Texas noise ordinances: What HOAs and rentals should know about noise complaints

Short-term rentals continue to be a battleground for associations as well as city and state governments. Recently passed Texas state legislation concerning short-term rentals may now impact your community. If your HOA governing documents do not address rentals or minimum lease terms, then now is a good time to work with your community association management company and legal counsel to make amendments.

Everything that your community accomplishes – from making policy changes to throwing a memorable holiday party – depends on the involvement of homeowners who are willing to step up and become volunteers. But enlisting volunteers to work on a community event, a committee or even the board of directors can be a struggle for many communities. Finding the perfect solution to attract and ultimately retain volunteers is often a bit of a mystery. So how do you crack the code?

Serving on a homeowners association (HOA) board comes with a variety of challenges, but getting the most out of your board meetings doesn’t have to be one of them.  With the right approach, your HOA board can keep meetings efficient, effective and legally compliant.  Here are a few rules of engagement, that if followed, will help everyone align and keep things on track.

Tornados can strike at any time of year and almost any place.  While you can't prevent tornados, you can make sure your residents are prepared in the event of a storm.  As a community association board member, do you understand the warning signs and how to work with your property management company to help keep your residents safe?  

If you’re currently in the market to hire a new company, look for these key signs that you’ll be getting the high-quality service your association deserves.

If you’ve agreed to serve as a board member for your homeowners association (HOA), you may be thinking this is just like any other simple volunteer opportunity.  However, there are certain fiduciary responsibilities and protocols that board members should be aware of to help protect the association and their own personal liability.  Here we’ve compiled a few fundamental principles that every board member should apply.

As an active voice in your community, you can help to protect property values, make association improvements and create opportunities to enhance the lives of your neighbors. Learn the five key traits every HOA board member should bring to the table.

Social media sites, such as Facebook and Nextdoor, are quickly becoming favorite mediums for information sharing amongst neighbors mainly due to their ease of use and mobile accessibility. However, it’s important for your board to establish how these sites will be administered. Here we’ve identified a few of the most common issues frequently made on homeowner-controlled social media sites and some suggestions on how you can keep things aboveboard.

One of the primary responsibilities of a community association board member is to ensure that residents are properly informed about happenings in the community, upcoming meetings & events, policy changes and more. Knowing what information needs to be communicated and how to make sure your announcement reaches everyone possible can be a challenge. Here are a few communication tips that will help keep the residents in your Homeowners Association well informed.