What Does Your Condo Owner Association President Do?

Your condo owner association board has many roles for various board members, including the role of president. While being the board's president can be a great honor, it also comes with plenty of responsibilities! 

Whether you're considering running for the position in the future or your HOA is putting together the "job" description for this volunteer role to make sure your current president understands their duties, it's critical for everyone to understand the role and how it functions within your community. With an effective board president, your community thrives! Here's what our community association managers recommend when creating the role and finding the right person for the job.

What Are the Critical Responsibilities for Your HOA Board President?

With the right person leading your homeowners association as the president, communities have a strong leader in supporting residents and the board through various tasks and decisions. While this role shouldn't be seen as one of power, it does carry significant weight in terms of responsibilities that contribute to a thriving community. Therefore, make sure your president is well-suited for the role and prepared to handle the following tasks and duties. 

The Association's Spokesperson

While every board member and resident should have a voice, the president serves as the spokesperson for community associations. Whether they represent your community in meetings with other communities or vendors or champion decisions and projects that are a good investment in the neighborhood's future, your president must be an effective communicator within the association and without. 

Initiates Meeting Agendas and Conducts Meetings

Your HOA board president starts and ends board and community meetings to keep them running efficiently and on time. They also start meeting agendas and help ensure that all critical items are covered during the meeting while staying on task. With this responsibility, your board's president must be able to keep meetings calm and encourage constructive dialogue for productive meetings. 

Calls for Votes

When it's time to vote on a special assessment or other covenant changes and initiatives, the board president leads the call for members to vote. They also oversee the process to ensure fair voting and outcomes for condominium management association elections. 

Signs Documents and Co-signs Checks

Along with the secretary or treasurer, most boards require the president's signature on critical documents and checks to pay vendors. In the president's absence, the vice-president can step into this role and sign important documents or checks, if necessary. 

Becomes a Community Liason

The right HOA president serves as an effective liaison between other communities and neighborhoods. They also become the point of contact to manage vendor relationships and work with attorneys to review and maintain the association's governing documents and other legal paperwork. When choosing your board president (or considering the role for yourself), make sure they are comfortable being the community's representative and juggling multiple relationships to help support your association and residents. 

Designates Committees

Board presidents are often responsible for designating committees for board members. They also have a hand in selecting members for each committee and ensuring that they run smoothly with positive contributions to the association's success. 

When defining these responsibilities for the president's role, make sure your vice-president understands these duties and fills in when needed. In many condo owners associations, the vice-president and president share similar roles and step in for each other to support committees, run board meetings, and interact with vendors and attorneys. 

What Should You Look for In the Best Board President?

Choosing your board's president is a critical task! It's an important role to fill with someone who is well-suited for the role and responsibilities. While many board members (including yourself) might be interested in the volunteer position, it's essential to look for the right qualities in this leader when structuring the board with the right officers in the right roles. 

A professional community association manager recommends finding a president with these qualities, including: 

• Knowing how to lead 
• Being willing to learn
• Having the temperament and capability to mediate difficult situations calmly and effectively
• Being honest and operating with integrity
• Having a strong commitment to what's best for the community over personal needs

The role of the president can be an impressive one to hold. Still, it also requires good leadership skills, humility, and the ability to work well with others under challenging circumstances. Make sure your board president fits the bill to help your community thrive!

A Community Association Manager Helps Boards Define the President's Role

If your homeowner association has never taken time to identify the responsibilities of an effective board president, or you're struggling to find the best fit for the role, a professional community association management company can help! Trestle Community Management helps HOAs navigate board selections and operations to support healthy and happy communities. If we can help you with consultation services or full-management help, reach out to our team to learn more!

Get more insights into effective board operations when downloading our free guide, "Best Practices for HOA Operations: A Checklist."