How Can Self-Managed HOAs Manage Improvement Requests
How do you get your improvement request approved by your HOA?
What if you want to add a deck onto your home, put on a new roof or paint your home a new color? If you live in an HOA, you will need approval before you start these types of projects.
So how do you start that process? Does your HOA have a committee? Maybe it has an Architectural Review Committee?
Maybe you just make a phone call. Or possibly you have to download and fill out a form to mail in to your HOA. Or maybe your HOA has a more automated way of handling home improvement requests.
The problem with most processes for improvement requests is the documentation of correspondence between the homeowner and the HOA. Phone calls are not recorded, emails may have been lost or paperwork may get misplaced. What proof does a homeowner have that their improvement request was approved; conversely, what proof does the HOA have that it denied a request?
What can happen with poor documentation and lack of an established process? Hopefully nothing! Realistically though, disputes are fairly common between homeowners and HOA boards or committees. Often, these escalate to lawsuits that are time-consuming and expensive for all involved.
We recommend that all correspondence be in writing. This can be simply by postal service. If done by email, both homeowners and HOA representatives need a way to organize and keep track of the entire process. Better yet, a more automated system would benefit everyone by ensuring that no part of the correspondence is missing or left undocumented.
Here at HOA Guru, we have created a feature called “Improvement Requests.” OK, don't roll your eyes. We know it’s not a very creative name, but we purposely kept the name generic to be able to fit the needs of any HOA. One HOA may call it architectural review process, while another HOA may call it improvement approvals. Whatever your HOA calls it, our Improvement Requests feature will handle it and prevent a lot of headaches and misunderstandings by keeping track of everything.
Our sophisticated Improvement Request system documents the entire approval/denial process from beginning to end. No correspondence is lost, and everything is date- and time-stamped to show a sequential flow that doesn’t allow editing or deleting of previous correspondence. All correspondence is cumulative to ensure the entire history of the process is recorded.
Contact us to learn more about how our service can help minimize the potential for hassles, disputes and lawsuits in your HOA!
