u/Livid-Scarcity858

I’ve volunteered on my Condo HOA board. The prior boards were asleep at the wheel and I thought I’d give it a go. I quickly became the workhorse - pitching and proposing to drive cost cuts and wasteful spending.

I have also become involved complex gray areas with homeowners matters. The property manager also needs replacing which is a big undertaking. I feel alone. As well as having a day job. They don’t provide any strategic help.

I’ve talked to friends who are in Condo HOAs and I hear even worse stories.

Some questions I’ve pondered and I’m posting below for the sake of my own curiosity.

1. When your board had a financial or operational question it couldn’t answer — who did you turn to? Did you have any independent source of advice?
2. Did you ever feel like your management company’s interests weren’t aligned with the board’s? How did that play out?
3. If a completely independent advisor — no vendor relationships, no management ties, works only for the board — had been available to your board for a few hundred dollars a month, would that have been valuable? Would the board have paid for it?

Appreciate any feedback!