Communities with a Home Owners Association encompass their own set of guidelines and regulations that each homeowner in the community must follow. In most cases, the HOA hires a manager to handle a lot of the on-goings within the community, but there are several tasks that should always be left to the HOA board. Here, you will find a list of the tasks that should be handled by the HOA board rather than the manager.

Rule Adoption – Anytime a new rule, guideline or procedure is to be put into action, the board is to handle it. Each of these new adoptions should be voted on by the board to ensure that each element of the rule, guideline or procedure will benefit the community as a whole, rather than taking away from what it has to offer the homeowners residing there.

Budget – The board sets a budget for the care, maintenance and events within the community. After the budget is set, the manager must abide by it. If something should happen in which there is not enough funds allocated for one thing or another, the manager must communicate with the board to have additional funds provided. If this doesn't happen, the community could face financial problems in the future.

Penalty Waiving – If a penalty was issued to a resident, the manager doesn't and shouldn't have the authority to waive the penalty. A letter of appeal should be sent directly to the board for approval. If the manager was to handle these issues independently, it could cause issues of favoritism and potentially the bribery of the manager by the residents.

Contractor Hiring, Firing and Negotiations – The HOA manager's job should not include anything more than soliciting the bids from contractors for the work that needs to be done. Once a bid is provided, the manager must pass it on to the board for further examination and voted on whether the bid should be accepted or not. If the manager is given the power to hire, fire and negotiate directly with the contractors, it could put the community at risk for lawsuits based on discrimination and breach of contracts.

These are just a few of the tasks handled by the HOA board in many communities. Knowing who is in control of each element of a successful and pleasant housing community can help the entire community work and live together in a progressive and effective way. Contact The Noble Company of South Carolina, LLC for more information.