In real estate, it is all about “location, location, location”, and more often than not, that can be directly tied back to the community around that location.  When you think about a community many things come to mind. Too often most people think of a bad experience they might have had with a member of an Association’s Board of Directors. These experiences can have the negative effect of ensuring that capable individuals will never even consider becoming a member of an Association Board out of disdain for one bad event. While sometimes tedious, a Community Association’s Board of Directors serves a vital purpose to any community, and the value of being one of the members of the board making those decisions cannot be overstated. As an owner or member in a community, the prospect of running and serving on an Association’s Board of Directors should not be an opportunity that is passed by. Everyone should serve at one point or another.

The primary reason most people should consider joining their Association’s Board of Directors is to ensure the protection of their property’s value. Within each community, everyone must work together to maintain the standards set forth by the Association’s governing document’s to protect the investment each and every one of them made in this “location.” Whether owners know these rules exist or not, as a member of the Board you can help new or “slacking” owners figure out why and how these rules were put in place and why they are so crucial to an investment they also chose to make. Serving on the Board is not only about correcting “problems” in your community, but also as a member of the Board, you are directly involved in crafting the exact type of community that you want to live in. While on the Board you are more directly involved in the key decisions as to how your community wants to operate, or how your community wants to grow and change. These can be things as small as community activities or parties for the year, all the way up to a giant clubhouse and/or a pool for your community.  If you are not trying to serve, or at least understand the role of your Association Board, you are quite simply missing the opportunity to ensure you live in your dream community.

One of the most important things that people often overlook when considering serving on the Board for their Community Association is that it can actually wind up being a lot of fun. Community Associations are not all covenant enforcement violations and collecting dues. Community Associations and their Boards can be directly responsible for creating a fun and engaging community that its residents and owners will look back on for years to come. Block parties and other events can not only be a fun thing for you and your neighbors on a summer afternoon but also a great way to foster Association interest and combat apathy. Additionally, in this environment, everyone is able to get to know new residents or even longtime residents creating new relationships in your community. Beyond all this, serving on a Board grants perspective and knowledge into the inner workings of Community Associations as a whole, like that one job you had when you were younger that gave you perspective and/or appreciation into that field for the rest of your life. Serving on your Association Board sets you up to understand the operation of every community you will ever live in (even if you only serve for one or two terms).

The next time you are in an annual meeting and nominations are being passed around consider tossing your hat into the ring instead of watching a great opportunity drift by.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Public Relations Department.