Is an HOA Website Too Risky? Discover It

One of the readers of our website recently left a question which a number other users might want to know. He said, ‘We have a small Texas community of about 250 members. It is highly fragmented and the community spirit is lacking as I believe that there isn’t adequate communication among the members. I thought building a website for the community would be an excellent solution to this problem. But I was informed by someone that our associations strictly denied it and he mentioned that it create many problems. Was he right? And if yes, can we make use of username and password to tackle this problem?

Now let us have a look at what our experts say about this matter.

Rules have changed

HOA websites are increasing because, as mentioned in the query above, they help in improving the communication among members. They are increasing in Texas as well because, as per the new legislation, associations are now required to conduct open meetings. Thus, it is extremely easy for the association to inform the members about the open meetings by posting on the HOA website where every member can view them. On the other hand, if you do not have a website, you will have to send an email to every member and this can be a time-consuming process. Moreover, there is also a possibility that some of the members will not receive the mail.

There have been a number of changes in the legislation of Texas with regards to the HOA website. For instance, if the website is not protected by password then all of its governing documents, like collection policies and pool rules, should also be made available on the website.

There are risks associated with HOA Websites, but they are not impossible to manage!

HOA websites do have their advantages but, as mentioned in the above query by our reader, it is also important to understand the concerns of the lawyer. For instance, many HOA managers do not want to put their financial information on the website or need a more secure process to access the financial information on the website. The reason is when the financial information is posted on the website, all the members can view the receivable information about the accounts which only the owner of a unit is entitled to.

A HOA website is alights long as it is only used for the purpose of informing the members about upcoming events. However, when the website also allows public discussion, it turns into a war field where the members start discussing their grievances. So, if you do want your HOA website to have a public forum, make sure that you also post a disclaimer that states that the posts are not monitored 24-hours a day and every member is responsible for everything they post.

What is the Solution?

An ideal solution to the problem is to allow different members to have their own limited access on the website. The first level of information should be for everyone and should have general information, second level should be protected by username and password where other general information can be posted for the members and third level should only offer information specific to individual members.

By following this method, the members will have access to all the information that they need from the HOA website, without resulting in a lot of troubles.

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There have been a number of changes in the legislation of Texas with regards to the Homeowner Association Websites.You desire to be given more info Home Owners Association Websites.