The HOA-OS Blog
Practical advice, product updates, and community management insights for HOA boards.
Fair Housing Mistakes HOAs Don't Know They're Making
The Fair Housing Act applies to your HOA. Here are the four places well-meaning boards run into trouble: assistance animals, accommodations, families, and wording.
Best HOA software for self-managed boards (2026)
Seven HOA software options compared for self-managed boards, with every price carrying the date we checked it, a paragraph in our own section naming where each alternative beats us, and one section on buying no software at all.
D&O Insurance: The Coverage That Protects Your Board
What directors and officers coverage pays for, the exclusions that catch volunteer boards, and why the association's property policy does not help you.
Can HOA Board Members Be Sued? Liability in Plain English
What personal liability really means for a volunteer HOA board member, which decisions are protected, and the four habits that draw lawsuits.
The HOA Resident Engagement Playbook
Six moving parts that decide whether residents participate, assembled into one working order for a self-managed board.
How to Communicate an Unpopular HOA Decision
Sequencing, framing and the arithmetic residents will do anyway, for dues increases, new rules and assessments.
Should Your HOA Run a Facebook Group?
The case for and against a board-run community group, the moderation load nobody budgets for, and the line between social chatter and official business.
The New-Resident Welcome Packet That Prevents Problems
A copy-ready outline for the packet every new owner and tenant should get, and why the first 30 days decide your enforcement workload.
How to Run an HOA Survey Residents Actually Answer
Question design, timing, and the closing step most boards skip, from a survey that gets a real response rate.
HOA Communication Apps: What They Solve and What They Don't
An honest read on resident apps: the three problems they fix, the two they create, and the test to apply before adding one.
HOA Communication Tools: What Your Board Actually Needs
The four jobs your board's communication has to cover, and how to tell which tool belongs to each one.
What Happens When a Special Assessment Goes Wrong
Six ways a special assessment goes off the rails, and the specific step earlier in the process that prevents each one.
The Real Cost of Running an Assessment on a Spreadsheet
What manual special assessment tracking actually costs a volunteer board, counted in hours, errors, and the questions nobody can answer two years later.
Loss Assessment Coverage: The Limit Owners Never Check
Loss assessment coverage can absorb part of a special assessment, but the limit is often a token amount. What it covers, what it never covers, and why boards should mention it early.
Special Assessment Vote Requirements: What to Check First
Who votes on a special assessment, what threshold approves it, and the procedural mistakes that let an owner unwind an otherwise reasonable decision.
HOA Special Assessment Payment Plans: What Actually Works
Lump sum or installments, how to handle hardship requests, and the payment plan obligation some states impose that many boards miss.
Starting August 12, Colorado HOAs Are Owed $250 a Business Day for Late Records
Starting August 12, 2026, Colorado law will require a departing HOA management company to hand back every record, account, and dollar within 45 days, or pay $250 for each business day it's late. Here's what the law requires, and why every board needs the same protection whether or not their state has one.
The HOA Special Assessment Letter: How to Break the News
How to communicate a special assessment so owners understand the decision instead of fighting it, including what belongs in the letter itself.
The HOA Special Assessment Process: A 12-Step Checklist
A step-by-step checklist for running an HOA special assessment, from the first bid through the last payment, so the process holds up to scrutiny.
The HOA Budget Season Playbook: A Board's Timeline
A month-by-month timeline for HOA budget season, from gathering renewals in July to sending owners the adopted budget and new dues figure in December.