L.B. from Michigan writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I am looking for sample documents that will help our board understand the roles we have on the board…and ways we relate to the Management Association. Can you point me to any resources? I am in Michigan.
Mister Condo replies:
L.B., I sure can! One of my favorite parts of being involved in association governance for more than a decade now is taking advantage of some very fine tools that seem to be a secret to so many of my fellow volunteer leaders. If your association is not already a member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), I strongly suggest you join. While there are many great reasons to do so, the single best reason, in my opinion is the answer to your question. The online resources that define the roles of the Board, the Property Manager, and all of the other players in a community association are all part of the CAI Board Member Toolkit. This toolkit is FREE to members but you can also purchase a hard copy if you don’t want to join. The link to do so is https://cai.caionline.org/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?site=CAI&WebCode=storeItemDetail&parentKey=0b859898-096b-4890-8293-c7256d54423b. This is by far the most comprehensive document I have seen detailing the roles of each of the Board members as well as covering just about every aspect of community association governance from the standpoint of a community association volunteer leader. I use it with all new Board Members at my community association and so should you. Trust me, it is the best investment you can make for your association. Good luck!
In Search of… The Board Member Toolkit!: https://t.co/JZB1ZBnsKw
I recommend that a board take a look at a new product – Office of the Board at http://www.ooftheb.com. It is a dashboard program that assists the board in easily organizing all your documents and easy access to all the necessary resources, including the applicable law to assist in operating the board and its business. I do not have any financial interest in this product. I have been reviewing it and so far I am very impressed in its simplicity and its depth.
TOPS Software also offers a number of free resources for community association management at http://www.topssoft.com/Resources.aspx. It’s more specifically targeted to managers than board members, but there is a lot of great information available. For example, the CAM Accounting 101 ebook is a valuable resource for the Board treasurer to understand how accounting for HOAs and condos differs from goods and services accounting.