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Condo Associations and the Importance of Committees

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Condo Association committees are important to condo assocations because it gives its members, that may not have the time, skills or desire to be on the condo board, a chance to get involved in the condo assocation in other meaningful ways.

Being part of an association committee can renew a condo assocation member's pride of ownership which will create a stronger condo association or HOA by strenthening the owner's feeling of being vested in the property. A strong sense of vested ownership is the backbone of a good condo association. It's also a good way to pull absentee landlords into participation.

Most importantly, it lets some people other than condo association board members do some work! Let's not forget - being on the condo association board is not always about doing the work yourself. You should leverage committees to get other association members involved.

Some Committees your Condo Assocation or HOA can form:

Financial Audit Committee -
Committee should meet at least once per quarter to review the condo association's financials. Is the condo association spending too much money? Is there enough reserve? Are the condo fees covering the true costs of maintaining the property? A Financial Audit Committee should review the condo budget and make recommendations to the condo trustees or board. This should be done regardless if there is a property management firm in place or not.

Social Committee - Would it hurt to have a drink with your neighbors once or twice a year? A social committee is an easy way to get people involved to do the party planning.

Project Committee - We recently assessed to renovate our lobby and three assocation members that have never been too involved before offered to oversee the renovation and are doing a great job. Most importantly, the are excited about the project and how it will impact the building. Once again, it also gives the perpetual condo board members one less thing they have to oversee.

Security Committee - Is your HOA concerned with crime or liability? A Security Committe should look at the property and things that can be done to mitigate crime or injury that may occur on premise. Recommendations should be made to the Condo Association Board.

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Comments

My condo assoc has been in existence for 2 yrs, I just moved in. I have been asked to research "Door Painting" for the community. Where do I begin? Should the assoc pay for this, for a few years, subsidize for owners, etc. How do I begin?  
 
thanks, karen
Posted @ Thursday, August 14, 2008 7:13 AM by Karen Paciarelli
If its to paint a door or doors in common areas, yes, the association should pay for it.  
 
 
 
Get a quote or 2 of cost of the project and submit to the condo association board. If the association can afford it, they will authorize the project. If not, they will either decide not to do it or get funds to do it. Two ways to get funding are either an assessment to members or a condo association loan.
Posted @ Thursday, August 14, 2008 7:58 AM by Joel C.
Finance Committee's. Do you need Board Approval To set up a Finance Committee or can you just advise them that you wish to do this?
Posted @ Sunday, October 12, 2008 3:04 PM by Les
you can just set up a committee to advise the board. All final decisions should be approved or voted on by the board anyway.
Posted @ Wednesday, October 15, 2008 2:25 PM by Bill Morris
Hello to all. Please note I have three questions I would like answered.  
 
 
 
*. Can a Board pick and choose what members they want to participate in the committees of a Condo Association?  
 
*. Can the Board purposedly exclude a resident/owner from participating in a committee?  
 
*. Can a Board limit the amount of committees a resident/owner can sit/participate on?  
 
 
 
Thank you,  
 
Ana M. Ramos
Posted @ Friday, April 10, 2009 3:24 PM by Ana M. Ramos
Yes to all these questions. Committees can be set up by the board and members can be appointed. It's usually good practice to get a diverse group of condo association members participating, but in some small associations, it may often be a small number of members willing to volunteer to do the work.
Posted @ Saturday, April 11, 2009 5:04 PM by Roger
Our COA has contracted with a Property Manager to handle the daily operations. Our Board has created a Finance Committee. 
 
 
 
Does the Finance Committee deal directly with the Property Manager with any question of the Financials or does the Committee strictly deal with the Board on these issues? 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted @ Thursday, May 28, 2009 2:00 PM by Rick Wypyhoski
Rick, its just a matter of how to get the most benefit from the finance committee that your association formed.  
 
Although the finance committee can work with the property manager on financial issues including budgeting, both the finance committee and property manager should report to the board for final appproval. This can be for projects related to annual budgets, special assessments, condo association loans, etc...
Posted @ Thursday, May 28, 2009 2:34 PM by roger
Can people who do not have voting rights for the condo association serve as voting members of committees appointed by the Board of Directors? (if it is not covered in condo documents)
Posted @ Friday, February 26, 2010 12:15 PM by pj
I have been asked to chair a committee to review the rules an regulations.thier are many owners and board members in vlolation of the rules any suguesions as to how I should proceed
Posted @ Saturday, April 10, 2010 7:01 AM by lynn Giffing
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