Though often responsible for millions of dollars in property and charged with the oversight of complex building functions, few co-op/condo board members are real estate professionals. Board members are resident volunteers who come from many walks of life and various professional backgrounds—most of which don’t include a lot of experience running a multifamily building or development.

The learning curve for a new board member can be steep, especially if that board member is not dedicated to acquainting themselves with an association’s affairs. Until their on-the-job experience catches up with their duties, new board members often will rely heavily on more experienced fellow board members for direction. Their main guide is usually the property manager.

It’s generally in property managers’ best interest to help new board members become effective decision-makers for their associations. Depending upon the property manager or the management company, that might mean having them familiarize themselves with certain documents related to the community, or recommending that they join organizations meant to facilitate property management.

Getting new board members up to speed is a two-way street, of course. The new member must take their responsibility as part of the board seriously, and he or she must do the work needed to make wise decisions. Without effort and commitment, all of the pointers, tips and suggestions provided by a property manager won’t automatically transform a new board member into a good board member.

Questions & Answers

Property managers can help new board members to understand the scope of their role on the board by acquainting them with the duties and responsibilities spelled out in the community’s bylaws. The property manager also provides each new board member with a list of shareholder/owners and their contact information, copies of the HOA’s bylaws, and a copy of the proprietary lease or the condominium declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&R).

“[Managing agents] have expertise in knowing what the new board members’ duties and responsibilities are,” says Scott Dalley, senior vice president for Access Property Management in Flemington, “and we can guide them and help get them up to speed on whatever issues are facing the community.”

Dalley also recommends that freshman board members touch base with their association’s lawyer, accountant, and engineer or general contractor if the HOA is in the midst of a construction project, or has one planned. He says they also should speak to the superintendent to get a sense of where the association’s physical maintenance stands.

If a new board member is appointed to an office on the board, such as treasurer, it may take a little more time for them to learn their job, and may require more time and commitment to master. In such cases, both the manager and senior board members are instrumental in orienting and training the newcomer.

But even new members who don’t hold offices on the board need to do their homework to be prepared to govern their communities. Regardless of their position, new board members should be provided with copies of board meeting minutes for at least the previous six months, or even the past year.

Bruce Anglin, on the board of his community association in Old Bridge, says that his group has tried to standardize the orientation process for new board members. “We put something together called the ‘Q&A’ and we have someone on the board introduce the new member and give them the packet of information,” he says. “The original unit owners are supposed to pass along a book of bylaws and regulations [to newcomers], but sometimes that doesn’t happen—so that’s why we have the packet to pass along.”

“Each set of governing documents is different,” says Curt Macysyn, executive vice president of the New Jersey chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), “so there might be additional responsibilities when it comes to orienting new [board members.] Each board operates in a manner that is tailored to its community.”

Information packets like the ones used in Anglin’s HOA are an easy way for new board members to get a lot of useful information in one place. In addition to fundamental governing documents, new board packets can contain emergency procedures, insurance and legal information, important phone numbers and email addresses, resource materials on vendors and contractors the association does business with, along with anything else that might be helpful to a new board member.

Know Your Management

Another way new boards can become more familiar with how their management company operates is to go straight to the source. “By visiting the property management company’s departments that service their property, new board members get the whole picture of what the management company provides for the building, and how it does so,” says Alvin Wasserman, a director of Fairfield Property Services in Manhattan.

As part of a new board member’s education process, Fairfield Property Services personnel invite them into the company’s office for a tour of the accounts payable and accounts receivable departments, the purchasing and sales departments, the mortgage arm of the company, and its insurance section.

In addition to inviting new board members to the firm’s offices, Wasserman says his staff helps new board members understand the information gathering process that is part of managing a building or community. Board members are shown how files are maintained on each unit, from sales to maintenance requests. The idea is to show the board members the work that’s being done for the building, as well as how that work gets done.

Building Blocks

Each member of an HOA’s board of directors has an important role to play in the running of that association. A disconnect between a board member’s duties and what he or she actually does as part of their volunteer job can be the starting point for potential problems.

As it is with many of life’s pursuits, when it comes to being a good board member, showing up is half the battle. But attendance at meetings is just part of what’s needed to be an effective board member, says Paul Brensilber, president of the Manhattan-based management firm Jordan Cooper & Associates.

“To be effective, new board members also need to read the board meeting minutes for the past six months,” Brensilber continues. “A lot of board members leave the heavy lifting to one or two people on the board, but everyone should do their part.”

Another common problem among boards is the simple waning of enthusiasm, according to the professionals interviewed. “That initial enthusiasm often turns into disinterest, or indifference,” says one property manager. “That’s a major flaw, but another problem is lack of attendance by members.”

Neglectful board members who need to be reminded of or introduced to ongoing issues waste meeting time and may not fully grasp the nuances of a particular issue, he says. As part of their due diligence on behalf of their community, HOA boards are obligated to review the information presented—and understand it—before making decisions. Brensilber recommends that new board members request copies of the building’s budget and latest financial statements from the property manager, if the manager hasn’t furnished them already.

“Read the meeting minutes and see what progress has been made,” Brensilber says, adding that new board members shouldn’t simply follow the previous board’s lead on issues. “New board members should have goals they want to accomplish before their terms expire—[it can be easy] to just become part of the system, deferring to prior board members’ decisions rather than looking to make changes,” he says.

The property manager’s role in helping freshmen board members acclimate to their new positions is about providing the new folks with continuity while the business of the board continues. The role of the board is to set goals, and the management company presents the solutions and implements them, Brensilber says.

No matter how enthused or well-meaning a group of new board members may be, if they’re not properly trained and oriented, the result could be that the main burden of overseeing the association falls into the hands of the property management company— which is not ideal for either the association or the manager.

“In many associations, the board just sits back and the management company becomes more like the operating company. The whole equation works better if the board is up to speed,” Brensilber says.

Encouraging Involvement

As we’ve said, new board members who want to tackle their duties effectively should familiarize themselves with the various documents that they’ll be constantly referencing and revisiting while on the board, including procedural manuals, purchase and alteration applications, and sublet applications. While familiarity with a board’s documents comes from a board member actively seeking to educate him- or herself by reading over paperwork and asking questions, the experts say that true understanding comes from regularly—and actively—participating in the board’s work from day to day. Because associations’ needs are constantly changing, the role of board member is a never-ending, ever-evolving process. Good training and open communication with newer members is just one way associations can ensure that their community gets the full benefit of their own human resources.

Jonathan Barnes is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator and other publications. Hannah Fons provided additional research for this article.