Ahhh…the traditional homeowners association. This organization can be the bane of a homeowners’ existence, or can be a powerful tool in ensuring that the neighborhood continues to be appealing and have a high resale value. The trick to balancing the two extremes lies in what associations across the country are currently doing. The Net Worth television series takes a look at how homeowners associations around the country are looking to become state of the art by investing in technology and looking for ways to save money.
Here are some common ways that homeowners associations are being more state of the art by investing in their neighborhoods to drive up property values or maintain them at a high level.
Computers
One of the biggest ways that homeowners associations are becoming state of the art has to do with computers and automation. More and more homeowners associations are installing computers in common areas for their members to use – especially in larger buildings where there are a lot of units that can take advantage of the computers.
Also, many associations are now providing wireless Internet in their lobbies or common areas for use by their homeowners. This is great for families with children since children always want to be wired in, so having wireless Internet in common areas like the pool makes entertainment much easier.
Net Worth TV Shows Technology
The technology that homeowners associations are utilizing is starting to become state of the art. Net Worth TV highlights the emerging technologies that homeowners associations are using to cut costs while still providing the services their homeowners need. More associations have started creating websites so that they can facilitate communication with their homeowners.
No longer to homeowners need to wait for bulletins or other announcements to be mailed home – many homeowners associations now rely on electronic bulletin boards and email lists to send out communications. This move towards paperless communication can save a lot of costs in associations with hundreds of members that rely on communication every month.
Going Green
More and more homeowners associations are also going green. Going green used to something that places did to be vogue, but many associations are realizing that going green can lead to real money savings.
Net Worth with Terry Bradshaw has highlighted that more and more homeowners associations are doing things that help the environment and save money. For example, associations are putting up solar panels on common area buildings. This lowers the electricity usage of the HOA, which lowers costs for everyone. They are also monitoring their sprinkler usage, since landscaping is usually one of the homeowners association’s largest expenses.
Offering Discounts
Homeowners associations are also starting to realize that not every homeowner uses common goods equally. This may sound counter-intuitive, but HOAs are starting to offer discounts to homeowners for going green and lowering costs for the entire community. In Condo HOAs where water is paid through association dues, HOAs are giving discounts to individual homeowners who install water saving devices like low-flow shower heads or low-flow toilets. Discounts are also being offered for planting drought-tolerant irrigation to save money on water.
Managing Data Storage and Statistics
Finally, homeowners associations have a lot of data and statistics at their disposal. The main data they collect is on their homeowners, but also on the community at large. It used to be that all of this information had to be collected and monitored manually, but more and more associations have been moving to the cloud and storing all of their data online.
From meeting notes to which homeowners are behind on their association dues, databases and cloud software is enabling quick access to account information by board members to be able to make smarter, quicker decisions.
Plus, live monitoring technologies, especially with utilities, can alert HOA members if there is a problem before it turns into something major.
For individual homeowners, a single website can allow you to view all the information about the HOA in digital format – from finances to last month’s irrigation bill. This transparency is a good thing.
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