction of your community by engaging in the process. Make sure that if you opened that imaginary letter in a year you could respond positively:

“Hello, HOA, thanks for a great year. We accomplished so much, working together to forge the right path for the association. While we’ll always face challenges, you’ve shown that you meet them with sensible solutions that keep your homeowner’s minds at ease and generate great quality of life. Keep up the good work.

Here’s to another great year,

Sincerely,

Your HOA.”