HOAs are run by the HOA board, who are elected by homeowners in the community. The HOA board meets periodically to talk about neighborhood issues and initiatives.

HOAs are governed by their "Declarations of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions," also known as "covenant documents" or "CC&Rs." This is basically a legally binding contract outlining what the HOA expects of homeowners and what the homeowners can expect of the HOA.

Federal law gives homeowners the right to access financial reports and HOA documents. PayHOA makes it easier to produce, organize, and distribute these docs.

• Financial reports, annual budget reports, reserves summary, HOA tax returns.

• Vendor contracts, board meeting agendas and minutes, HOA membership lists, governing documents.

State laws vary drastically, for example:

• Whether homeowners can display political signs

• Whether homeowners have the right to plant native species of plants

• Whether homeowners have the right to dry clothes on clothes lines (solar drying)

High property values is always priority #1, but it's kind of hard to write about this extensively.

Transparency with homeowners Homeowners deserve to know how their dues are being spent. PayHOA makes it way easier to keep homeowners in the loop by giving a platform to host financial reports and board meeting minutes.

This extends to rules and fines, too. Nothing pisses a homeowner off more than a fine that feels discriminatory or out-of-nowhere. Hosting the neighborhood rules in an easily accessible place helps avoid disputes and prevent fines in the first place.

Ultimately, a neighborhood with a notoriously bad HOA will end up affecting property values and dissuade new homebuyers from moving in.

Volunteers in a self-managed HOA dread issuing fines and violations. They don't want to be the bad guy. In fact, this fear can be the driving motivation to use a third-party company, even though the cost is astronomically higher.

The ability to issue violations through the PayHOA platform de-personalizes the violations process. Homeowners can pay the fine quickly and easily, making it less of a hassle and less likely they'll pick a fight over it.

PayHOA is way cheaper than a third-party company, so HOAs who use it have the option of lowering dues for homeowners. However, this isn't great practice, because they might have to raise dues later to cover an unforeseen expense or something. It's way better for an HOA to use the extra revenue to build their reserves and add value to the community without having to raise dues.

HOAs have different types of expenses. Short term expenses cover things like yard maintenance, trash pickup, etc. Long term expenses are bigger maintenance like roof repair, or budgeting for new amenities like a pool or a tennis court.

As communities are governed by an HOA, condominiums are governed by a Condo Association (CA). CAs adhere to governing documents identical to CC&Rs. CAs charge dues that go toward the upkeep of amenities and other maintenance. The challenges faced by CA treasurers are almost identical to the challenges faced by HOA treasurers.