Homeowners association management is a time-consuming, detail-oriented endeavor, requiring tracking and visibility into dozens of details simultaneously. Over the last ten or so years, HOA management has advanced by leaps and bounds in terms of the convenience and availability of useful technologies for management companies, HOA boards and association members. These tools provide greater access to information, facilitate easier communication and generate a never-before-seen level of transparency.
The following useful management tools make handling these details easier, saving you quality time to spend enjoying your neighborhood.
Community Website
Your community’s website is an online resource providing instant answers to many of your most common questions about living in your HOA – and it’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you haven’t looked at your community’s website lately, take a moment to see what’s there. Knowing where to find the right answers will save you valuable time in the future.
Most community websites include:
- Community news and updates
- Amenities hours & rules
- Your HOA’s governing documents (bylaws, CC&Rs, Rules & Regulations)
- Architectural forms & guidelines
- Event announcements
- Previous board meeting minutes (password-protected)
- Upcoming board meeting calendar
- Community manager/management company contact information
Member Portal
Your association’s member portal is accessible from your community website and enables you to manage specific aspects of your home as it relates to your HOA. Use the secure, password-protected member portal to handle administrative tasks that previously required a phone call, fax or trip to the post office.
Here are some of the items you can manage directly from your computer or mobile device via your member portal:
- Pay your assessments
- Review outstanding assessment balances
- Review your transaction history
- Update your contact information (email, phone number)
- Opt-in/out of e-communications, such as eBilling
- Check the status of your architectural application
- Review the status of a work order
- Review correspondence from the association, including violation letters and supporting documentation
- Submit a general request to your community manager
Board Portal
Arriving to meetings prepared enables HOA board members to make decisions for the community thoughtfully and efficiently. The password-protected online board portal provides board members with a wealth of valuable, real-time information about the association.
While California state civil code stipulates many association documents must still exist in paper form, most HOAs choose to upload digital copies of these files to the board portal to help board members access information more quickly and conveniently.
What previously required submitting a request to a community manager can now be completed in a matter of seconds.
Here are some of the key actions board members can take via their board portal:
- Review current violations
- Update the status of past violations
- Review delinquencies
- Review current and past work orders
- Review architectural applications
- Review vendor invoices
- Access governing documents
- Review past meeting minutes
- Access board packets for upcoming board meetings
Like the member portal, the board portal enables board members to access association governance-specific information on their timetable, instead of emailing a request to the HOA management company and waiting for a response.
Technology Is No Substitute for Quality People
At Keystone we believe in the power of great people supported by great tech, not using technology as a substitute for human connection. While the time-saving tools above increase efficiency for board and association members, your HOA manager is always available to answer questions and provide help – and they’re still just a phone call or email away.
Now that you know where to go to find information and request services from your homeowners association and HOA management company, the question remains: how will you spend all your newfound free time?
Learn more about how technology can help make your HOA more efficient. Contact Keystone today and we’ll show you what’s possible.