June 2, 2025 • 34 mins
What can years of experience on an HOA board teach you? Learn the long-term lessons behind great governance and thriving communities.
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This week on the show we have HOA Board Hero guest Jan Newcomb, a dedicated homeowner who’s served her HOA board for a number of years. From budget battles to community culture, she shares what it really takes to build long-term success.
Chapters From Today's Episode:
01:01 Who is Jan Newcomb and why is she a board hero?
03:20 How did Jan get started serving on her HOA board?
05:18 What has Jan learned from serving on and off for 39 years?
07:06 How do homeowner dynamics affect long-term board service?
09:11 What are the top challenges board members consistently face?
11:29 How can board members educate themselves on key topics?
13:40 Why is maintenance planning critical for community trust?
16:02 How do rental properties change HOA board priorities?
18:55 What’s the balance between emotional input and logical decisions?
20:40 Ad Break - Association Reserves
21:10 How do good boards prevent financial struggles and assessments?
23:27 What role does a sense of duty play in long-term service?
25:48 How can boards improve communication with their homeowners?
28:02 What motivates someone to return to the board again and again?
30:20 What advice does Jan have for future board heroes?
The views & opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts & Guests, intended to provide general education about the community association industry. The content is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or organization. Please seek advice from licensed professionals.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jan Newcomb (00:00):
I think there's got to be a way to get homeowners
(00:05):
more involved in the governanceof their association. But what
most people don't understandthis is an experiment in self
governance. If you don't getinvolved. I mean, somebody has
to be there to make thesedecisions. If you don't get
involved, you don't even knowit's kind of like the rest of
our government. If you don'tknow what these people are doing
(00:26):
that you've elected. Shame onyou.
Announcer (00:29):
A regular highlight of the HOA Insights Podcast is
our board heroes feature, wherewe dedicate one episode each
month to celebrate theremarkable efforts of HOA board
members. To us a board hero isone of the 2 million elected
volunteers who deserverecognition for excelling in a
role that often goes unnoticed.
Today, we're excited tospotlight one of these
exceptional board heroes andshare their inspiring story. If
(00:51):
you match our definition of aboard hero or know someone who
does, please reach out to us.
Our contact details and those ofour sponsors are provided in the
show notes, welcome
Robert Nordlund (01:01):
Back to HOA Insights, Common Sense for
Common Areas. I'm RobertNordlund, and I'm here today for
episode number 108 with specialguest Jan Newcomb, another one
of the board heroes, we're proudto celebrate. I first met Jan
many years ago when we servedtogether in some Cai national
leadership positions. I was onthe business partners Council,
and Jan was on the homeownerLeaders Council. We're both from
(01:24):
Southern California, so weestablished a natural
connection. Jan has since goneon to become, or she served a
term on the National Board ofTrustees, so she went further
along than I did, and we're justanyway, Jan's just the right
person to have on the show. Janhas a long history of living in
her Association has been on andoff her board three times. She's
(01:48):
currently now back on her board.
So for some people, you realizeit's just part of who you are. I
hope you enjoyed last week'sepisode number 107, with regular
co host and insurance expert,Kevin Davis, discussing the high
cost of insurance and what boardmembers can do about that to
minimize costs at theirassociation. Now, if you missed
that important episode or anyother prior episode, you can
(02:11):
find them on our podcastwebsite, Hoa insights.org, on
your favorite podcast platform,or on our YouTube channel, but
better yet, subscribe to thepodcast in order to get every
episode delivered right to yourphone or mobile device. And
those of you watching on YouTubecan see the HOA insights mug
that I have here features arundown Association and some
(02:34):
board members talking to eachother. You can get something
like that from our merch store,which you can browse through
from our Hoa insights.orgwebsite or the show notes, and
you'll find we have plenty offree items, like board member
zoom backgrounds and somespecialty items, like this mug
that I have here for sale, butyou can get one for free. Just
(02:57):
go to our merch store, pick outthe mug you'd like and email me
at podcast, at reserve study.commentioning episode number 108,
108, mug giveaway, and if you'rethe 10th person, we'll ship that
mug to you free of charge. Weenjoy hearing from you, and most
episodes are in response to atopic you've recommended. So do
(03:19):
stay in contact letting us knowwhat questions you have, topics
that you'd like to hear about.
So leave us a voicemail at805-203-3130, leave a comment on
the YouTube video or send us anemail at again
podcast@reservestudy.com butback to today's episode. Jan
(03:43):
Newcomb has her JD degree so sheunderstands rights and
responsibilities and liabilityexposure. She was a certified
mediator and ombudsman forMcDonald Douglas. She's a small
business owner, and for thepurpose of today, she's a 39
year homeowner at her town homein Southern California, Jan's a
(04:04):
person who cares. She sees thefuture and she wants to create a
better future for anyone in hersphere of influence. She's often
interviewed for CommunityAssociation publications, and
that ranges from her local Caichapter to the national Common
Ground magazine. So Jan, welcometo the program. Thank you. Well,
(04:25):
tell me what got you started inthis What drew you to Community
Association, home ownership andliving. Well, it
Jan Newcomb (04:32):
started, actually started even longer than 39
years ago. I was actuallypresident of a previous
Association in tusted. But how Igot on the current board is
there was, I believe it was atreasure that was on the board
many, many years ago who passedaway, and because I was one of
(04:53):
the few people attending boardmeetings, they thought, hmm, you
know, maybe you could take over.
So I got a point that. Was thatwas the beginning of a very long
journey. Yes,
Robert Nordlund (05:04):
I think most board members have a story
that's one of two types. Onetype is, there was an emergency
and I needed to help. Or, numbertwo, it was kind of an accident.
Right place at the right time,right place at the wrong time.
We had one person on the programwho bought the home of the
former president. And he said,So, I assume you can be
(05:27):
president now. And he said, Iguess so. Why not, yeah. Why
not, yeah, yeah. If you can doit, I can do it. What was your
initial impression about beingon the board, since you had seen
the board acting the board,doing it. You were one of the
few people who were interestedenough to attend.
Jan Newcomb (05:46):
Well, I would say, even though had been attending
board meetings, I really didn'tknow what I was getting into,
because when I was a boardmember previously, I think my
recollection is there have beenso many more laws now that are
impacting us in California interms of how we have to operate
(06:08):
as an HOA, it's a lot morecomplicated now than it was
then. What role were
Robert Nordlund (06:13):
you filling there? What were you trying to
accomplish? How did you feel?
Did you fit well on the board?
Jan Newcomb (06:20):
Well, the man that passed away was the treasurer,
and that is the last job Ishould have. So, no, I think I
just became, like a board memberat large or something. I don't
remember now,
Robert Nordlund (06:31):
okay, so it wasn't your particular skill
set. No, not at all. Got it.
Tell me more about being a boardmember at your association. How
long are the terms.
Jan Newcomb (06:41):
They're two years, and then you have to run for
election again, and you havethree people being elected in
one year, and then the next yearit's two. So they don't elect
new board all at the same time,so it's not
Robert Nordlund (06:55):
an entire change of administration, right,
right? I would think that thathelps with continuity. At the
association, we
Jan Newcomb (07:01):
have a lot of continuity because it's hard to
find people to run for theboard. So let's talk about that.
There's no term limits. There'sno term limits. Okay, so
Robert Nordlund (07:11):
when someone runs for the board, half of
their job in the back of theirmind is looking for someone to
replace them. And if you can'tfind someone to replace them.
That means that you end upserving two or three terms,
something like that. That'spretty much what happens. Yeah.
Okay, so what got you off theboard the first time, the
Jan Newcomb (07:31):
very first time I was on the board, I was still
working full time, and I justfound, you know, I was a single
parent. I was working full time,and it just got to be too much
to deal with. So I think thatwas probably the biggest reason.
Robert Nordlund (07:49):
Did things change at the association in a
noticeable manner, when youstepped off the board? Did the
whole place fall apart? Is whatI'm trying to find out.
Jan Newcomb (07:59):
It might have, in a way, but I don't think we
realized that at the time. Whatwe're facing now is the fact
that a lot of previous boardsdidn't raise the dues when they
should have, so they werepopular with the homeowners, but
we're now faced with, you know,having to catch up, and we ended
up having to get a roof loan toreplace our roof. So that's been
(08:23):
a significant financial strugglethere.
Robert Nordlund (08:26):
I am just in such a lucky position, because I
get to speak to subject matterexperts, board member experts
all up regularly on a weeklybasis. And there was one
conversation I had wherespeaking to someone who likened
it to a automobile race, like aNASCAR race, where inflation is
(08:47):
going round and round and roundand round and round. And if you
pull into the pits and don'traise your assessments one year,
you're losing ground. And that'sa problem that we see so many
associations falling into thatthey are looking more at trying
to minimize their spendingrather than taking good care of
(09:08):
the place. So let me ask that,have your property values
suffered, or are they doingokay?
Jan Newcomb (09:15):
Well, they're crazy. I mean, they're compared
to what I paid for the place.
It's worth a whole lot moremoney now.
Robert Nordlund (09:21):
Is your association a strong presence in
the local marketplace? Is it A,would you say a desirable place
to live? Oh,
Jan Newcomb (09:30):
definitely, definitely. It was built in the
early 70s, when there was a lotof construction going on in
Orange County. So we're 50 yearsold now, and what I'm noticing
is the places that are beingbuilt now. You know, they may be
beautiful homes, but they don'thave a lot of land around them.
They don't have We have acres ofbeautiful lawns, beautiful
(09:54):
trees, and they just don't buildplaces like that anymore. I
think we're very fortunate. It,but it's also expensive to
maintain. There
Robert Nordlund (10:04):
you go. And we get back to assessments, and I
want to touch on that, becauseso many think that this is a
better association or a worseAssociation just because of how
much the assessments are. And ifyou have a lot of grounds that
can be absolutely wonderful foryour eyes, to be able to see, to
be able to see the landscaping,to see some elbow room, and
(10:27):
that's gonna landscaping takesmoney, and hasn't that been one
of your projects there? It's oneof
Jan Newcomb (10:34):
the biggest expenses. And I remember driving
into the association when I waslooking to buy a home. I mean,
when I saw it, it was just like,This feels like where I would
like to be. It was beautiful,and it still is. Yeah, it drew
Robert Nordlund (10:48):
you in. So if you were to compare a home in
your association compared to ahome across the street down the
road, your assessments would behigher, just because you've got
a lot more landscaping to takecare of. But then again,
Jan Newcomb (11:04):
there's more involved than that, though,
because what I think people, Ithink what people do is they
compare the numbers. Thisassociation has only $250 a
month, and this association has600 Well, what they don't know
is how much those assessmentscover, like we actually pay for,
(11:26):
even though we're a planneddevelopment, we pay for all the
insurance on the homes, thestructures we maintain, the
painting and the asphalt and Thetrees and the lawns. Another
association may have lowerassessments, but it may not
cover nearly as much amenities,or, you know, insurance, or
(11:50):
things like that that arecertainly very expensive now,
Robert Nordlund (11:54):
right? Or utilities in the association
where I lived and what got mestarted in this industry, the
water bill and the power billwere rolled up into my monthly
assessments. Oh, that makes ahuge difference. That makes it,
yeah, exactly. You could saythat a neighboring associations
assessments were lower, but thatperson had to write two more
(12:15):
checks to the water bill and thepower utility.
Jan Newcomb (12:19):
So people just compare numbers. And I don't
think they have an idea ofreally, it's not a apples to
apples comparison.
Robert Nordlund (12:26):
Well, let's go from that. Let's talk about what
you on the board tried to createthere. Did you have priorities?
You when you first rolled intothat association, said, Yeah, I
could live here. Can I affordit? And you started to go down
that path of buying a home thereis that? What you've what in
your mind, have you been tryingto uphold in your time on the
(12:48):
board at your association?
Jan Newcomb (12:50):
Well, we're trying to preserve the look of the
community, obviously, and we'realso trying to get our reserves
back up, you know, higherbecause they, they didn't save
enough over the years. You know,we're fairly well funded, but we
definitely need to continue toput money away because we're a
(13:12):
50 year old community now. Andso there's more things that need
to be fixed. Well,
Robert Nordlund (13:17):
there's more consequences, because you can be
in a brand new association, andnot put any money aside to
reserves. And you go outside andit looks great, but if you're
not keeping up with a 30 or 40or 50 unit Association, you're
going to see the consequencespretty quick, because the age is
there and it does need ongoingmaintenance. So that's right,
(13:39):
that's an important thing. Okay,you talk about the look of the
association. What about thethings you can't see? The
chemistry, the peacefulness, thecommunity aspect. How have you
been able to work to make it anice place where, when you see a
neighbor, you smile
Jan Newcomb (13:56):
if you see the neighbor, yeah,
Robert Nordlund (13:58):
okay, good, you're good. Nowadays, we're in
our homes more they
Jan Newcomb (14:02):
could be on a computer somewhere right, right,
or
Robert Nordlund (14:06):
watching something on the internet, and
you're not going to and fromwork as much as we used to be.
Let's talk about one thing inparticular. You have more
grounds. Does that mean that youhave people out walking? Do you
have more people with dogs outwalking dogs? Is that a good
thing for community? Lots
Jan Newcomb (14:26):
of dogs, lots of kids. We had an interesting
turnover of the first time therewas turnover in the community. I
assumed that we would have newfamilies with young children.
Well, what happened the firsttime we turned over, we got a
lot of older people that weredownsizing from big homes,
(14:47):
interesting. And so it startedlooking like a 55 and plus
community now, then the nextturnover. Now, we've got a lot
of young families, youngchildren. We definitely have a
lot more rent. Hers, because thepeople that have lived there for
a long time, or have owned thehomes for a long time, and I'm a
(15:07):
good example, we don't want tosell because we'd have to pay
capital gains taxes. So peoplewho have moved have just turned
their properties into rentals.
Robert Nordlund (15:19):
Okay? So what you've been able to see is that
the character of the associationhas changed a little bit from,
yes, just the composition, thedynamic of who is living there.
You talked about the turnover,so that went from original
owners to maybe the next wave ofpeople buying in. Talk to me
more about that. Has theassociation become more diverse.
(15:42):
Has the has it scrambled enough?
Or does it tend to go kind of inwaves? In your observation,
Jan Newcomb (15:49):
like I say, the first wave was older people
downsizing, second wave wasyoung families coming back in.
But we do have a lot of rentals,which I believe has changed the
association, because the ownersmay be living in another state,
(16:09):
and they're not engaged with theassociation like they used to be
Robert Nordlund (16:14):
okay. Do you does that create more of a
delinquency problem, or thoseowners who are vested in the
association, and they're they'regood to go. No,
Jan Newcomb (16:23):
I don't know. It really hasn't caused that kind
of a problem. I think theproblem it has caused is that a
lot of the people that areowners who live out of state
now, they're not involved withthe association like they might
have been before. You know, interms of volunteering on a
committee or being on the boardor things like that.
Robert Nordlund (16:41):
Well, let me get back to that. To one of the
first things you were talkingabout was getting replacements
for people on the board andboard member candidates. And if
you have, as you see, the numberof renters go up and those
absentee owners moving out. Poolof board member candidates gets
smaller and smaller at the sametime. Like you were saying, the
(17:05):
the laws are, there's more lawsto comply with. In California,
there's the Davis Sterling act.
I think I remember the firstversion of the Davis Sterling
Act was seven pages, and nowit's 3040,
Jan Newcomb (17:19):
50. It's a huge book. It's
Robert Nordlund (17:21):
a book. Yeah, there's some attorneys that have
books on it. And then thecomplexities of an older
Association. How do you, how doyou recruit board members? Tell
me about that process at yourassociation? Well,
Jan Newcomb (17:36):
we, we try, but we don't have a lot of luck. I
mean, we've got a board that'sbeen pretty consistent now for
several years. Okay,
Robert Nordlund (17:43):
do you try to establish a pipeline of people
who can help on a particularcommittee or with a project, and
try to make serving on the boardinviting and reasonable?
Jan Newcomb (17:57):
Well, we do have a lot of committees, and that is
that is a good way. And theother thing we do, which is
permissible, is we do havepeople who are renters, that are
not owners, that are oncommittees. Now, they can't
serve on the board, but they canvolunteer on committees as long
as the board approves them, sothat they're covered by our
(18:20):
insurance,
Robert Nordlund (18:21):
right? I like that, because then they, as a
renter, have a vested interestin exactly their their
environment. I
Jan Newcomb (18:29):
mean, they are, even though they're not
homeowners, they are part of thecommunity because they are there
physically. What
Robert Nordlund (18:35):
keeps drawing you back to the board? Well,
multiple, multiple cyclesyourself.
Jan Newcomb (18:42):
Yes, well, I think the big thing for me, and it's
true, not only for myself, butfor the people I serve, it's our
biggest investment, and I wantto keep it looking great, so
that we protect our investment,but we also continue to be able
to enjoy a beautiful community.
Robert Nordlund (18:59):
I got onto my board when the President
resigned, I was the only person,or I think there was two of us
in attendance at the boardmeeting, and President said, How
about you be president? I said,Sure, I can do that. And then
once I started working on it,that was my biggest belief, is
(19:21):
that every hour I spent workingon the association was going to
come back to me in propertyvalues, and that my association,
it was 71 times that. So I knewthat my property values, I was
protecting them, and I wascarrying 70 other people along
with me. And when you look at itas a board member, you have such
incredible leverage to do somuch good for so many other
(19:45):
people when you're making surethe community is staying neck
and neck with where it needs tobe in your local real estate
environment, I
Jan Newcomb (19:54):
invite you to drive in someday and see how beautiful
it is. It's.
Robert Nordlund (20:00):
For everyone listening, I live probably two
hours away in bad traffic. It'sthree hours and I will,
literally, Jan, be driving byyour area in about two weeks. I
may take you up on that. Oh,that would be great. That would
sound like a nice place todrive. I'll give you a tour. Oh,
(20:21):
okay, that could be fun. Let'stake a quick break. Jen, I want
to come back and hear more aboutlegislation, the kind of
difficulties that that hascaused there at the association,
and talk a little bit more aboutyour priorities. But it's time
to hear now from one of ourgenerous sponsors, after which
we'll be back to hear more aboutwhat we can learn from Jen's
experience.
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(21:03):
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Robert Nordlund (21:14):
we're back.
Jen, before the break, we weretalking about the things you're
doing for the association andproperty values and things like
that. How do you as a boardprepare yourself to do well for
the association?
Jan Newcomb (21:27):
I think it helps definitely to make sure you get
board member education, because,like I mentioned before, there's
so many laws and restrictionsnow on what boards can and
cannot do, how they can dothings now
Robert Nordlund (21:41):
you're talking specifically in California.
Jan Newcomb (21:44):
Well, everywhere but California and Florida seem
to be the most places that havethe most laws that are
constraining. You know how ourassociations operate,
Robert Nordlund (21:54):
and you've seen all that because of your
exposure to kind of the nationalpicture from serving on Cai
national type things. Okay, soyou're a board member in a high
legislation state, so that makesit more complicated. Take me
down the path. Tell me moreabout education. What does that
mean? You have some legaltraining? Is that what you're
talking about, or is it
Jan Newcomb (22:16):
other types of training? Well, what I have
found is the legal part of it isobviously important, and because
of my education, you know, Itake that pretty seriously,
right? But it's important forboard members, but it's also
important to understand a lot ofwhat managers do, what business
(22:36):
partners do, and I especiallyappreciate the education that
the business partners put on anduse you as a good example. I
really appreciate all I'll buyyou well. I appreciate the
webinars, because you helppeople understand reserves, and
most people don't. So it's veryit's very helpful to, you know,
(23:01):
make sure you're not runningafoul of the law, but also to
find out more about how to dothe other things, like
maintenance or finances orwhatever it is, how to get tips
on how to really do that. Well,from people who are experts,
Robert Nordlund (23:18):
let's take you to other things you're active in
your local Cai chapter. Yes. Sodoes that mean going to the
monthly meetings and hearing theluncheon speaker and seeing the
vendors around the back of theroom, that kind of thing,
finding out who's offering
Jan Newcomb (23:35):
what? Yes, it's a great opportunity to meet
vendors and talk to them aboutyour needs, and you know whether
they might be a good company tosend us, to send bits about
projects that we might be doing.
But also, I'm on the EducationCommittee, and I'm also on the
publications committee, and I'vebeen doing that the publications
(23:55):
committee for a very long time,and I really I enjoy writing, so
that's that's a fun job.
Robert Nordlund (24:03):
Okay, so you're a board member at your
association, you and you're aton the Education Committee on
the public publications,publications you are just, is
this like beating in your heartto serve.
Jan Newcomb (24:22):
I think what happens with me is, if I'm going
to get involved, I get involved.
So I've kind of been everywherein Cai, you know, I've been on,
like I say, the chapter board.
I've been on the nationalhomeowner Council, the Board of
Trustees, and it really gave mea good understanding of not just
(24:42):
what I need to know inCalifornia, but what's going on
in the whole country andactually outside the country
now, because we have chapters inother countries, it gives you a
much broader understanding ofwhat is really going on with
community associationseverywhere. Yeah, and I think.
What we're going to see inOrange County is a lot of
(25:03):
associations like mine, who arecoming up on 50 years old. There
was a lot of building going onin the 70s. And you know, those
associations hopefully havesaved enough money in their
reserves to take care of whatthey need to take care of now.
Yeah,
Robert Nordlund (25:20):
we did, I think one or two episodes on D
conversion, where condominiumsunwind themselves, sell the land
to a developer, and they becomesomething else. That's because
they just have become there.
They had to become financiallynot viable anymore. And I'm
wringing my hands here becauseI'm hoping that we're doing as
(25:43):
much as we can to encourage andequip board members to serve
their associations well. And Ilove hearing your tips to get in
the stir. Go to your Cai events.
There's our company does freewebinars. There's other
companies in differentindustries that are doing
webinars. There's so much tolearn there. The benefits are so
(26:07):
incredibly leveraged foreveryone in your association,
because everyone's home valuesgo up with the hours you spend.
You talked about writing a lot.
What is your next article?
What's percolating under the lidthere?
Jan Newcomb (26:20):
I'm actually writing a book, but it doesn't
really have anything to do withassociations, okay, but for an
article about associations, Ithink there's got to be a way to
get homeowners more involved inthe governance of their
association. I think a lot ofpeople, and I was probably like
(26:42):
this when I first bought in,because I thought, Oh, this is
great. I pay my assessment. Idon't have to worry about
anything they take care of. Youknow, the pool and the spa and
the painting and thelandscaping, yeah, carefree
living and carefree living,right? But what most people
don't understand this is anexperiment in self governance,
if you don't get involved. Imean, somebody has to be there
(27:04):
to make these decisions. If youdon't get involved, you don't
even know it's kind of like therest of our government. If you
don't know what these people aredoing that you've elected. Shame
on you.
Robert Nordlund (27:15):
Yeah. Well, and you, you mentioned it earlier,
that associations do go incycles, they follow the board
member as far as what's the theculture and the chemistry of the
board. And so when you're on theboard, it may lean this
direction. When you're off theboard, it may lean another
direction, due to SouthernCalifornia wildfires, laws in
(27:36):
your state, whatever, there'sall these things push or the
demographics you talked aboutsome dogs and kids, times of
renters, times of olderdownsizers. The community is
changing. So it might have thesame roof, it might have the
same siding, but the communityis literally changing as from
(27:57):
day to day. This whole idea ofbeing on the board helps you
guide that ship of theassociation, that that nonprofit
corporation, safely andsuccessfully to the future. And
it's boy, I don't think we doenough to celebrate board
members for like you say, thisexperiment in how they they are
(28:18):
the glue that holds this entireindustry together,
Jan Newcomb (28:21):
well and and all the people that, the managers,
the business partners, all ofthem too, yeah,
Robert Nordlund (28:27):
well, at least they're getting paid. There's a
career for them. That's true.
Your association? Is itprofessionally managed? Yes,
okay, and I want to say fullmanagement or financial only.
Jan Newcomb (28:40):
It's in transition.
Let's put it that way, becauseit was more fully managed when I
first got on the board, I think.
And what we have found is, ifthere are some simple things we
can do ourselves, we can savequite a lot of money, so I
(29:01):
started a maintenance committee.
Okay? And we have the mostwonderful people on this
maintenance committee. We've gota retired engineer that knows
how to fix anything. We've got aguy who used to work for a major
corporation and handled vendorcontracts. You know, it was in
purchasing. I had a lot ofexperience with contracts at
McDonnell Douglas, right, andalso a lot of experience with
(29:25):
conflict resolution. But as faras maintenance, then, there's
another guy who's retired fromLowe's, so he knows a lot about
parts, and you know, he helps usunderstand whether something is
bid reasonably or not right interms of, you know what the
costs are. So that's veryhelpful anyway. What? What has
(29:46):
happened over time is we havestarted doing some some simpler
things just ourselves, and we'vesaved a lot of money that way.
Robert Nordlund (29:56):
Yeah, well, I think there's two levels to
that. One is a level. That, yes,you're spending less on a, let's
say, handyman, to do those typesof tasks. But when you're
staying on top of maintenance,you stay so far ahead of the big
deterioration that gets really,really expensive. So if you can
stay on top of that, let me turnthe corner and talk about board
(30:18):
member style. We here on theprogram have talked about the 4c
of effective board members thatthey need to care they need to
be curious. What can I do aboutthis? Why is this happening?
Have the courage to take actionand then to be able to
communicate effectively. Whenyou think back about what you've
(30:38):
seen, what you've done, whatyou've learned from your Cai
exposure. Does that cover it? Ordo you have some additional
characteristics that you wouldlike to see more of, or that you
see commonly in board members?
What characteristics do youthink of?
Jan Newcomb (30:55):
There's a bit of a dynamic that really goes two
different directions. One ofthem is the business of the
Association, and the other oneis the community culture, if you
will, of the association that'sgetting harder to manage because
(31:15):
we have more renters and morepeople that may not be as
committed long term to theassociation. So I think you
really need board members thatyou know can contribute from a
number of differentperspectives.
Robert Nordlund (31:30):
Okay, I like that, and that reminds me. I
liked what you said earlierabout getting the renters to
contribute by being oncommittees to being part of that
culture of our community. Thisis our home. What can I do, even
as Yeah, even as a renter,
Jan Newcomb (31:51):
I'm hoping that we can turn them into owners at
some point. That would bewonderful.
Robert Nordlund (31:56):
That would be great. Hopefully they can get to
a point where the owner findsout that this is a good renter.
Let's just let me transitionout, and they can become
homeowners. I like that. Well,Jan again, looking at the time,
I don't know if everyone enjoysthis as much as I do, but I've
known Jen for long enough toappreciate her years of service,
(32:20):
and it's great to be able tohave her on the program today
puts a smile on my face. Jan, sothank you for taking the time to
join us on today's program. Anyfinal thoughts to share on your
board member experiences
Jan Newcomb (32:31):
just that. I hope people will get more involved.
I'm trying to figure out how tomake that happen, because we
really need everybody to be partof this. We're all in it
together.
Robert Nordlund (32:42):
Jan knows and we want to publicly acknowledge
Jan for performing a thanklessjob well for those countless
hours she's invested at herassociation, for her local Cai
chapter, and for everyone elsethat she's touched, I want to
compliment the board ofdirectors for working with her
at her association, all of thosepeople for taking their job
(33:04):
seriously to act in the bestinterest of the association.
Well, we hope you gain some HOAinsights from Jan's story, and
it helps bring more common senseto your common area. And
remember, if you match ourdefinition of a board hero, or
know someone who does, pleasereach out to us. We love having
board heroes on our program. Ourcontact details are provided in
(33:24):
the show notes. Thank you forjoining us, and we look forward
to another great episode nextweek.
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(34:17):
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Light you
I think there's got to be a way to get homeowners
(00:05):
more involved in the governanceof their association. But what
most people don't understandthis is an experiment in self
governance. If you don't getinvolved. I mean, somebody has
to be there to make thesedecisions. If you don't get
involved, you don't even knowit's kind of like the rest of
our government. If you don'tknow what these people are doing
(00:26):
that you've elected. Shame onyou.
Announcer (00:29):
A regular highlight of the HOA Insights Podcast is
our board heroes feature, wherewe dedicate one episode each
month to celebrate theremarkable efforts of HOA board
members. To us a board hero isone of the 2 million elected
volunteers who deserverecognition for excelling in a
role that often goes unnoticed.
Today, we're excited tospotlight one of these
exceptional board heroes andshare their inspiring story. If
(00:51):
you match our definition of aboard hero or know someone who
does, please reach out to us.
Our contact details and those ofour sponsors are provided in the
show notes, welcome
Robert Nordlund (01:01):
Back to HOA Insights, Common Sense for
Common Areas. I'm RobertNordlund, and I'm here today for
episode number 108 with specialguest Jan Newcomb, another one
of the board heroes, we're proudto celebrate. I first met Jan
many years ago when we servedtogether in some Cai national
leadership positions. I was onthe business partners Council,
and Jan was on the homeownerLeaders Council. We're both from
(01:24):
Southern California, so weestablished a natural
connection. Jan has since goneon to become, or she served a
term on the National Board ofTrustees, so she went further
along than I did, and we're justanyway, Jan's just the right
person to have on the show. Janhas a long history of living in
her Association has been on andoff her board three times. She's
(01:48):
currently now back on her board.
So for some people, you realizeit's just part of who you are. I
hope you enjoyed last week'sepisode number 107, with regular
co host and insurance expert,Kevin Davis, discussing the high
cost of insurance and what boardmembers can do about that to
minimize costs at theirassociation. Now, if you missed
that important episode or anyother prior episode, you can
(02:11):
find them on our podcastwebsite, Hoa insights.org, on
your favorite podcast platform,or on our YouTube channel, but
better yet, subscribe to thepodcast in order to get every
episode delivered right to yourphone or mobile device. And
those of you watching on YouTubecan see the HOA insights mug
that I have here features arundown Association and some
(02:34):
board members talking to eachother. You can get something
like that from our merch store,which you can browse through
from our Hoa insights.orgwebsite or the show notes, and
you'll find we have plenty offree items, like board member
zoom backgrounds and somespecialty items, like this mug
that I have here for sale, butyou can get one for free. Just
(02:57):
go to our merch store, pick outthe mug you'd like and email me
at podcast, at reserve study.commentioning episode number 108,
108, mug giveaway, and if you'rethe 10th person, we'll ship that
mug to you free of charge. Weenjoy hearing from you, and most
episodes are in response to atopic you've recommended. So do
(03:19):
stay in contact letting us knowwhat questions you have, topics
that you'd like to hear about.
So leave us a voicemail at805-203-3130, leave a comment on
the YouTube video or send us anemail at again
podcast@reservestudy.com butback to today's episode. Jan
(03:43):
Newcomb has her JD degree so sheunderstands rights and
responsibilities and liabilityexposure. She was a certified
mediator and ombudsman forMcDonald Douglas. She's a small
business owner, and for thepurpose of today, she's a 39
year homeowner at her town homein Southern California, Jan's a
(04:04):
person who cares. She sees thefuture and she wants to create a
better future for anyone in hersphere of influence. She's often
interviewed for CommunityAssociation publications, and
that ranges from her local Caichapter to the national Common
Ground magazine. So Jan, welcometo the program. Thank you. Well,
(04:25):
tell me what got you started inthis What drew you to Community
Association, home ownership andliving. Well, it
Jan Newcomb (04:32):
started, actually started even longer than 39
years ago. I was actuallypresident of a previous
Association in tusted. But how Igot on the current board is
there was, I believe it was atreasure that was on the board
many, many years ago who passedaway, and because I was one of
(04:53):
the few people attending boardmeetings, they thought, hmm, you
know, maybe you could take over.
So I got a point that. Was thatwas the beginning of a very long
journey. Yes,
Robert Nordlund (05:04):
I think most board members have a story
that's one of two types. Onetype is, there was an emergency
and I needed to help. Or, numbertwo, it was kind of an accident.
Right place at the right time,right place at the wrong time.
We had one person on the programwho bought the home of the
former president. And he said,So, I assume you can be
(05:27):
president now. And he said, Iguess so. Why not, yeah. Why
not, yeah, yeah. If you can doit, I can do it. What was your
initial impression about beingon the board, since you had seen
the board acting the board,doing it. You were one of the
few people who were interestedenough to attend.
Jan Newcomb (05:46):
Well, I would say, even though had been attending
board meetings, I really didn'tknow what I was getting into,
because when I was a boardmember previously, I think my
recollection is there have beenso many more laws now that are
impacting us in California interms of how we have to operate
(06:08):
as an HOA, it's a lot morecomplicated now than it was
then. What role were
Robert Nordlund (06:13):
you filling there? What were you trying to
accomplish? How did you feel?
Did you fit well on the board?
Jan Newcomb (06:20):
Well, the man that passed away was the treasurer,
and that is the last job Ishould have. So, no, I think I
just became, like a board memberat large or something. I don't
remember now,
Robert Nordlund (06:31):
okay, so it wasn't your particular skill
set. No, not at all. Got it.
Tell me more about being a boardmember at your association. How
long are the terms.
Jan Newcomb (06:41):
They're two years, and then you have to run for
election again, and you havethree people being elected in
one year, and then the next yearit's two. So they don't elect
new board all at the same time,so it's not
Robert Nordlund (06:55):
an entire change of administration, right,
right? I would think that thathelps with continuity. At the
association, we
Jan Newcomb (07:01):
have a lot of continuity because it's hard to
find people to run for theboard. So let's talk about that.
There's no term limits. There'sno term limits. Okay, so
Robert Nordlund (07:11):
when someone runs for the board, half of
their job in the back of theirmind is looking for someone to
replace them. And if you can'tfind someone to replace them.
That means that you end upserving two or three terms,
something like that. That'spretty much what happens. Yeah.
Okay, so what got you off theboard the first time, the
Jan Newcomb (07:31):
very first time I was on the board, I was still
working full time, and I justfound, you know, I was a single
parent. I was working full time,and it just got to be too much
to deal with. So I think thatwas probably the biggest reason.
Robert Nordlund (07:49):
Did things change at the association in a
noticeable manner, when youstepped off the board? Did the
whole place fall apart? Is whatI'm trying to find out.
Jan Newcomb (07:59):
It might have, in a way, but I don't think we
realized that at the time. Whatwe're facing now is the fact
that a lot of previous boardsdidn't raise the dues when they
should have, so they werepopular with the homeowners, but
we're now faced with, you know,having to catch up, and we ended
up having to get a roof loan toreplace our roof. So that's been
(08:23):
a significant financial strugglethere.
Robert Nordlund (08:26):
I am just in such a lucky position, because I
get to speak to subject matterexperts, board member experts
all up regularly on a weeklybasis. And there was one
conversation I had wherespeaking to someone who likened
it to a automobile race, like aNASCAR race, where inflation is
(08:47):
going round and round and roundand round and round. And if you
pull into the pits and don'traise your assessments one year,
you're losing ground. And that'sa problem that we see so many
associations falling into thatthey are looking more at trying
to minimize their spendingrather than taking good care of
(09:08):
the place. So let me ask that,have your property values
suffered, or are they doingokay?
Jan Newcomb (09:15):
Well, they're crazy. I mean, they're compared
to what I paid for the place.
It's worth a whole lot moremoney now.
Robert Nordlund (09:21):
Is your association a strong presence in
the local marketplace? Is it A,would you say a desirable place
to live? Oh,
Jan Newcomb (09:30):
definitely, definitely. It was built in the
early 70s, when there was a lotof construction going on in
Orange County. So we're 50 yearsold now, and what I'm noticing
is the places that are beingbuilt now. You know, they may be
beautiful homes, but they don'thave a lot of land around them.
They don't have We have acres ofbeautiful lawns, beautiful
(09:54):
trees, and they just don't buildplaces like that anymore. I
think we're very fortunate. It,but it's also expensive to
maintain. There
Robert Nordlund (10:04):
you go. And we get back to assessments, and I
want to touch on that, becauseso many think that this is a
better association or a worseAssociation just because of how
much the assessments are. And ifyou have a lot of grounds that
can be absolutely wonderful foryour eyes, to be able to see, to
be able to see the landscaping,to see some elbow room, and
(10:27):
that's gonna landscaping takesmoney, and hasn't that been one
of your projects there? It's oneof
Jan Newcomb (10:34):
the biggest expenses. And I remember driving
into the association when I waslooking to buy a home. I mean,
when I saw it, it was just like,This feels like where I would
like to be. It was beautiful,and it still is. Yeah, it drew
Robert Nordlund (10:48):
you in. So if you were to compare a home in
your association compared to ahome across the street down the
road, your assessments would behigher, just because you've got
a lot more landscaping to takecare of. But then again,
Jan Newcomb (11:04):
there's more involved than that, though,
because what I think people, Ithink what people do is they
compare the numbers. Thisassociation has only $250 a
month, and this association has600 Well, what they don't know
is how much those assessmentscover, like we actually pay for,
(11:26):
even though we're a planneddevelopment, we pay for all the
insurance on the homes, thestructures we maintain, the
painting and the asphalt and Thetrees and the lawns. Another
association may have lowerassessments, but it may not
cover nearly as much amenities,or, you know, insurance, or
(11:50):
things like that that arecertainly very expensive now,
Robert Nordlund (11:54):
right? Or utilities in the association
where I lived and what got mestarted in this industry, the
water bill and the power billwere rolled up into my monthly
assessments. Oh, that makes ahuge difference. That makes it,
yeah, exactly. You could saythat a neighboring associations
assessments were lower, but thatperson had to write two more
(12:15):
checks to the water bill and thepower utility.
Jan Newcomb (12:19):
So people just compare numbers. And I don't
think they have an idea ofreally, it's not a apples to
apples comparison.
Robert Nordlund (12:26):
Well, let's go from that. Let's talk about what
you on the board tried to createthere. Did you have priorities?
You when you first rolled intothat association, said, Yeah, I
could live here. Can I affordit? And you started to go down
that path of buying a home thereis that? What you've what in
your mind, have you been tryingto uphold in your time on the
(12:48):
board at your association?
Jan Newcomb (12:50):
Well, we're trying to preserve the look of the
community, obviously, and we'realso trying to get our reserves
back up, you know, higherbecause they, they didn't save
enough over the years. You know,we're fairly well funded, but we
definitely need to continue toput money away because we're a
(13:12):
50 year old community now. Andso there's more things that need
to be fixed. Well,
Robert Nordlund (13:17):
there's more consequences, because you can be
in a brand new association, andnot put any money aside to
reserves. And you go outside andit looks great, but if you're
not keeping up with a 30 or 40or 50 unit Association, you're
going to see the consequencespretty quick, because the age is
there and it does need ongoingmaintenance. So that's right,
(13:39):
that's an important thing. Okay,you talk about the look of the
association. What about thethings you can't see? The
chemistry, the peacefulness, thecommunity aspect. How have you
been able to work to make it anice place where, when you see a
neighbor, you smile
Jan Newcomb (13:56):
if you see the neighbor, yeah,
Robert Nordlund (13:58):
okay, good, you're good. Nowadays, we're in
our homes more they
Jan Newcomb (14:02):
could be on a computer somewhere right, right,
or
Robert Nordlund (14:06):
watching something on the internet, and
you're not going to and fromwork as much as we used to be.
Let's talk about one thing inparticular. You have more
grounds. Does that mean that youhave people out walking? Do you
have more people with dogs outwalking dogs? Is that a good
thing for community? Lots
Jan Newcomb (14:26):
of dogs, lots of kids. We had an interesting
turnover of the first time therewas turnover in the community. I
assumed that we would have newfamilies with young children.
Well, what happened the firsttime we turned over, we got a
lot of older people that weredownsizing from big homes,
(14:47):
interesting. And so it startedlooking like a 55 and plus
community now, then the nextturnover. Now, we've got a lot
of young families, youngchildren. We definitely have a
lot more rent. Hers, because thepeople that have lived there for
a long time, or have owned thehomes for a long time, and I'm a
(15:07):
good example, we don't want tosell because we'd have to pay
capital gains taxes. So peoplewho have moved have just turned
their properties into rentals.
Robert Nordlund (15:19):
Okay? So what you've been able to see is that
the character of the associationhas changed a little bit from,
yes, just the composition, thedynamic of who is living there.
You talked about the turnover,so that went from original
owners to maybe the next wave ofpeople buying in. Talk to me
more about that. Has theassociation become more diverse.
(15:42):
Has the has it scrambled enough?
Or does it tend to go kind of inwaves? In your observation,
Jan Newcomb (15:49):
like I say, the first wave was older people
downsizing, second wave wasyoung families coming back in.
But we do have a lot of rentals,which I believe has changed the
association, because the ownersmay be living in another state,
(16:09):
and they're not engaged with theassociation like they used to be
Robert Nordlund (16:14):
okay. Do you does that create more of a
delinquency problem, or thoseowners who are vested in the
association, and they're they'regood to go. No,
Jan Newcomb (16:23):
I don't know. It really hasn't caused that kind
of a problem. I think theproblem it has caused is that a
lot of the people that areowners who live out of state
now, they're not involved withthe association like they might
have been before. You know, interms of volunteering on a
committee or being on the boardor things like that.
Robert Nordlund (16:41):
Well, let me get back to that. To one of the
first things you were talkingabout was getting replacements
for people on the board andboard member candidates. And if
you have, as you see, the numberof renters go up and those
absentee owners moving out. Poolof board member candidates gets
smaller and smaller at the sametime. Like you were saying, the
(17:05):
the laws are, there's more lawsto comply with. In California,
there's the Davis Sterling act.
I think I remember the firstversion of the Davis Sterling
Act was seven pages, and nowit's 3040,
Jan Newcomb (17:19):
50. It's a huge book. It's
Robert Nordlund (17:21):
a book. Yeah, there's some attorneys that have
books on it. And then thecomplexities of an older
Association. How do you, how doyou recruit board members? Tell
me about that process at yourassociation? Well,
Jan Newcomb (17:36):
we, we try, but we don't have a lot of luck. I
mean, we've got a board that'sbeen pretty consistent now for
several years. Okay,
Robert Nordlund (17:43):
do you try to establish a pipeline of people
who can help on a particularcommittee or with a project, and
try to make serving on the boardinviting and reasonable?
Jan Newcomb (17:57):
Well, we do have a lot of committees, and that is
that is a good way. And theother thing we do, which is
permissible, is we do havepeople who are renters, that are
not owners, that are oncommittees. Now, they can't
serve on the board, but they canvolunteer on committees as long
as the board approves them, sothat they're covered by our
(18:20):
insurance,
Robert Nordlund (18:21):
right? I like that, because then they, as a
renter, have a vested interestin exactly their their
environment. I
Jan Newcomb (18:29):
mean, they are, even though they're not
homeowners, they are part of thecommunity because they are there
physically. What
Robert Nordlund (18:35):
keeps drawing you back to the board? Well,
multiple, multiple cyclesyourself.
Jan Newcomb (18:42):
Yes, well, I think the big thing for me, and it's
true, not only for myself, butfor the people I serve, it's our
biggest investment, and I wantto keep it looking great, so
that we protect our investment,but we also continue to be able
to enjoy a beautiful community.
Robert Nordlund (18:59):
I got onto my board when the President
resigned, I was the only person,or I think there was two of us
in attendance at the boardmeeting, and President said, How
about you be president? I said,Sure, I can do that. And then
once I started working on it,that was my biggest belief, is
(19:21):
that every hour I spent workingon the association was going to
come back to me in propertyvalues, and that my association,
it was 71 times that. So I knewthat my property values, I was
protecting them, and I wascarrying 70 other people along
with me. And when you look at itas a board member, you have such
incredible leverage to do somuch good for so many other
(19:45):
people when you're making surethe community is staying neck
and neck with where it needs tobe in your local real estate
environment, I
Jan Newcomb (19:54):
invite you to drive in someday and see how beautiful
it is. It's.
Robert Nordlund (20:00):
For everyone listening, I live probably two
hours away in bad traffic. It'sthree hours and I will,
literally, Jan, be driving byyour area in about two weeks. I
may take you up on that. Oh,that would be great. That would
sound like a nice place todrive. I'll give you a tour. Oh,
(20:21):
okay, that could be fun. Let'stake a quick break. Jen, I want
to come back and hear more aboutlegislation, the kind of
difficulties that that hascaused there at the association,
and talk a little bit more aboutyour priorities. But it's time
to hear now from one of ourgenerous sponsors, after which
we'll be back to hear more aboutwhat we can learn from Jen's
experience.
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(21:03):
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Robert Nordlund (21:14):
we're back.
Jen, before the break, we weretalking about the things you're
doing for the association andproperty values and things like
that. How do you as a boardprepare yourself to do well for
the association?
Jan Newcomb (21:27):
I think it helps definitely to make sure you get
board member education, because,like I mentioned before, there's
so many laws and restrictionsnow on what boards can and
cannot do, how they can dothings now
Robert Nordlund (21:41):
you're talking specifically in California.
Jan Newcomb (21:44):
Well, everywhere but California and Florida seem
to be the most places that havethe most laws that are
constraining. You know how ourassociations operate,
Robert Nordlund (21:54):
and you've seen all that because of your
exposure to kind of the nationalpicture from serving on Cai
national type things. Okay, soyou're a board member in a high
legislation state, so that makesit more complicated. Take me
down the path. Tell me moreabout education. What does that
mean? You have some legaltraining? Is that what you're
talking about, or is it
Jan Newcomb (22:16):
other types of training? Well, what I have
found is the legal part of it isobviously important, and because
of my education, you know, Itake that pretty seriously,
right? But it's important forboard members, but it's also
important to understand a lot ofwhat managers do, what business
(22:36):
partners do, and I especiallyappreciate the education that
the business partners put on anduse you as a good example. I
really appreciate all I'll buyyou well. I appreciate the
webinars, because you helppeople understand reserves, and
most people don't. So it's veryit's very helpful to, you know,
(23:01):
make sure you're not runningafoul of the law, but also to
find out more about how to dothe other things, like
maintenance or finances orwhatever it is, how to get tips
on how to really do that. Well,from people who are experts,
Robert Nordlund (23:18):
let's take you to other things you're active in
your local Cai chapter. Yes. Sodoes that mean going to the
monthly meetings and hearing theluncheon speaker and seeing the
vendors around the back of theroom, that kind of thing,
finding out who's offering
Jan Newcomb (23:35):
what? Yes, it's a great opportunity to meet
vendors and talk to them aboutyour needs, and you know whether
they might be a good company tosend us, to send bits about
projects that we might be doing.
But also, I'm on the EducationCommittee, and I'm also on the
publications committee, and I'vebeen doing that the publications
(23:55):
committee for a very long time,and I really I enjoy writing, so
that's that's a fun job.
Robert Nordlund (24:03):
Okay, so you're a board member at your
association, you and you're aton the Education Committee on
the public publications,publications you are just, is
this like beating in your heartto serve.
Jan Newcomb (24:22):
I think what happens with me is, if I'm going
to get involved, I get involved.
So I've kind of been everywherein Cai, you know, I've been on,
like I say, the chapter board.
I've been on the nationalhomeowner Council, the Board of
Trustees, and it really gave mea good understanding of not just
(24:42):
what I need to know inCalifornia, but what's going on
in the whole country andactually outside the country
now, because we have chapters inother countries, it gives you a
much broader understanding ofwhat is really going on with
community associationseverywhere. Yeah, and I think.
What we're going to see inOrange County is a lot of
(25:03):
associations like mine, who arecoming up on 50 years old. There
was a lot of building going onin the 70s. And you know, those
associations hopefully havesaved enough money in their
reserves to take care of whatthey need to take care of now.
Yeah,
Robert Nordlund (25:20):
we did, I think one or two episodes on D
conversion, where condominiumsunwind themselves, sell the land
to a developer, and they becomesomething else. That's because
they just have become there.
They had to become financiallynot viable anymore. And I'm
wringing my hands here becauseI'm hoping that we're doing as
(25:43):
much as we can to encourage andequip board members to serve
their associations well. And Ilove hearing your tips to get in
the stir. Go to your Cai events.
There's our company does freewebinars. There's other
companies in differentindustries that are doing
webinars. There's so much tolearn there. The benefits are so
(26:07):
incredibly leveraged foreveryone in your association,
because everyone's home valuesgo up with the hours you spend.
You talked about writing a lot.
What is your next article?
What's percolating under the lidthere?
Jan Newcomb (26:20):
I'm actually writing a book, but it doesn't
really have anything to do withassociations, okay, but for an
article about associations, Ithink there's got to be a way to
get homeowners more involved inthe governance of their
association. I think a lot ofpeople, and I was probably like
(26:42):
this when I first bought in,because I thought, Oh, this is
great. I pay my assessment. Idon't have to worry about
anything they take care of. Youknow, the pool and the spa and
the painting and thelandscaping, yeah, carefree
living and carefree living,right? But what most people
don't understand this is anexperiment in self governance,
if you don't get involved. Imean, somebody has to be there
(27:04):
to make these decisions. If youdon't get involved, you don't
even know it's kind of like therest of our government. If you
don't know what these people aredoing that you've elected. Shame
on you.
Robert Nordlund (27:15):
Yeah. Well, and you, you mentioned it earlier,
that associations do go incycles, they follow the board
member as far as what's the theculture and the chemistry of the
board. And so when you're on theboard, it may lean this
direction. When you're off theboard, it may lean another
direction, due to SouthernCalifornia wildfires, laws in
(27:36):
your state, whatever, there'sall these things push or the
demographics you talked aboutsome dogs and kids, times of
renters, times of olderdownsizers. The community is
changing. So it might have thesame roof, it might have the
same siding, but the communityis literally changing as from
(27:57):
day to day. This whole idea ofbeing on the board helps you
guide that ship of theassociation, that that nonprofit
corporation, safely andsuccessfully to the future. And
it's boy, I don't think we doenough to celebrate board
members for like you say, thisexperiment in how they they are
(28:18):
the glue that holds this entireindustry together,
Jan Newcomb (28:21):
well and and all the people that, the managers,
the business partners, all ofthem too, yeah,
Robert Nordlund (28:27):
well, at least they're getting paid. There's a
career for them. That's true.
Your association? Is itprofessionally managed? Yes,
okay, and I want to say fullmanagement or financial only.
Jan Newcomb (28:40):
It's in transition.
Let's put it that way, becauseit was more fully managed when I
first got on the board, I think.
And what we have found is, ifthere are some simple things we
can do ourselves, we can savequite a lot of money, so I
(29:01):
started a maintenance committee.
Okay? And we have the mostwonderful people on this
maintenance committee. We've gota retired engineer that knows
how to fix anything. We've got aguy who used to work for a major
corporation and handled vendorcontracts. You know, it was in
purchasing. I had a lot ofexperience with contracts at
McDonnell Douglas, right, andalso a lot of experience with
(29:25):
conflict resolution. But as faras maintenance, then, there's
another guy who's retired fromLowe's, so he knows a lot about
parts, and you know, he helps usunderstand whether something is
bid reasonably or not right interms of, you know what the
costs are. So that's veryhelpful anyway. What? What has
(29:46):
happened over time is we havestarted doing some some simpler
things just ourselves, and we'vesaved a lot of money that way.
Robert Nordlund (29:56):
Yeah, well, I think there's two levels to
that. One is a level. That, yes,you're spending less on a, let's
say, handyman, to do those typesof tasks. But when you're
staying on top of maintenance,you stay so far ahead of the big
deterioration that gets really,really expensive. So if you can
stay on top of that, let me turnthe corner and talk about board
(30:18):
member style. We here on theprogram have talked about the 4c
of effective board members thatthey need to care they need to
be curious. What can I do aboutthis? Why is this happening?
Have the courage to take actionand then to be able to
communicate effectively. Whenyou think back about what you've
(30:38):
seen, what you've done, whatyou've learned from your Cai
exposure. Does that cover it? Ordo you have some additional
characteristics that you wouldlike to see more of, or that you
see commonly in board members?
What characteristics do youthink of?
Jan Newcomb (30:55):
There's a bit of a dynamic that really goes two
different directions. One ofthem is the business of the
Association, and the other oneis the community culture, if you
will, of the association that'sgetting harder to manage because
(31:15):
we have more renters and morepeople that may not be as
committed long term to theassociation. So I think you
really need board members thatyou know can contribute from a
number of differentperspectives.
Robert Nordlund (31:30):
Okay, I like that, and that reminds me. I
liked what you said earlierabout getting the renters to
contribute by being oncommittees to being part of that
culture of our community. Thisis our home. What can I do, even
as Yeah, even as a renter,
Jan Newcomb (31:51):
I'm hoping that we can turn them into owners at
some point. That would bewonderful.
Robert Nordlund (31:56):
That would be great. Hopefully they can get to
a point where the owner findsout that this is a good renter.
Let's just let me transitionout, and they can become
homeowners. I like that. Well,Jan again, looking at the time,
I don't know if everyone enjoysthis as much as I do, but I've
known Jen for long enough toappreciate her years of service,
(32:20):
and it's great to be able tohave her on the program today
puts a smile on my face. Jan, sothank you for taking the time to
join us on today's program. Anyfinal thoughts to share on your
board member experiences
Jan Newcomb (32:31):
just that. I hope people will get more involved.
I'm trying to figure out how tomake that happen, because we
really need everybody to be partof this. We're all in it
together.
Robert Nordlund (32:42):
Jan knows and we want to publicly acknowledge
Jan for performing a thanklessjob well for those countless
hours she's invested at herassociation, for her local Cai
chapter, and for everyone elsethat she's touched, I want to
compliment the board ofdirectors for working with her
at her association, all of thosepeople for taking their job
(33:04):
seriously to act in the bestinterest of the association.
Well, we hope you gain some HOAinsights from Jan's story, and
it helps bring more common senseto your common area. And
remember, if you match ourdefinition of a board hero, or
know someone who does, pleasereach out to us. We love having
board heroes on our program. Ourcontact details are provided in
(33:24):
the show notes. Thank you forjoining us, and we look forward
to another great episode nextweek.
Announcer (33:32):
You've been listening to Hoa insights, common sense
for common areas. If you likethe show and want to support the
work that we do, you can do soin a number of ways. The most
important thing that you can dois engage in the conversation.
Leave a question in the commentssection on our YouTube videos.
You can also email yourquestions or voice memos to
podcast@reservestudy.com orleave us a voicemail at
(33:55):
805-203-3130, if you gain anyinsights from the show, please
do us a HUGE favor by sharingthe show with other board
members that you know. You canalso support us by supporting
the brands that sponsor thisprogram. Please remember that
the views and opinions expressedin this program are those of the
hosts and guests with the goalof providing general education
(34:17):
about the community, associationindustry. You'll want to consult
licensed professionals beforemaking any important decisions.
Finally, this podcast wasexpertly mixed and mastered by
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