Six Prospective Changes Affecting Nevada HOAs
HOAs in Nevada are evolving every day. While focusing on current or short-term needs might be practical, it’s important to plan for the future management of your homeowners’ association, too. In order to account for these changes, you must look at trends and data surrounding key topics and analyze how this may affect the operation of your HOA in the future.
“Communities are changing; that’s an indisputable fact,” said James Gibson, former president of the Nevada chapter of Community Associations Institute (CAI) and vice president of business development for FirstService Residential in Northern Nevada. “The key is to align our strategies and tactics with these shifts so we can not only accommodate the communities of the future, but, more importantly, anticipate their needs.”
To help pin these topics down, CAI assembled a group of experts, community members and stakeholders to identify key issues affecting the future of the industry. The results were published in the organization’s magazine, Common Ground. We’ve pulled out some high points and added some key insights here.
Demographics—including age, culture and population—impact communities everywhere. For HOAs with aging populations, that means a shift in focus, amenities and programming to operate as a de facto retirement community. Communities with high millennial populations will move to fewer meetings and greater use of electronic communications, such as social media. And multicultural shifts will lead to the development of multilingual documents and meeting options. As communities continue to become more diverse, effective HOA management will become even more critical than ever before.
The transition to electronic communications and documentation will take a concentrated, strategic effort, but it’s absolutely necessary as younger generations become homeowners. Board notices, elections, and even meetings will all be moving to online formats. This will be a challenging but positive change, as it will enhance participation and streamline processes. Look to HOA management companies that already offer tailor-made tech solutions for inspiration.
Nevada will continue to pass legislation that drastically affects HOA living. This makes groups like the CAI important to protecting residents’ interests on a political level, especially when those policies affect how community members live their day-to-day lives. To help in these efforts, trade groups need to align with other powerful parties, such as realtors and other groups.
Is your HOA ready for the future? It will be if you stay abreast of the issues affecting Nevada HOAs. For more information, contact FirstService Residential, Nevada’s community management leader.