The handbook nobody gave your HOA board

Bank accounts, reconciliation, collections, online dues, and the treasurer's month.

• How can an HOA protect its bank accounts from payment fraud?How a volunteer HOA board can stop fake vendor invoices, spoofed board emails, and check fraud, plus the online banking controls and first steps if money goes missing.
• What does an HOA treasurer need to do every month and quarter?A monthly and quarterly HOA treasurer checklist: reconciliations, aging report review, bill approvals, reserve transfers, board reports, and yearly tax deadlines.
• What does a new HOA treasurer need from the previous treasurer?A checklist for a new HOA treasurer taking over the books: bank access and signers, passwords, tax filings due, insurance renewals, autopays, and open items.
• What is the timeline for an HOA board collecting past-due dues?A board's timeline for collecting past-due HOA dues, from first reminder to lien, with the required notices in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and California.
• How does an HOA switch from paper checks to online dues payments?How an HOA board moves dues from paper checks to online ACH and card payments: fees, autopay authorization, keeping a check option, and telling owners.
• How does an HOA reconcile its bank statement?A step-by-step bank reconciliation a volunteer treasurer can run, what outstanding checks and deposits in transit are, and the legal deadline the work protects.
• Does an HOA need an EIN?Why nearly every HOA needs an EIN, how a volunteer board applies free from the IRS, what to do when nobody can find the number, and when a new one is required.
• Should an HOA use cash or accrual accounting?What changes when an HOA keeps its books on a cash or accrual basis, why delinquencies and prepaid dues vanish on cash, and what state law and the IRS expect.
• Does an HOA check need two signatures?Whether HOA checks need two signatures, what your bylaws and your bank each control, why most banks will not enforce the rule, and how to get real dual control.
• Does an HOA have to keep reserve funds in a separate bank account?Whether HOA reserves need their own bank account, what the commingling rules really prohibit, who has to sign withdrawals, and how to fix a single-account setup.

Orientation, policies, the board's year, conduct, and keeping records secure.

• New HOA board member checklist: what to do in your first monthA first-month orientation checklist for new HOA board members: what to read, sign, and set up, plus state-required director education in Florida and elsewhere.
• Should an HOA board adopt a code of conduct, and what should it say?What an HOA board code of conduct covers, including confidentiality, speaking for the board, and social media, how to adopt one, and what it cannot do.
• What does an HOA board need to do each month of the year?A month-by-month HOA board annual calendar covering the budget cycle, annual meeting, insurance renewal, tax filings, reserve study, and seasonal tasks.
• How do you get more homeowners to run for the HOA board?How to recruit HOA board candidates: finding volunteers before elections, offering smaller roles first, succession planning, and keeping the process fair.
• What written policies should every HOA board have?The core written policies an HOA board should adopt, including collections, records, enforcement, and reserves, with Colorado and Texas required policy rules.
• Should HOA board members use personal email, and how should the board manage passwords?How an HOA board should handle email, passwords, and shared accounts: association addresses, records requests, two-factor login, and handovers when directors change.
• How should an HOA board handle a disruptive homeowner at a meeting?How an HOA board chair can handle a disruptive homeowner at a meeting: speaking rules, warnings, recess, documentation, and when to call counsel or police.
• How can an HOA board track decisions and action items between meetings?How an HOA board can keep a decision log and action item list so approved work gets done between meetings, with owners, due dates, and a review at each meeting.

Welcome packets, newsletters, surveys, records requests, and hard conversations.

• What should an HOA welcome packet for new homeowners include?What to put in an HOA welcome packet for new owners: board contacts, how to pay dues, a rules summary, architectural approval steps, and when to send it.
• How do you write an HOA newsletter homeowners will actually read?How to write an HOA newsletter people read: a cadence you can keep, sections that work, tone, what to leave out, email versus print, and accessibility basics.
• How should an HOA board survey homeowners before a big decision?How to survey HOA homeowners: when a survey helps, writing unbiased questions, one response per home, getting responses, sharing results, and why it is not a vote.
• How should an HOA board explain a dues increase to homeowners?How an HOA board should explain a dues increase: budget notice timing, a clear letter, showing the numbers and reserves, a town hall, and answers to common questions.
• How should an HOA board respond to a homeowner's records request?A board's workflow for an HOA records request: log it, find the deadline, decide what to withhold or redact, set copy costs, and document the response by state.
• How should an HOA board handle a hostile or abusive homeowner?How an HOA board can handle a hostile homeowner: separate criticism from abuse, use one channel, set meeting rules, document threats, and avoid retaliation.
• How should an HOA board communicate with renters and tenants?How an HOA board can communicate with renters: what tenant contact info to collect, what to send tenants versus owners, privacy limits, and fair housing basics.
• What should an HOA resident portal do for homeowners?What an HOA resident portal should do for owners: payments, documents, requests, announcements, a consent-based directory, permissions, privacy, and data export.

Bids, contracts, insurance certificates, big projects, maintenance, and emergencies.

• How do we write an HOA request for proposal and compare contractor bids?How an HOA board writes a scope of work and RFP for landscaping, snow, pool, or painting, compares bids side by side, checks references, and records the choice.
• What should an HOA board check in a vendor contract before signing it?HOA vendor contract red flags to catch before signing: auto-renewal, termination, indemnity, insurance, scope gaps, payment terms, change orders, and liens.
• How do we read a vendor's certificate of insurance (ACORD 25) before work starts?How an HOA board reads a vendor's ACORD 25 certificate of insurance: limits, additional insured endorsements, workers' comp, expiration tracking, and its limits.
• What should go in an HOA board's emergency preparedness plan?What goes in an HOA emergency preparedness plan: contact tree, vendor emergency numbers, shutoff map, spending authority, insurance claim steps, and message templates.
• How do we plan a major HOA project like a roof replacement or repaving?A board timeline for a major HOA project like a roof, repaving, or siding: reserve study, consultant scope, bids, funding, owner notice, contract, and closeout.
• What should be on an HOA preventive maintenance schedule, season by season?A seasonal HOA preventive maintenance schedule for roofs, gutters, pools, irrigation, lighting, playgrounds, paving, and backflow testing, with logging tips.
• How do we write clear HOA architectural guidelines from our CC&Rs?How an HOA board turns CC&R architectural rules into clear design guidelines: approved materials and colors, submission requirements, review timelines, updates.
• How should an HOA board inspect its playground and pool for safety hazards?An HOA board's safety inspection checklist for common-area playgrounds and pools: surfacing depth, entrapment gaps, drain covers, gates, records, and repairs.

Recent state law changes and what a self-managed board has to do about them.

• What do the 2025 Texas HOA law changes mean for volunteer boards?2025 Texas HOA law changes for boards: SB 711 fence and architectural committee rules, electronic ballots, drought lawns, plus the 2023 fine and lien rules.
• What do the 2024-2026 Florida HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?Florida HOA law changes for boards: HB 1203 director education, fines and hearings, records crimes, architectural limits, plus the 2026 building permit rule.
• What do recent Colorado HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?Colorado HOA law changes 2022-2026 for boards: CCIOA fine caps, delinquency contact rules, foreclosure limits, water-wise landscaping, and management handover.
• What do the 2024-2026 California HOA law changes mean for volunteer boards?California HOA law changes for boards: the $100 fine cap from AB 130, electronic secret ballots, reduced election quorum, teleconference meetings, utility repairs.
• What do the 2023-2026 Arizona HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?Arizona HOA law changes for boards: open-session voting, meeting recordings, new foreclosure thresholds, fines off the lien, shade structures, resale disclosures.
• What changed in North Carolina HOA law in 2025 and 2026, and what must boards do?North Carolina HOA law changes for boards: the 2026 flag rule, a new nonprofit annual report due November 15, and why the 2025 HOA reform bills are not law.
• What do the 2023-2026 Virginia HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?Virginia HOA law changes for boards: the Resale Disclosure Act, the $5,000 foreclosure floor, management contract exits, special assessments, and lien records.
• What do the 2025 Maryland HOA law changes require of volunteer boards?2025 Maryland HOA law changes for boards: SB 63 reserve funding plans and five-year phase-in, SB 758 independent election counts, and free financial statements.