Halk, oetinger, and brown, pllc

HOA Board Members Beware: How Can Arizona HOAs Deal with Problematic Homeowners

Even seasoned board members can be daunted by the most difficult part of their volunteerism, managing the owners. Many a meeting has fallen to chaos when the Board did not take management initiative. What started as an opportunity to share opinions and ideas became nothing more than an embittered imbroglio of discontent.

HOA Board Members Beware: How Can Arizona HOAs Deal with Problematic Homeowners

Even seasoned board members can be daunted by the most difficult part of their volunteerism, managing the owners. Many a meeting has fallen to chaos when the Board did not take management initiative. What started as an opportunity to share opinions and ideas became nothing more than an embittered imbroglio of discontent.

Even seasoned board members can be daunted by the most difficult part of their volunteerism, managing the owners. Many a meeting has fallen to chaos when the Board did not take management initiative. What started as an opportunity to share opinions and ideas became nothing more than an embittered imbroglio of discontent.

How is one to manage when there are those difficult people who make it their mission to complain at every turn? Who ruin any and every gathering by being persistently critical and oblivious no matter how many times you try to explain things patiently?

Not easily! We advise preemptive management that nips problems in the bud before they escalate. Here are a few management techniques we have tested and found true. We hope you find them true as well!

How Can an HOA in AZ Manage Difficult Owners:

  • Announce and rely on the same meeting procedures at every board session. Uniformity ensures that all members know what to expect and helps avoid confusion about how things will go.
  • Enforce all meeting procedures fairly and equally. It might feel easier to accommodate an aggressive member that insists the rules don’t apply to them, but stick by your guns!

  • Start each meeting with an owner forum and set a strict time limit. Any member wishing to speak may do so for up to a few minutes. Time each speaker and enforce the time limit. Don’t let arguments and debates derail your forum. Stay on schedule and then move on with your agenda. Stick by your guns!

  • Listen more, talk less (or not at all!). Ask the disgruntled member to explain their issue. Ask the member questions that demonstrate your critical listening skills. You will show that you’re genuinely interested in hearing what they have to say instead of just arguing against their thoughts. Most people simply want their concerns to be heard and to feel like the board is working towards a fair and informed solution.

  • Understand that HOA law and your community are complex, intricate, and detailed. Mistakes will be made. They are unavoidable. When they are discovered, take them by the horns and meet with whatever professional is needed to address and fix the mistake.

  • Adopt positive, assertive body language and attitude. Don’t be afraid to tell a joke if it will lighten the mood, but don’t expect witty banter to get you out of serious, and necessary, debates. Remember that confrontational arguments are expected be held without insults, threats, or aggression.

  • When calm courtesy and professionalism are of no impact, take bold action. Table that motion, postpone the vote, or adjourn the meeting. Reconvene when you are better able to manage the situation.

How Can an HOA in AZ Deal with More Serious Issues

Not all problems can be handled through deft management and administrative calendaring. Sometimes extraordinary action is necessary. Do you know your nearest police station? Fire department? Hospital? Do you have an accessible community manager or general counsel? Take time to locate nearby emergency resources and prepare general emergency plans and keep your community manager and general counsel in the loop. They have likely seen the problem you have, and may have an easy and ready solution for you.

Get the Assistance of an Arizona HOA Law Firm

If a confrontational member is consistently disrupting board meetings or general operations, then it is best to work with an experienced Arizona HOA law firm on your options.  Individual members that have unpaid association dues or continue to violate community rules are more straightforward to handle.  Those members that pay their dues and do not clearly violate CC&Rs present more difficult challenges for a board that simply wants to keep the association operating smoothly.  The Brown Law Group is exclusively an Arizona HOA law firm.  Our experienced attorneys only work with Arizona HOAs and condo associations.  We have worked with many HOAs to make sure that a few disgruntled members do not disrupt the community operations.  Contact us today at 602-952-6925 to make an appointment or schedule a meeting on our contact us page.

The Brown Law Group shares this article for informational purposes only and it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Halk, Oetinger, and Brown

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Halk, Oetinger, and Brown represents hundreds of planned communities and condominiums throughout Arizona. We are different. We endeavor to turn legal services into a fixed cost. We are hostile to the billable hour system. Our attorneys and staff do over 90% of their work at flat rates. Our industry-leading collection program is at no cost to the Association. We focus on solving problems, not billing hours.

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At Halk, Oetinger, and Brown, we pride ourselves on our team of experienced attorneys who are dedicated to providing exceptional legal services. With our alternative billing system, you can have peace of mind knowing that you won't be charged by the hour. We have a successful track record of handling Covenant Enforcement, Assessment Collection, General Association Governance, and Litigation for Arizona Homeowner's Associations.

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 Philip Brown
Philip Brown
Founding Member

PB teaches classes on Enforcing the Covenants, Budgets, Effective Meetings, Reserves and Collecting Assessments

Kelly Oetinger
Kelly Oetinger
Member

Kelly practices in all areas of community association law with a focus on general counsel issues and covenant enforcement

John Halk
John Halk
Member

John Halk manages litigation cases for the firm in both the Phoenix and Tucson Offices. John is licensed to practice law in Arizona and has worked in real estate and collections since 2015.

Andrea Miska
Andrea Miska
Associate Attorney

Andrea Miska joined Halk, Oetinger and Brown in 2024 and her practice focuses on civil litigation matters.

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Our firm offers a contingent fee retainer where we collect assessments for no charge to your Association. We believe delinquent homeowners should pay for the attorney fees and court costs for their failure to pay contractually obligated assessments, not your association. When a homeowner fails to respond to your management company or association’s letters and certified mail noticing them about your intent to send them to collections, we’re ready to take legal action.

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"As an absentee owner my interaction with this law firm has been extremely professional. From their responsiveness and extensive explanation of an issue created by my tenant. They were very generous with their settlement proposal which I happily accepted."

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