Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Association is a legal corporation organized and incorporated under the laws of your state. The Association has Articles of Incorporation that entitle the association to exercise powers of a corporation. By purchasing a home within your community association, you automatically become a member of the association and will remain so for as long as you own your home. Membership in the association is mandatory and automatic for all owners. The deed to each lot and/or parcel specifically designates that the property owner will comply with the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R’s) of the association. You should have received a copy of these documents at the time your home purchase was closed by the title company. As a property owner in a community association, you will be required to pay assessments, abide by the community’s rules and restrictions and maintain those areas of your home for which you are responsible.

Yes. You can't own in a neighborhood with an HOA without belonging to the organization. One reason developments have Associations is to keep the homes in the community looking nice. If some households don't obey the rules, it would make the HOA ineffective. That is the reason that you have to become a member as a prerequisite to buying a home in a community with a Homeowners' Association.

The rights/powers reserved to owners are described in the governing documents and are generally limited to electing/removing a board of directors, to call special meetings of the membership, to vote amend the CC&Rs and bylaws and to vote approve regular assessments over 20% and special assessments over 5%.

No Veto Power: Because of the division of authority between the membership and the board, members do not have a direct veto over the board's actions (except for rule changes). Rather, the power to veto is indirect. If members are unhappy with board actions (or inaction), the membership can remove the board (with adequate owner approval) or wait until the annual meeting and elect a new board.

The Board of Directors is responsible for maintaining the assets of the community, ensuring the financial health of the association, determining the level of services, and establishing policies and/or rules and regulations governing the use of the common areas. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the association and to provide leadership in community affairs as dictated by the Governing Documents. This includes timely collection of assessments as well as payments made for services provided to the Association. In general, the Board Members are the decision makers for the Association. The Board of Directors is made up of individual homeowners who own property within the Association and who are elected to that position by the members of the Association. All affairs of a Homeowners Association are governed by the Board of Directors.

By law, corporations must have boards of directors. The powers delegated to boards generally include, but are not limited to the following: manage the association; adopt and enforce rules and regulations; enforce the CC&Rs and Bylaws; contract for services; levy and collect regular assessments; levy and collect special assessments up to 5% without membership approval; levy and collect emergency special assessments; pay expenses incurred by the association; prepare and adopt budgets; repair and maintain the common areas; insure the association; disburse reserve monies; invest funds; call membership meetings and appoint inspectors of election; appoint and remove officers; appoint directors to fill vacancies; establish and dissolve committees and initiate and defend litigation.

Generally, any member of an Association who is in good standing (no delinquent dues, no outstanding violations) may run for the Board of Directors.  Most Associations send out candidate solicitations four-six months prior to the annual election.  Simply fill out the form and return it to the management office.

You may contact your Community Manager by email  at [email protected]  or by telephone at 619-270-7360.  All complaints must be in writing.  You may also request that your concerns/issues be forwarded directly to your Board of Directors.  Alternatively, you may attend the regular Board meetings for your Association.

Your Board of Directors makes decisions for your Association. However, they volunteer for these positions and receive no compensation for the jobs that they perform. Your Management Company represents the Board and your Association, which entails being a contact for all communications addressed to the Board.

You community is a deed restricted community that has a set of Master Declarations of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions.  When you bought a home in that community you became obligated to abide by the restrictions outlined in the CC&R's.  Architectural control restrictions are designed to maintain the aesthetic harmony of the community, and to protect property values.  When a community was first constructed, it likely conveyed a certain look and feel to provide design consistency.  Over time, residents will want make modifications to their homes - whether necessary or not - such as replacing windows or garage doors or other changes.  Without an architectural standard and approval, these gradual changes can easily affect the appearance of the community.

Payment should be sent to the lockbox:

Name of HOA

C/O 360 Community Management

P.O. Box 45472

San Francisco, California 94145-0472

Also, please remember to put your account number on your check before mailing.

Please do not include any other correspondence when sending payments to the lockbox address.  Regular correspondence should be addressed to:

Name of HOA

C/O 360 Community Management

10769 Woodside Avenue, Suite 210

Santee, CA 92071

Generally, no. Unless the problem is one causing a common area problem or a direct violation, homeowner disputes should be settled between the parties involved. Your Board is not in place to serve as referee between neighbors. In any community, whether governed by an Association or not, homeowners run into personality clashes, pet problems, and other neighborhood issues. Often, the problem can be easily resolved to the satisfaction of both parties with no hard feelings and with the use of open communication between the parties.

Your Community Manager performs many tasks for your Association, as well as other Associations, and sometimes these tasks require them to be away from the office. These duties may include, but are not limited to: property inspections, meeting with vendors and Board Members and visiting with homeowners. There are also times when a Community Manager is in the office but is unavailable because they are on the phone conducting business with other homeowners, vendors, or Board Members.

We pride ourselves on having a well trained staff that, in many cases, may be able to assist you in the event that your Community Manager is unavailable.   If you are able to leave your request or question with the person that assists you on the phone, they can often get back to you before a manager is available!