Clarifying the Community Manager’s Role

Check out this post written by AAM.

“HOA Community Managers have two primary responsibilities: to carry out policies set by the Board and to manage the Homeowners Association's daily operations.

Below are some clarifications to better help understand the HOA Community Manager’s duties:  

• While Community Managers work closely with the Board, he or she is an advisor—not an elected member of the Board. Also, the Community Manager is not a resident’s personal advocate with or conduit to the Board.If a resident has a concern, it is recommended that a letter or email is sent to the Community Manager, who will then forward to the Board.

• Community Managers are trained to deal with various types of conflict, but he or she will not get involved in quarrels between neighbors. However, if Association rules are being violated, the Community Manager is certainly the right person to call.

• Although the Community Manager works at the direction of the Board, he or she is readily available to assist residents. However, the Community Manager may not be able to take every call. If a resident needs to speak with the Community Manager, it is recommended to call their office line and leave a message if they are unavailable. Since Community Managers are frequently out on the property and working with vendors, they may not always be at their desks. Residents should expect phone calls to be returned within one business day, and emails within 1-2 business days. If a matter is an after-hours Common Area/Association emergency, please call and leave a voicemail and it will be directed to the on-call team member or 911 for urgent non-Association related emergencies.

• The Community Manager is always happy to answer questions, but many simple or routine inquiries, like the date of the next meeting, can easily be found on the community buzz board , on the Association website, or in a recent email blast. By alleviating the influx of simple inquiries, the Community Manager can focus efforts on the strategic management of the community.

• The Community Manager is responsible for monitoring Association vendors’ and contractors’ performance, but not supervising them. Vendors/Contractors are responsible for supervising their own personnel. If a resident notices any issues with a vendor/contractor, please notify the Community Manager, who will promptly forward the concerns to the Board. The Board will then decide how to proceed under the terms of the contract.

• The Community Manager does not set Association policies or rules. If anyone disagrees with a particular policy or rule, it is recommended to send a letter or email to the Community Manager, who will forward to the Board to review.

• The Community Manager inspects the community regularly, but even the most experienced Community Manager will not be able to catch everything. Help from the entire community is essential and appreciated. If anyone knows about a potential maintenance issue, it should be reported to the Community Manager.

• The Community Manager has a broad range of expertise and skills, but he or she is not an engineer, architect, insurance agent, attorney, or accountant. The Community Manager may offer opinions on various topics, but he or she will not provide technical advice in areas where he or she is not qualified.

• Although the Community Manager is a great resource to the Association, he or she is not available or on-call 24 hours a day. For genuine Common Area/Association emergencies, please call 573-569-5971 and leave a detailed message. A Common Area/Association emergency is defined as an immediate threat to Association property.”