Self-Managed Condo Association

What is a self-managed condo association?

A condo owners association (COA), to begin, differs from a homeowners association (HOA) in what its owners actually own. Condo owners hold title to their individual units (typically apartments) and share ownership of common spaces in the building; in HOAs, property owners hold title to the land itself and any buildings (usually single-family homes) or other improvements, while the HOA and its common areas may be owned collectively by the property owners or by the developer.

A self-managed condo association resembles a self-managed HOA in that owners volunteer or are elected to executive or oversee administrative and maintenance functions of the association.

Why is a self-managed condo association important?

As with its HOA counterpart, a self-managed condo association offers both advantages and disadvantages to its members/owners. On the negative side, self-management of a COA may overtax residents’ capabilities and available time for the tasks involved, and poor communication or missed assignments can strain relations between neighbors.

On the plus side, association fees can be significantly lower where residents volunteer to carry out the tasks necessary to the building’s and the association’s smooth functioning than where a paid property manager or management firm is involved. Furthermore, the interaction that is virtually pushed onto residents in a self-managed COA, if accepted with good will, can help develop friendlier relations among neighbors than would be likely in a professionally managed context. One key to smoothing the tasks (and thus the interactions) is well-suited software for the required tasks.

How can you use “self-managed condo association” in a sentence?

In a self-managed condo association, members execute or supervise tasks that employees do in a professionally managed COA.