How to Form a Homeowners Association

If you’re wondering how to form a homeowners association (HOA), the process may seem overwhelming at first. But with the right planning and support, an HOA can provide the structure, resources, and protections your community needs to thrive. Whether you’re a developer establishing a new community or residents in an existing neighborhood, forming an HOA follows some key steps.

Step 1: Understand the Vision and Legal Framework

For new developments, a developer usually takes the lead, laying out the infrastructure and drafting the initial legal documents. In established neighborhoods, residents must first gauge community interest before moving forward. Either way, it’s important to research state-specific HOA laws and consult an attorney experienced in community associations to ensure compliance.

Step 2: Draft and File the Governing Documents

Every HOA requires foundational documents. These include:

Articles of Incorporation to legally establish the HOA.
Bylaws to outline internal operations and elections.
Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) to set community rules.

These documents must be filed with the state and, in many cases, recorded with the county to give the HOA legal standing.

Step 3: Elect a Board and Establish Operations

Once incorporated, residents elect a board of directors. This board oversees budgets, maintains records, enforces community rules, and ensures common areas are well cared for. Many HOAs hire professional management companies to handle daily operations, from financial management to vendor coordination.

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Step 4: Plan for Costs and Long-Term Success

Forming an HOA involves initial expenses such as legal and filing fees, followed by ongoing costs for management, insurance, and community upkeep. Setting up reserve funds for future repairs is also essential. Transparency in budgeting helps build trust and keeps the community on a firm financial footing.

Building Community the Right Way

An HOA isn’t just about rules; it’s about fostering pride of ownership and protecting property values. With careful planning and professional guidance, your community can enjoy the benefits of a well-run association.

At West Property Management, we help developers and communities form HOAs correctly, from legal setup to long-term management. We aim to make the process smooth, compliant, and stress-free so your neighborhood can focus on thriving together.

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West Property Management offers complete management services from townhomes and single-family homes to Homeowners & Condominium Associations, no matter the size.

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{We retained West Property Management to take over managing our brand new HOA. As a brand new builder community, West Property Management had to help manage numerous complicated developer-builder-homeowner transition matters. Despite the often unpredictable and/or complicated tasks that our HOA faced, West Property Management handled these matters in a very “can do” and no-nonsense manner. Their timely approach, expertise and patience with a new, novice Board of Directors also made working with West Property Management productive and positive. The Board continues to enjoy working with them and highly recommend them for property management needs.

Michelle R.

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When selecting West Property Management, you can expect professionalism, follow-through, and success in managing your property(ies). It all started with listening to our expectations and consistently delivering superior service and expertise without prompting for our 350 properties; telephone calls and e-mails were tactfully responded whether there was a complaint or a compliment.

When evaluating a property management company, we felt the primary factor was collaboration to learn what we should or should not do to effectively manage processes. The second important factor was the skillful management of suppliers to reduce outstanding receivables and ensure the successful delivery of work products through excellent customer service. West Property Management always displayed a “can-do” attitude and resolved any issues with persistent alacrity.

West Property Management’s impressive knowledge and practical approach we highly recommend irrespective of what level of management you seek. Both Lynn Weymer (our Property Manager) and Chris Westerlund (the owner) were always available to consult on Board matters and always resolved any presented issues. We will continue to work with West Property Management and look forward to our continued partnership.

Patricia F

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It was a pleasure working with Chris. He was very professional and went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable and informed every step of the way. I give Chris and West Property Management my highest recommendations and look forward to working with them for all my future property management needs.

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West has been such a joy to work with – they’ve brought a new level of professionalism and experience to our HOA and we’re grateful to be working with them!

Mike L.

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West Property Management has been so wonderful to work with. Excellent communication and customer service. A professional organization who provides a wonderful personal touch. I’d highly recommend them!

Ji L.

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Chris Westerlund and West Property Management were great. Being a realtor, I deal with a lot of property management companies. I reached out to Chris about obtaining HOA resale documents. He was instrumental in getting the documents delivered to me that same day when we needed them in a rush. In addition, he used his resources to find the contact information for the company we had been trying to find for a couple of weeks. I’d highly recommend anyone/business looking for property management services to reach out to Chris and West Property Management!

Kevin W.