How to Be a Great Community Association Manager

A homeowners association manager must be able to handle a wide variety of tasks to be successful. A community manager’s tasks often change from day to day, and they are responsible for a majority of the duties that make an HOA community association run smoothly. When choosing an HOA Manager for your community, it’s important to choose one that demonstrates specific skills like some of the ones we have listed below.

Be a natural leader

A good HOA manager must be assured enough to voice their opinions and not let others step over them. Since there are some board members who can be quite opinionated the manager should be able to know how best to respond to them in a helpful and constructive way. A community association manager should be able to act as your HOA’s leader.

Be well-versed in HOA rules and regulations

Any HOA manager should be well-versed in the workings of your HOA and its rules and regulations. This includes staying up-to-date on federal and state laws regarding HOA communities, which is so important for ensuring the HOA is running consistent with the law.

Be familiar with HOA accounting

An HOA manager doesn’t need to have professional accountant skills, but it’s helpful to have general accounting knowledge. This goes a long way when maintaining the monthly, quarterly, and yearly HOA budget, which the manager handles.

But if financial services are a forte of an HOA management company, financial expertise could be one of the skills of a manager. You’ll be able to rely on your manager when it’s time to make important financial decisions for the community.

Be willing to mediate conflicts within the HOA board

When running an HOA, the manager will have to deal with a diverse group of people – and naturally, there will be conflicts and disagreements that arise. Because of this, conflict resolution is an essential part of HOA community manager duties.

A successful HOA manager will know how to negotiate between parties and help all come to a compromise. No one will get everything they desire, of course, but proper mediation can leave people happy enough with the results and feeling like their opinion has been heard and considered.

Be ready to keep learning

It’s impossible to have a perfect manager, especially if you’ve only begun working together. However, one of the best qualities to have in a manager is the willingness to learn.

Even a good HOA manager will make mistakes from time to time, but a great manager will be one that can learn from their mistakes. An ideal manager also takes the time to expand their knowledge base, so that they can impart valuable information to their communities.

If you’re looking for an experienced HOA management company to help you manage an HOA, APS Management can help. Take a look at our HOA management services or contact us for a consultation.