The goal of community management is to help homeowners become as vested in their neighborhoods as they are in their own properties. To build a sense of community, the HOA can use several tactics:
- Use neighborhood common areas to bring members together – Boards and HOA managers should leverage clubhouses, recreational facilities and other common areas so members can interact and meet each other informally.
- Promote open communication to and from members – The board should be open to the ideas, thoughts and concerns of the members.
- Schedule fun events to encourage members to get to know each other –Especially in large neighborhoods, organizing enjoyable events can promote a sense of unity.
- Persuade members to volunteer by making community involvement appealing – The board needs to communicate how and why everyone needs to contribute to the HOA. It also needs to describe what happens if volunteers don’t come forward.
- Effectively communicate the HOA’s rules to avoid conflicts – Misunderstandings about rules can lead to a dysfunctional HOA.
- Create a welcoming committee – This small gesture creates goodwill among new homeowners and might even persuade them to become actively involved in the association.
Creating a sense of community isn’t just the responsibility of the HOA board. Every single homeowner must work on behalf of the neighborhood to make it everything it can be.
By AAM LLC