Build a Better HOA in Ohio

Ohio, a state of 11.8 million residents, 7th largest in the USA, is home to a large base of homeowners associations.

Currently, more than 6800 community associations operate serving 1.6 million people in 672,000 households. That means Ohio has a greater percentage of people living within its community associations than Illinois, Texas , Florida , and similar levels to South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Virginia.

This means Ohio has immense potential for newly formed HOAs and community associations.

Given local city governments may not be well financed to provide the quality of community that homeowners within communities expect, professional level HOA management is important for the state.

Above graphic courtesy of CAIonline.

It's also an inviting state for homebuyers who want a reasonably priced home that doesn't pose excessive fees and tax burdens. Some are relocating in Ohio for its zero rate corporate business tax. The population growth rate was .22% in 2023. Growth of 36,000+ newcomers last year shows people recognize Ohio's potential as an affordable place to live and do business. More HOAs will be formed here in the next few years.

Enjoy our series of articles offering more insights on effective HOA management here on the ManageCasa blog. After you've created your association business, you'll move onto important matters of HOA software selection, setting up your accounting and financial accounts, managing reserve funds, building community portals and building a great community experiences. And there's even more to do.

Starting an HOA in Ohio

Whether you're a housing development manager or community member considering launching an HOA or improving an existing one, there are plenty of legal, business, and tax challenges to contend with. 

The general process of creating a homeowners association is similar to that of an Illinois HOA, North Carolina HOA or Florida HOA.  You must be educated on the legal requirements of creating a community association. You can learn more about preparations for launching an association on the Illinois HOA post.

In general, before you get to the formal plan and legal process, take some time to research and understand your resident profile, the people your HOA will serve, with their wants and priorities. 

Planning and Strategizing a Viable Association

You'll be designing the HOA's structure to generate the safety, lifestyle satisfaction and property protections your residents need. Each community member will have their own set of priorities as an HOA resident, with their focus on low fees, good community maintenance, noise and pet control, crime prevention and safety, amenities and their own property value. 

Your goal however, is to build an association that brings consensus to achieve the best overall results possible for all stakeholders.  

There are so many tasks and responsibilities, that a clear management structure is needed and the tools to manage efficiently must be acquired. Your HOA will be digitally operated with services automation and using professional level accounting tools within it.  Efficiency is the byword, since your staff and volunteers have only so much time to get work done.

The view to streamline efficiency via an all in one work platform means everything. And there's more. Your HOA platform will keep you legally safe as well.

Who Governs Ohio HOAs?

Your HOA is a legal entity and meeting legal requirements in Ohio is foremost.  The State of Ohio Government holds legal precedence and their rules are defined on the azleg.gov website.

The board members of your Ohio HOA needs to be up to date on Ohio HOA and Federal laws, to avoid incurring large fines, liability claims and lawsuits.

Ohio HOAs are controlled by the Ohio State government via the Ohio Planned Community Act which outlines the rules and regulations applicable to HOAs, the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Nonprofit Corporation Law. You can view the Ohio Title 53 Real Property code here: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5312.03 

Launching your Ohio HOA

You'll need to draft and file the Articles of Incorporation which are the foundational documents identifying your organization legally. Once formed, you must develop your set of association bylaws and governing documents, including a Declaration, sometimes referred to as Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs).

You can follow the process provided in the Illinois HOA page, and get organized before speaking with an Ohio HOA lawyer for their guidance on making your organization legally air tight. Assume there will be legal challenges and conflicts and they will be resolved in Ohio courts referencing the documents you're about to create.

How to Improve Your HOA?

After managing the legal business requirements of your non-profit association, you must move forward to plan how you'll run it efficiently. As mentioned, streamline efficiency is vital given you'll face increased demands with insufficient staff, funds and volunteers. 

Money management is critically important too -- from wages to repairs to collecting dues, assessments and fines to stay cash flow positive.

Driven by your HOA management strategy and boosted by ManageCasa's automation and streamlining processes, your workflows can be made as efficient as possible. And your soon to be overworked staff will love the quick learning curve and intuitive dashboard of comprehensive services.

Additional HOA Management Tips:

• prepare your communications plan and strategy: Resident's perspective, demands and responses will be highly colored by how you speak to them and the words, topics and advice provided.
• set realistic rules:  because it's easier to increase restrictions for behaviors that actually do arise.
  reinforce your policies as needed:  Too much unnecessary restriction will create resentment and friction, making it more difficult to meet your associations objectives.
• ensure you can be reached quickly:  listen proactively and professionally to resolve conflicts before emotions escalate.
• spend time vetting vendors/contractors: ensure they actually will provide quality maintenance/repairs and save your ongoing costs.
• hire the right staff:  those who have the self-management skills you need, along with communications and people management skills to help get things accomplished through people.
• use a professional level software platform:  to automate payments, invoicing, accounting, user information requests, mobile friendly communications tool, and schedule work orders.

The Trend to Living in HOAs in America

The growth of HOAs in Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arizona is a cultural and migration trend. It's also due to the need for good financial management and protecting the most important investment in American's lives.

The fact is, homeowners associations create significant value in keeping communities safe, well serviced, cost effectively and maintained, and viable.  Public government management due to lower tax revenues and debt management problems may fall in quality in the coming years, thus putting more pressure on HOAs to fill the gaps.

We hope we can be part of your well-designed and functioning HOA correctly with the right people and practices to produce a viable community worth living in.

Ready to explore a completely all in one HOA software platform?  Reach our HOA specialists at 416 800 1245 now.