For many parents, it’s the most wonderful time of the year (remember that commercial from the 90s?!) Kids are heading back to school and schedules are returning back to normal. While January is usually the epitome of the “new year, new you” model, back-to-school means back-to-work for many. Within a community, this is also the prime time for your homeowners association to get ready for the upcoming 2023 year.

Why Prepare Now?

At the end of the summer season, budgeting begins for most boards. This means reviewing your previous year’s expenses, vendors you’d like to pursue, and major projects your community should be planning for the upcoming year. In addition to preparing your next year’s budget, it’s also time to think about who will be on the HOA/COA board for the upcoming year. These are volunteer positions that can take up a lot of time outside of work and family, so oftentimes, boards turn on a yearly basis.

What To Consider for your Next Board Election

While one may think that homeowners are consistently engaged in the election process, it can actually be quite challenging for communities to achieve quorum. Quorum means that there is a proper majority of homeowners who have participated in the HOA/COA board election for the vote to be considered valid. This can be challenging to achieve for a multitude of reasons, including:

• Homeowners being unavailable during the election timeframe, especially if a community is fraught with short term rentals and investment properties
• Tracking down homeowners for in-person elections that they may not be able to attend
• Managing a paper trail of votes that can tie up expenses and time for the boards

That’s why it’s so important to consider all of the facets related to your board election process, and completing this evaluation now will have you up and ready for a new year. Questions you may consider include:

• Did we achieve quorum last year? Is there anything we can do to better engage our homeowners in the election process?
• Does my state offer e-voting options for HOA/COA board elections, and if so, is my board taking advantage of the opportunity?
• How much did it cost to process the previous election, and is there any way to reduce spend?
• What communication tools are available to us to engage homeowners in the election process – highlighting the importance of elections and their involvement?

Let Us HOAst Your Next Election

If you’re dreading your upcoming board election because of the manual, time-consuming processes and the inability to engage homeowners, consider HOAst. It’s the only e-voting platform in the community association management industry fully integrated into a software solution, enabling your homeowners to vote directly from their custom branded website. In addition, your boards and management company can assist in spreading the word about your election through real-time tracking of votes, setting up reminders to those who haven’t cast their vote and keeping you informed of the process. To learn more about all that HOAst has to offer, review our product tour and offering here.