Does your Houston homeowners association regularly have new members move in?  Or, do you live in a fairly new Houston HOA that is currently under development?  One idea for your Houston HOA board of directors to consider is holding a town hall meeting for new members.  Consider it an orientation from your Houston HOA management company representative, the board, and the developer if they want to be involved.

What types of things can you cover in a new member town hall meeting?

1.  Make sure everyone feels welcome.  Let the new members know you are glad they moved into the neighborhood and help them feel cared about.  Offer to answer any questions about the location of businesses or schools in the area.  This is a great forum for people to share their ideas about which teacher to request at the local elementary school, or which teacher to avoid at the local high school.  Also, the board members and/or the Houston HOA community manager can give the new members tips on local businesses they may want to frequent.  Often, new members wonder where people get their dry cleaning done, or ask where the closest day care center is, etc.

2.  Review the reason for your Houston HOA.  Share the purpose of the HOA to those that are new to the association.  Maybe the new homeowner has never owned a home in a HOA, or even owned a home period.  Explain the benefits to the association and the obligations.  Your Houston HOA management representative can really help out here by describing all of the benefits an HOA brings to a neighborhood and also describing the processes and procedures set forth by the board for the operation of the HOA.

3.  Have copies of the governing documents available for new members.  Make sure to provide time for new members to ask questions about the rules and regulations and how to comply with them.  Most people want to comply with the rules.  Pointing out a few areas in the rules that may be frequent problems and/or areas of the rules that are very unique to your Houston HOA is often helpful.  Your Houston HOA management company representative can assist by describing the architectural review process for your Houston neighborhood.  You may consider having your ACC or ARC committee chairperson doing this as well.

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