Perils Of A Homeowners Association: Part 4

 This is the last in the series of homeowners associations. It will be a summary of the first three and the perils of a common interest association 

Part one dealt with my long time opinion that what starts poorly ends poorly. The hostility of members and how there were divided into individual camps and the hate and angst between groups. Carol and I  have always been individual thinkers and fact based people and hence we like to check out and verify facts therefore we did not fit into any partisan group. As such we were gossiped about, stories and rumors were spread about us and others like us. It was an unhealthy environment and in many cases toxic. Ugly comments were hurled at us by people we didn't know. We became isolated.

Part two was about money wasted on lawsuits in situations where reasonable people could just sit down and talk their issues out. Tons of association money was spent because people were so ugly to each other and also so hard headed they were unwilling to compromise or come work together. It was easier to back stab each other and to let attorneys do it for them than what was actually best for the association.  

Part three was about how the derision and angst allowed the association to be neglected, especially the roads and enforcement of the  covenants. As such the roads slowly deteriorated and members did what they wanted without regard of the rules. The one common flaw in this and other associations are that when members are elected to the board they suddenly become 'us and them'. They do not listen to or interact with the members and that may be the single most inherent problem of associations. One of the successful associations we have been involved in which is where I learned there is a different way to do ditches. 

Board members get sensitive over requests and believe it is criticism of them and not the way the association is going. Then they circle their wagons and take every comment, request or suggestion personal. The line in the sand is drawn as their friends and neighbors have turned on them when actually they just want something done or fixed.  There are always some habitual complainers and the board person can't separate the good member from the bad. In the end if the association board wishes to do well they MUST communicate and solicit help and cooperation from the members. 

When members do as they please and the association has weak enforcement it only gets worse. They can't turn down one members request because that member can point out all the violations that have gone on in the past. They must be able to reason with that member and compromise or they soon will have more and more members ignoring the rules. In short, they must have the members on board and working to improve the association. They lose respect and most of all volunteers. They can not operate successfully from being in a shell.  

I was part of one association that went under and have seen others fail. It can happen to any association and in the end the community fails each other. No association is exempt from either fast or slow failure. When deed restrictions are ignored by some - soon it is many. Elections are important and getting the right people to run an association is vital. We finally in 25 years of my experience here have good board members and we need to replace those going off the board with more. Otherwise we will be in a death spiral and be a poorly run organization. Vote wisely.