Empowering the Community: Start Your Own Home Owners Association in Virginia

Are you part of a neighborhood, but feel powerless in comparison to big developers or the city? To gain autonomy as a community and set your own rules, you have the option of starting a home owners association, or HOA. To do this all you really need is the ability to cooperate.

Gather Support

Begin by gauging the level of interest in an endeavor like this. Speak to your neighbors, post flyers or host a BBQ. Once you gather a core group of those interested, you can hold meetings and informational sessions in order to recruit the community at large. This is an important stage to note all input and feedback for reference while you are forming the guidelines of your HOA.

Become a Legal Entity

How this can happen will differ according to your exact location. You can find an attorney in your specific county, like an Attorney loudoun county va, who specializes in the representation of home owners associations to help you through the process and form a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). You will need to review property codes to determine what you have the ability to do as an association.

Set Rules and Regulations

As a representative body, you will need to determine whether or not membership is voluntary for residents. You will also need to determine a fee structure for members. The fees can be used to provide services and resources for the community: playgrounds, repairs, internet, snow removal etc. Decide whether or not you want to include restrictions with membership. Don’t forget to set up a meeting schedule for members and elect a committee.

A home owners association can provide a lot of support for its residents. It also allows you to determine the course of your community together, rather than leaving it to outside hands. Remember to maintain a fair and open environment; an HOA should not be hostile towards its residents. Now get out there and be neighborly!