Ewing is home to an overwhelming majority of homeowners compared to the national average. Nearly 70% of all homes are owner-occupied, and many neighborhoods are low on renters.
As a result, there are plenty of HOA communities to choose from in Ewing. Having an HOA board can improve everything from your access to luxury amenities to your property value. The only problem?
Some homeowners don't always agree with their HOA board, but they also won't attend HOA meetings to share their own ideas.
How can you increase HOA meeting attendance? Read on to find out.
Make Your HOA Meetings Accessible
The first step towards increased HOA meeting attendance is accessibility. Think about when and where you're hosting your meetings. If the answer is someone's living room in the middle of a weekday, you can't expect community members to show up.
HOA management can help you find the best places in your community for meetings. An HOA manager can also make virtual attendance easier to offer so that members can tune in from home or work.
Offer Up a Little Fun
There's no reason that your HOA meetings need to be a somber affair. While you don't want them to turn into full-blown social events, you can offer a few fun incentives to those who attend.
There's nothing more straightforward and incentivizing than food. Start your next meeting with a 20-minute pizza party or ice cream social or bring in catering from a local restaurant.
Keep Things Streamlined
It's important to respect that anyone who attends your HOA meeting took time out of their schedule to do so. When you're advertising your HOA meeting, include a start and end time as well as the goals or topics of discussion. Create an agenda in advance to stay on track in terms of both discussion and time management.
New Jersey HOA law doesn't get into many specifics, but it does state that HOAs and their members must abide by the agreed-upon governing documents. If your meetings don't reflect your bylaws, you're running the risk of alienating your members and creating liabilities.
Take Your Members Seriously
Remember, the HOA board exists to foster desirable HOA living. Though the board may have a strong sense of what that should look like, they aren't the only voices that matter.
The best way to increase attendance at your HOA meetings is to prove that you take your members seriously. That means implementing majority feedback more often than not.
Partner with HOA Management
Your HOA meetings should function as the heart of your HOA operations and a site of community engagement. If you're struggling to get your members to attend and facing increased dissatisfaction overall, it may be time to partner with HOA professionals.
PMI Essential is Central Jersey's number-one resource for HOA management. We offer a wide range of customizable HOA options, from self-managed software to full-service accounting, vendor coordination, and beyond. Contact us if you're ready to find long-term solutions for the issues your HOA board can't overcome alone.
