Introduction

Home Owners Associations (HOAs) are non-profits responsible for maintaining the common elements in housing communities. In order to run smoothly, HOAs require active participation from board members and homeowners. Board members are responsible for managing the property and coordinating with the people who live on it. Homeowners pay their dues to cover HOA expenses and are encouraged to voice their concerns and suggestions which could benefit the community. Skills across different dimensions are required to keep things running in order, from the financials of the HOA to the communication between homeowners and board members. In this lighthearted article, we’ll analyze the popular fantasy series Lord of the Rings (LOTR) written by J.R.R. Tolkien and look at the parallels between this tale and that of a modern-day HOA. 

The shire and the burden of the ring

The LOTRs stories start by describing an area of Middle-earth called The Shire. The Shire is a rich grassland with sweeping hills that house communities of inhabitants called Hobbits. You might correlate the Shire to an HOA property with its residents who call this place home. The Shire is cultivated, well kept, and hosts central areas where Hobbits gather to trade goods, celebrate special events, and socialize. In an HOA, this might take the form of a community pool, elevators, or a club house. Amongst the Shire exists Frodo, an insignificant Hobbit, roughly three feet tall with pointed ears and furry feet, who came into possession of one of Middle-earth’s most powerful trinkets, the One Ring. The One Ring, a small and rather ordinary-looking artifact, possessed an evil power that could transform any individual with a sliver of greed into a deranged being. The selflessness of Frodo’s personality made him a perfect candidate to resist the ring’s evil power. HOA leaders are looked upon to have the same character traits as they undertake a huge responsibility. The ring came to Frodo via an old wizard with grey hair and a pointy hat named Gandalf the Grey. Frodo did not want nor desire the ring, he was given it. HOA leaders might relate to this because sometimes they are forced to take the responsibility of being a board member because no one else is stepping up to do it. 

“All we have to decide what to do with the time that is given us.” — Gandalf

This phrase, referring to periods of dark times, expresses the idea of making the best of a given circumstance rather than questioning why it exists. A change of thought from “why me” to “what can I do” came over Frodo throughout the story enabling him to mentally endure the challenges he faced. The bravery, courage, and open mindedness of this little hobbit might serve as inspiration to a board member questioning their position in an HOA. Very few things in life are permanent and this quote suggests that it’s best to take advantage of time while you have it. 

The fellowship 

Because of the complexity involved and the variety of skill sets needed, the president of an HOA board cannot single-handedly perform all tasks. This requires a multi-person board preferably with people from different professional backgrounds. The average board in an HOA may consist of 4 positions: president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. 

“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.” —  Frodo Baggins

If the president does not know how to accomplish a task or seeks information in a specialized area, they can reach out to a particular board member for help. The vice president exists as a replacement for the president while advising and assisting them as needed. The Treasurer can provide accounting or financial expertise, and the Secretary handles documentation and scheduling of events. The HOA board seeks out a diverse skill set to ensure its competency, just as the fellowship in LOTR recruited races of all kinds with different skill sets to help Frodo accomplish the destruction of the One Ring.

The “ring bearer” 

Frodo Baggins, the ring bearer, was chosen to possess the ring and therefore held the most decision-making power in the group. In the world of HOAs, the one most similar to this position would be the HOA president. Frodo chose which paths to take, which terrains to travel through, and when to turn around when things looked bleak. A great deal of will, leadership, public speaking, and general knowledge of HOA rules and regulations would be expected of one who holds the presidential position. 

The “wandering wizard”

There is a need to have someone ensure the president’s performance and replace him if necessary. Gandalf the Wizard in LOTR played a similar role and could have taken Frodos place but insisted it would be better off in someone else’s possession.  At the same time, he advised and helped Frodo when challenges arose. V.P’s exist as a precaution to step up and assist when absolutely necessary. 

The “dwarf merchant”

HOAs are supported financially through dues paid by homeowners, which are then spent (or saved) for maintaining the property. The treasurer’s job is to keep an eye on expenses, collections, and savings. The person holding this position should be good with numbers and highly organized. The Dwarves of Middle-earth were good with tools, using pickaxes and hammers to extract valuable minerals, which were then used as leverage to barter, trade, and purchase goods to improve their communities. Someone who can maintain a budget, keep track of expenses, and trade reasonably would be needed for the HOA treasurer position.

The “night elf”

HOAs consist of a board that holds meetings, promotes discussion, and makes decisions on the spot. These things must be scheduled, recorded, and documented. This responsibility falls into the bucket of an HOA secretary, who is there to assist in keeping everyone on the same page. 

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” — Lady Galadriel

As rudimentary as they sound, the responsibilities of an HOA secretary are essential to keep things running smoothly. LOTRs Elrond of Rivendale held a secret meeting, The Council of Elrond, to discuss among the fellowship the fate of the One Ring and who shall take it to its final resting spot. The meeting was a starting point for the fellowship requiring alignment before carrying out the One Ring’s destruction. Transparency among members is essential, and it is up to the secretary to inform all members of such events and maintain a culture of healthy communication.

The journey

The fellowship’s quest led them through vast grasslands, mountain tops, caves, and dense forests with enchanted creatures deep within. Each member was individually suited for different tasks, meaning everyone had to play their part at different times for the group to succeed. An HOA faces various obstacles on a daily basis and the terrains the fellowship traveled through can serve as metaphors to describe these challenges. 

When resources are tight 

The ability to maintain, save, and manage a group resource is a significant task for an HOA. Frodo and his apprentice, Samwise Gamgee, another hobbit, faced dwindling resources while ascending mountainous landscapes upon destroying the ring. The lack of oxygen meant that they had to use their energy wisely. HOAs might face similar challenges when running low on reserve funds, giving off a feeling of suffocation. Smart budgeting systems, whether done on paper or through software, need to be in place so that board members can plan how much needs to be collected and how often to avoid a mountain of debt. 

A web of confusion 

HOA boards aim to consist of everyday homeowners with adequate knowledge in the required areas. On occasion, relatively simple goals may require expert knowledge to be completed. Mounds of paperwork and webs of governmental regulations may give off the feeling that one is going in circles in order to accomplish an easy goal. When the fellowship entered Murkwood, a dense, enchanted forest with thick foliage and massive spider webs, a meandering path was visible, yet ended up being incredibly difficult to stay on. Why was it so hard to stay on one might ask? It was because of the air. What about the air? The air was saturated with an evil magic, confusing the minds of the fellowship and while the path at first seemed easy to follow, eventually became almost impossible to navigate due to the evil magic. Here at Dials, we plan on eliminating the air of confusion by making it easy for HOAs to find expert contractors and service providers. The goal is to reduce friction at each step, starting from obtaining different quotes, to monitoring progress, to making payments and enforcing warranties in the months that follow. 

Shedding light on topics 

HOAs can face scrutiny from homeowners who claim a lack of clarity on the decisions being made and how their money is being spent. Board members can mitigate these challenges by providing financial transparency through annual disclosure documents, newsletters, and open meetings.

“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” – Lady Galadriel 

Providing visibility on key information is a great way to empower homeowners in an HOA. Lady Galadriel, a Night Elf of the woods of Lothlórien, anticipated areas of darkness throughout Frodos’s journey and gifted him a vial of light to be used in dark regions. A single light provides local visibility and if bright enough, can illuminate what’s ahead. HOA board members can be assured that trust will build if they continuously shed light on important topics with homeowners. In turn, they will thank you for this enlightenment, just as Frodo was thankful when he used Lady Galadriel’s gift of light to drive off a hungry Shelob, a massive spider who lunged at Frodo looking for her next meal.

Accountability and leadership

The more people one is responsible for, the more likely one will be criticized for the actions taken. Frodo had the weight of all Middle-earth on his shoulders and its inhabitants may have had different opinions on how he handled the quest. The ring was so strong that its effects indirectly possessed even Frodo’s own team members into thinking that the ring should have been in their possession instead of his. Manipulative tactics and psychological warfare ensued between Frodo’s enemies and allies alike throughout the entire series- it was almost as if Frodo was on the journey alone with no genuine allies. 

“Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.” — Aragorn

Board members might find themselves in situations requiring them to make decisions that do not have majority support such as raising monthly dues or enforcing an expensive assessment. It is important to know that these decisions are made with sustainability in mind so that the value of the property can stand the test of time. Frodo destroyed one of the most valuable items on Middle-earth to secure a future for its inhabitants. One might imagine how many power-seeking individuals resented this decision; just ask Golem. Let this decision be a beacon to those who are faced with a choice between what is right versus what is desired by the group. 

Conclusion

Middle-earth, in all its innocence and evils, displays a spectrum of scenarios we all face in modern times. HOAs are mini governments that watch over properties like a council of wizards who watch over Middle-earth. Board members are chosen by either popular vote or on a volunteer basis to accomplish the goal of keeping the community safe and organized. Here at Dials, our mission is not only to improve the way members represent their HOAs but to also encourage leadership through story and experience. We hope this refreshing article inspires those striving to simply improve their everyday lives. As Bilbo Baggins, a famous Hobbit from the Shire, once said:

“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life”

and we tend to think the same. 

-The Dials team

As of 2022, there are over 142 million housing units across the United States. Of these housing units, 40 million of them are a part of HOA communities. HOA communities offer unique features and are maintained by associations. To support operations and the associations’ regular expenses, homeowners are required to pay fees periodically. HOAs come in various shapes and sizes, varying from planned unit developments (PUDs) with several single-family homes spread across a large area to high-rise buildings with small and large units. Consequently, the types of common expenses also vary, for example, maintaining the lawns of a clubhouse, repairing the elevators, servicing water leaks on the building’s roof, etc. Homeowners typically pay dues upon receiving a statement via postal mail or email outlining charges applicable to the unit. Dues are required to be paid by the homeowner, and in this article, we’ll break down exactly how these dues are calculated. 

First, let’s get familiar with a few terms we’ll be mentioning throughout the article:

Dues payment

An amount paid by the homeowner that is communicated through a periodic (commonly monthly) statement consisting of one or a batch of charges that the homeowner may have accumulated during the timeframe of that statement.

Assessment 

A recurring or one-time charge levied on all units covering costs to maintain the association. 

Regular Assessment 

An assessment that is recurring. This might be on a monthly, annually, quarterly, or semi-annual basis. 

Special Assessment

A one-time assessment designed to cover unexpected repairs or if a budget shortfall occurs.

Variables that may influence an assessment amount

Number of units in an association, quality of amenities, location and general cost of living, quality of management, square footage of a unit, the property’s age, etc.

How can I learn more about my association’s assessments?

Ask your association for the status of the reserve fund and a copy of the annual expense report.

This article will cover how dues statements are calculated, collected, and paid. We’ll also cover the different types of assessments that exist. By the end of this article, we hope to demystify the complexity of your dues statement so that you can better understand how your HOA is spending your money. 

HOAs are community-driven organizations with a need for a steady budget to cover operating expenses. These expenses are paid for (as discussed above) from the money collected as dues from the homeowners. The total amount due is comprised of various individual charges. These charges might be in the form of assessments and/or individual charges applied to a particular unit. To further explain this concept, we’ll be using an example association (The Meadows association), an example homeowner (Sam) and an example timeframe (Dec 02, 2022 – Jan 01, 2023) to take you through the entire process of how a dues statement gets calculated, up until when it gets paid by a homeowner.

The Meadows association and homeowner Sam: Jan 2023 dues statement 

The Meadows association is located in a suburban area and is 17 years old and has 50 units. Its HOA board is planning the next year’s budget and needs to set in place a couple of assessments that all homeowners (including Sam) will pay throughout the next year.

Assessment 1: Operating dues expenses

• The Meadows association needs money for recurring general maintenance (Eg. cleaning hallways, servicing the elevator, etc.) 

• The Meadows association creates a recurring assessment based on this requirement for all 50 units in the association.

• Board members of the association decide to name this assessment “HOA operating dues” and that is how it will appear on Sam’s (and all other homeowners) dues statement.

• A total of $100,000 for the upcoming year is decided upon (known as the amount assessed) to fund the “HOA operating dues” assessment.

• The board decides how often it wants to collect fees from the homeowners. This might be on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annual basis. For this example, let’s say The Meadows association chooses to have the fees collected monthly. 

• The board/property manager then calculates how much each unit will pay based on the contribution plan specified in the CC&Rs . There are many types of contribution plans, and three of the most common ones are “equal,” meaning that each unit will pay equal amounts, “square footage,” meaning the amounts can be more or less depending on the square footage of the unit; and “custom,” meaning that each unit is assigned a number value/percentage that determines how much each unit will pay.  For this example, the Meadows association’s CC&R document requires them to use the equal contribution plan, meaning that all units will pay the same amount. 

• Based on the assessed amount of $100,000, a monthly collection frequency for the entire year, and an equal distribution plan, the association will do the math to determine how much each of the 50 units will pay per month for the next year for the assessment named “HOA operating dues.” 

• The math would consist of taking the assessed amount, dividing that by the number of collection periods inside a given timeframe, then dividing that by the total number of units in the association (based on the equal contribution plan). The calculation would look like this: 

• $100,000/12/50 = $166.67

• Hence each unit would be required to pay $166.67 per month for the next year to meet the total assessed amount. Depending on rounding, the association might end up with slightly more or less than they planned to collect — $2 in this case — which is okay as long as it’s not a huge difference. (Fun fact: the error here, 0.2ppm, is the same as moving the finish line three feet after a 26.2-mile marathon.)

That was an example of how a single assessment would be created. What if the association wants to add another assessment for something different? Let’s look at how that would be done and how it would factor into the total amount Sam would pay for January’s statement. 

Assessment 2: The reserve fund expenses

• In addition to its operating dues, The Meadows association needs to maintain a sum of money that needs to be available for anticipated future expenditures, such as major repairs and improvements. This amount is often called the association’s reserves or reserve funds. It needs to be collected over time because it is not practical for homeowners to contribute large sums of money on a short notice when a costly expense occurs. Because of this reason, another assessment should be created to maintain the overall health of this reserve fund.

• Let’s say for this second assessment, The Meadows association decides on an assessment amount for the upcoming year ($50,000), gives it the name “HOA reserve dues”, chooses a monthly fee option, and as directed by its CC&R document it chooses an equal contribution plan. 

**One thing to note is that the CC&R documents usually specify one contribution plan for all assessments, but this may not always be the case. 

The calculation for this second assessment would be $50,000/12/50= $83.33 where $83.33 is the total amount each unit will pay per month on this assessment for the upcoming year. 

Individual charges: Parking fees, violations, etc

In addition to assessments, there may be separate charges that Sam’s unit may have accumulated through the statement period. The association must account for these as separate charges on Sam’s dues statement. Some examples of these separate charges might be:

• Guest parking fees
• Violations
• Miscellaneous charges

Let’s say Sam had his parents over one weekend and had to reserve a guest parking spot for them. This would trigger a guest parking fee for the amount of $20.00. He will now see that on his dues statement alongside the two assessments we just talked about. 

Statement timeframe: charges, fees, print date, and assessment creation  

Up to this point, the association has calculated two assessment charges and one individual charge on Sam’s statement for January. Let’s take a look at these charges on a calendar to give you a visual reference as to how they are captured on a statement. It is essential to note when the charges and assessments were created in relation to the print date of January’s statement. Individual charges would have occurred in the month prior, while assessments and the statement were both created at the beginning of the month. This is because assessments are usually pre-paid, meaning you’re paying for the month in advance. Individual charges are a bit different in that you’re paying for items you’ve already incurred or accumulated in the past. After the statement print date, homeowners are given anywhere between 2-3 weeks to make their payments before it is considered past due. Depending on the association, late fees and/or interest may be charged if the payment is not made within this time.

Statement document: information, support, charges and summary 

Using The Meadows association example from earlier, the table above outlines the two assessments created (HOA reserve fund and HOA Operating Dues) and the guest parking fee that Sam incurred for the parking spot needed for his parents. All these charges would add up to a total which would be the balance that Sam would owe for January’s statement. If (by chance) Sam was behind on his payments, this balance would be larger and would encapsulate all the previous (unpaid) charges accrued in months leading up to this statement. We hope that you have a better understanding of this process and can revert to this example in the future. 

Special assessments: rare but important

Regular assessments are great when planning for recurring and routine expenses. Some assessments, however, need to be created during unexpected circumstances. Assessments that cover these situations are known as Special assessments. When an association exhausts its options to obtain money from either reserve funds or filing insurance claims or obtaining funds through loans, a special assessment may be created to pay for the required costs. Community members need to come together in such situations to ensure that the safety and quality of the association is maintained. Here at Dials, both regular and special assessments are easy to create. 

Conclusion

HOAs may receive grief around regulations members don’t always agree with, but really, there are positive sides to such enforcements. Things like increased property value over time and safer communities are some of them. The Dials team is prepared to provide you with tools designed to handle complex scenarios that will save you time in the future. Stay with us for the ride and we’ll show you exactly want we mean. 

— The Dials team 

**The information provided here does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. The third party links are for the convenience of the reader, and Dials does not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

After a grueling 11 months of litigation, the settlement regarding the collapse of the South Champlain tower in Miami on June 24th, 2021 amounted to nearly $1B which will be paid to the families of the deceased and the people injured in the devastating event. A little backstory: the 12-story tower built-in 1981 had faced years of scrutiny over its deteriorating condition and it was obvious it was in need of major repair. Engineers gave warnings 3 years prior and since January 2021, the building was deemed structurally unsafe. Everyone is now scratching their heads as to why it took so long to react to a warning so far in advance. Even scarier, the building next door has the same specs and it too could face the same danger in the future. Days after the tragedy, the building was demolished and the land was cleared.

Here’s a brief overview of what we will cover in this article:

What happened?

The collapse of Miami’s South Champlain Tower in June of 2021

What was the result?

98 people dead, 156 missing, and a near $1B settlement

How did it happen?

Wet, unstable ground and the procrastination of structural repairs

What’s next?

The proceeds from the sale of the land the tower stood on will go to victims and their families 

It is estimated that a perfect storm of negative physical and psychological factors played a role in destabilizing the tower. As stated above, the structural dangers of the building were known facts and it is obvious something was not addressed as soon as it should have been. It’s not uncommon for essential non-cosmetic repairs to be shuffled down on the priority list by association board members looking to stay in office. Structural repairs that improve buildings can take years to complete, a lot of money, and when finished might not even improve the visual appearance of the building. Analogous to this would be a car with a badly damaged bumper and a dying alternator, both needing repairs. The damaged bumper would be a cheaper repair and would look great when finished while the alternator would be more expensive and hardly visually noticeable when fixed. It was also mentioned that the vibration echoing from a next-door adjacent construction site had a major impact on the destabilization of the tower. Other red flags include the question of whether the building was built on wetlands with unsatisfactory soil composition. According to engineers, the tower was built on land that had been settling for some time and may not have been suitable for construction in the first place. In addition to this, there were areas reported where water could only escape through evaporation. Areas where water cannot run off pose a great danger to structure supports which need stable, dry land in order to function properly. While the event cannot be pinpointed to a single factor, a combination of irresponsibility and environmental conditions resulted in the collapse. Let’s now look at the month that followed and the rescue efforts that were made.  

The month following the collapse resulted in a diary of events including the identification of bodies and external help from surrounding areas (infographic above). The number of deaths rose and donations were received with grace. Rescue teams on the ground level went to work searching under the rubble looking for survivors. Firefighters risked their own lives searching in unsafe areas, wiggling through the remains hoping to find victims under layers of concrete. Some areas were extremely dangerous due to the amount of debris or fires that blazed in the depths of the wreckage. Halfway through the process, an announcement was made to demolish the building while animal owners desperately pleaded for a delay to recover their lost pets. Sadly, the delay was not granted due to pets not being found after three rescue attempts. That was a recap of the month that followed the event. Next, we’ll talk about the settlement amount and how that number was determined. 

With an initial settlement of about $83M covering the owners of the condos, a more exact amount of $997M is now being planned for distribution to the victims and their loved ones affected by this disaster. While the initial amount was quite low, the increase in amount was most likely for the release of liabilities from the parties that were given notice of the potential suit. The settlement will also be funded from the land sale proceeds.

If there is a bright side to all of this, the settlement’s conclusion will come in June and the families will receive some relief in the form of a slice of the $997M amount. Although it’s unsure as to how the amount is going to be divided up, there is uniform rejoice across families, attorneys, and even the judge himself as this comes to a close. So, what have we learned from all of this? Never ignore structural issues and ensure that they are repaired as soon as possible. Stay with us on our journey to prevent tragic events like this and visit www.dials.com to learn more about how we plan on doing so. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time. 

– The Dials team

Ever wonder where your money is going when you pay your dues? What are those extra fees on your statement and are they really affecting you in a positive way? HOA board-to-homeowner transparency is key to achieving understanding between both parties on things like monthly assessments and their purpose. We should understand that not every payment out of your pocket will affect you directly, but it may have an effect on the property value as a whole.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article and the details around them:

• Methods to increase transparency in your association
• Why social media might not be the solution
• Annual disclosures and budget expenses
• How Dials is planning to help you out with all of this 

Whether you’re a board member or homeowner, we want to make sure that you’re properly equipped to ensure the best communication between everyone. From the maintenance man repairing the roof to the board members making the decisions, we believe everyone should be on the same page.

HOAs have the advantage that most board members are also homeowners meaning there isn’t much disconnect between reality and what is perceived at the ground level. Those who are not board members should be encouraged to express their concerns so that everyone can feel included. An important topic to be transparent about is how budgets are spent and why. Keep these updates short and to the point so that they are easily readable. Annual disclosure documents are used to keep everyone informed on how budgets are being spent, but you’ll also want to invite homeowners to be a part of the process if possible. Keeping homeowners in the loop is always a good idea to maintain good morale in your association. It’s easy to criticize, but difficult to express constructive criticisms, and the last thing one should have to worry about is setting up the communication methods to do so. This is where we step in– by understanding how your association collaborates we have the ability to design custom tools tailored to your communication styles which can help alleviate this pain. Something isn’t right if you’re spending more time managing your channels of communication than conveying messages, and we can help fix that. Think about the following techniques in order to improve communication in your organization.

1.) Keep an open-door policy 

As a board member, you’ll want to think about encouraging openness and transparency within your organization by adopting what’s called an open door policy. This means that anyone with a concern can bring it to the table for discussion. Try holding open meetings from time to time. Open meetings are meetings that reserve a portion of the time for homeowners to express their opinions and viewpoints. Schedule them well in advance so that homeowners have time to mark them on their calendars. It’s tough to put yourself in another person’s shoes, so make sure that you’re taking the right approach when receiving criticism. The act of listening is secretly a 2-way road, listening and asking the right questions in return. A homeowner might request a band-aid solution and it’s up to you as a board member to identify the root cause of the problem. Addressing issues on their most fundamental level is a great approach to ensure sustainable solutions and adopting an open door policy can help get the process started. 

2.) Address issues head-on

Board members and homeowners should keep in mind that addressing issues head-on is usually a good idea. Look into things while information is fresh and emotions are still in a heightened state. This will enable you to gain the most accurate data and it will be extremely helpful down the line. Keep a digital notebook and/or write good notes so that you can read them at a later time. If you put things on the back burner, time will ensue, memories will blur, and no action will be taken. Even if the issue is not resolved immediately, addressing it head-on is a great strategy to ensure that the best information is documented. 

3.) Think twice about social media solutions

It seems that most groups today are moving to social media for things like event scheduling and data management. One might think the same could easily apply to an HOA, right? Not necessarily. There are several reasons why modern social media might not be the answer. Things like open chat rooms, public commenting, and the ability for a member to make a statement on behalf of the association could give off incorrect reflections on an association. A slight mistype or stretched truth could spark a thread of debate and argument leading to toxicity on many levels. We’ve seen it before, threads upon threads of debate and nasty comments flung back and forth between people who have no idea what they’re talking about in the first place. Here at Dials, we recognize HOA discussions are more of a private matter and are looking into increasing transparency within the association. With features like one-to-one messaging systems, private group chats, and individual profile creation, we’re helping you discuss problems not only at the association level but at the individual level as well. 

4.) Go Digital

We understand that transitioning from a traditional way of doing things to a more updated workflow can be a bit daunting. Whether you do this with Dials or elsewhere, this is the way of the future, and the earlier you adopt this, the better off you’ll be. Think about entering all your paperwork into a digital system so that you can access it more easily in the future. While the digital age seems like it’s been here for a while, many companies are still doing things the old way and are just now catching on, so you’re definitely not behind! There’s still time to get ahead of the curve, so check out Dials HOA management software at www.dials.com/ if you’re looking to go digital. 

After significant research, Dials has identified several areas where HOA management processes can be made more efficient. The usage of multiple platforms, manual documentation, and multi-tab excel spreadsheets (we believe) should be a thing of the past and it’s time for an all-in-one solution. Our goal is to put you, a board member,  in a position of oversight so that you can solve the more important issues. Repetitive tasks like dues collection and maintenance tracking can be set on autopilot while you can sit back and watch it all work with minimal intervention. Follow us on our journey to revolutionize this space and keep up with our blogs for more information. 

– The Dials team

Some may or may not be aware of how HOAs are governed in places such as California and how decisions are made. Where are these rules coming from? Who puts them into action? 

The Davis Stirling Act is the driving factor behind all of this, and you’ll want to know a bit about it:  

What is it? 

It’s a section of law that specifically regulates California’s community associations

Who does it apply to? 

All forms of common interest developments in California

Why is it so important?

It protects the homes of millions of Californians served by associations

This article will explain in detail what the Davis Stirling Act is and how it manages your association. We’ll get into the history and why it even exists in the first place. Education is important here at Dials and we’re constantly trying to make your life easier whether you’re an HOA board member or a homeowner trying to understand how all of this works. It’s good to be informed on how your association works and this article outlines why the board makes the decisions it does. 

Let’s look at the history of how the Davis Stirling Act came into effect. In the 1950s and 1960s, the explosion of single-family homes led to a shortage of quality land (and land in general), resulting in a different approach when constructing living units. The approach taken was to create higher-density living spaces on land that was previously classified as unsuitable for housing due to quality or distance away from cities. The result of this was the creation of common area structures in the form of apartments and condominiums which needed to be maintained with more specific measures. As the ’80s crept in and construction continued, the major limitations in California laws became evident and left HOAs poorly maintained, planned, and weakly regulated. The existing laws were soon identified as not suitable for such high growth. A committee got together and designed a more specific rulebook for such developments resulting in the creation of the Davis Stirling Act of 1985. Now that we understand the reason behind the formation of the Davis Stirling Act, let’s look at some of the terms often used in HOA management and what they mean.

Here are some terms you’ll want to familiarize yourself with as a person who owns a condo or a unit in a Planned Unit Development.

Davis–Stirling Act

A portion of the California Civil Code that governs condominiums, cooperatives, and planned unit development communities in California.

CC&Rs

Standing for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, CC&Rs are used by many common interest developments to regulate the use, appearance, and maintenance of a property. 

Common interest development

A form of real estate where each homeowner holds exclusive rights to portions of the property (i.e. a unit) and shared ownership to other portions of the property (Eg. a community pool, elevators, stairs, fire safety systems, etc.).

Board member

Board members are responsible for making decisions regarding various aspects of their HOA and then communicating these decisions to homeowners. Board member roles include president, treasurer, and secretary. In most cases, a board member is also a homeowner in the association. 

Assessment fees

Assessment fees are payments made by homeowners intended to cover expenses the HOA is responsible for. Examples of these expenses would include lawn care, pool maintenance, elevator servicing, roof repair, etc., depending on what constitutes common areas for that HOA.

Now that you’re aware of some of the terms used, let’s talk about maintenance and repairs that will inevitably come up. In general, the association is responsible for repairing and maintaining the common areas. At the end of each fiscal year, the board decides the budget for the upcoming year. Fees are then collected from the homeowners in the form of assessments. For non-common areas such as units, homeowners are responsible for the repairs and general maintenance. This was a general overview of who takes responsibility for which repairs in an association. Let’s take a closer look at how they are paid for. 

Repairs can come in all shapes and sizes and of course, prices. The Davis Stirling Act requires HOAs to follow all defined measures outlined in the bill regarding assessments. Assessments are commonly set at the start of each year and are reviewed annually. Upon HOA’s board approval, assessments can be increased with some limitations outlined in the act. Another type of assessment is created to cover unexpected urgent repairs. This type of assessment is called a special assessment. Determining the amount owed by each unit via excel sheets which no one fully understands is both cumbersome and prone to errors. This is where you can count on Dials– it’s our mission to help streamline this process and ensure that your fees are calculated more easily and accurately. We accept this challenge with grace the same way you’ve taken on the responsibility of being a board member of an HOA. Assessments help maintain the value of your property and the integrity of your common areas, so be sure to think of Dials the next time you’re doing your bookkeeping.

Assessments among other things need to be documented every year in the form of annual budget reports. Distributed 30-90 days before the end of the fiscal year, these reports need to include various documentation. A thorough outline of all documentation required can be found in article 7 section 5300 of the Davis Stirling Act, but to save you some time we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist for you below:

Go ahead and print it out!

Also, here’s a link to the Document disclosure summary form in case you were wondering where to find it. We hope this was helpful to get you going on annual reports. 

We realize board members are volunteers and take on this responsibility for the good of their community. We want our user experience to reflect the same type of care and kindness. Our goal is to enable you to easily implement these complicated legislations and confusing rulebooks. Dials HOA software is designed to handle repetitive tasks for you so you can focus on the more important topics. Stay tuned for more while we continue to ship features for people just like you. Visit us at www.dials.com and sign up for our mailing list so we can get you onboard asap. See you there!

– The Dials team

By January 1, 2025, the California legislature is requiring all associations to conduct inspections of exterior elevated elements to determine their safety. This applies to all condominium projects with more than three units in a building. In summary, the bill requires that board members of these associations do the following:

• Hire a qualified structural engineer or architect to perform an inspection on your building

• Present the inspectors report to the HOA board members

• Plan and prepare a budget for any future repairs upon this inspection 

Let’s take a look at why this bill was passed and some of the details.

On August 30th, 2019 the governor of California approved senate bill no. 326 also known as the “Balcony Bill” requiring inspection of outdoor condominium balconies and other elevated structures to ensure the safety and durability of their condition. The bill aims to protect residents and property owners from disasters in old and young buildings. In January 2020, the bill went into effect after a history of collapsed structures resulting in injury and death. The bill presents an instruction to request inspection, test, and outline a report for HOA approval. While there are gray areas to what gets inspected and how deep to go, the aim is to do a more thorough investigation in contrast to just a general visual inspection. This involves cutting materials open and looking for signs of degradation through what’s called “destructive testing”. It’s not an easy job and requires the expertise of either a structural engineer or an architect to get the job done.

It’s not possible (nor practical) to inspect everything out there, so the bill defines several parameters that consider whether or not these structures fall under the scope of needing inspection. It’s not just balconies that are under the microscope: decks, elevated walkways, railings, and stairways also need the same attention. The elements can be rough and while California’s seasonal changes are relatively mild, outdoor wooden elevated structures are prone to degradation. Given time and the right conditions, mother nature can turn wood into mush and needs to be checked with an acute eye to make sure things are holding up. Excluded from the above-mentioned structures are faux balconies, reinforced concrete, steel rooftops, and terrace decks as these do not pose the same human hazards.

Coordination between structural engineers and HOAs is needed to make repairs to any structure. Before repairs can be made, the Balcony Bill outlines a 2 step process of inspection and review for approval. The initial site visit (Step 1) is where the engineer walks through the site and lists out areas that are exposed. After this, the HOA needs to approve the inspection in order for step 2 to begin. Once step 2 begins, the exposed areas are further inspected through destructive testing, and suggestions as to whether or not these items need to be replaced are noted. After this, the HOA does a review and if an agreement is made to repair, it officially becomes a “project”. After this, the HOAs would need to find a contractor to carry out the recommended repairs.

Section 1 (5b) (1) of the Balcony Bill states: 

“At least once every nine years, the board of an association of a condominium project shall cause a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection to be conducted by a licensed structural engineer or architect of a random and statistically significant sample of exterior elevated elements for which the association has maintenance or repair responsibility.” 

The key phrase here is “statistically significant sample” meaning that a sufficient number of units will be inspected and the results will be used to reflect the whole building using a 95% confidence benchmark outlined in Section 1 (4). 

Thought experiment:

You’re in a building with 100 rooms looking for water damage underneath the carpet. The client asks, “Is there any water damage that needs to be fixed?” If you want to be absolutely certain and don’t mind spending the money, you can tear out all 100 rooms’ worth of carpet. This would be disruptive, take a long time, and cost a lot of money.

If you’re ok being less than absolutely sure, you can pull up a sample of them, say half or even 1/10th and check for damage. With a “95% confidence” measure, this means you’re sure of something with only a 1 in 20 chance of being wrong. The engineer or architect has to make the call of how much to check to hit that level of confidence. It typically does not mean they look for damage, and if some is found, they look for more. They’re checking enough that there’s only a 1 in 20 chance that they’re wrong. If there is a trend of little to no damage, fewer inspections will be done.

Money for repairs is generally collected in the form of reserves, special assessments, and loans. If by chance the HOA is less than 10 years old and structural damage is found, it could be a construction defect for which the builder may be found liable. HOAs are facing challenges due to the 2025 time crunch as to whether or not the funds can be assessed on such short notice. It won’t always be like this though– inspections will be 9 years apart from here on out, which should be easier to plan for. 

It’s no fun having to pay for unexpected costs, which is why here at Dials we have designed solutions to ease the burden. With automatic payments, maintenance tracking, custom assessment creation, and a place to store all your documents, you’ll want to start thinking about upgrading your bookkeeping infrastructure. We realize that being on your HOA’s board might be your second or even third job and we want it to be your easiest one. It’s a good feeling when you have money in the bank to pay for something as soon as it happens, and we’re dedicated to making sure you experience this exact feeling. Our platform will ensure that your HOAs reserve fund stays in tip-top shape prepared for nasty urgent repairs and/or unexpected legislation that might come up in the future. With years of HOA experience, our word to you is that you prepare for things like the Balcony Bill with surety and confidence the smart way; the Dials way. Our work doesn’t stop here either– we’ve got even more planned to ensure that everyone is kept up to date on current events around your association using cutting-edge technology. Ditch the reactionary approach to paying your fees and adopt a more proactive way of budgeting with Dials HOA software so that you can spend more time enjoying your home and less time managing it.

– The Dials team

Ratification: failed. I remember the board meeting, sometime mid-2019—before COVID—I was seated at the front table, where the meeting was about to begin, watching a group distribute mixed English- and Cantonese-language flyers opposing electric vehicles in our building. Something about danger—funny not just because the alternative is tanks of explosive gasoline under each car, but worse, the garage exhaust fan hadn’t worked for years, and the guy who’d allowed that to happen was handing out flyers. But those electric vehicles? Watch out.

We have three elevators in my building and our community is so stingy, they lived with two for years, and when that broke, one—nevermind the five-minute wait for an elevator, or packing cheek-to-jowl with 8 people every time the car came. Before the replacement, the community argued for months over who’d pay, the lower floors arguing vigorously for a reduced share of the cost, on the theory that “we only go up one floor, so shouldn’t have to pay the same as the top-floor people”. When we replace the hallway carpeting, I’ll be sure to bring my ruler, because I know the odds of getting payment are approximately zero unless it’s itemized in inches.

The real reason for flyers at the meeting? My board colleague Ryan was “stealing electricity”, plugging his Tesla into a common electrical circuit in the garage. With this crowd, that was not OK.

I’d actually seen this coming. By Spring 2019, I’d seen a dozen or so EVs in our 400-space garage, and it was clear it was going to be a thing unless sensible policy was enacted. I gave it my best shot, writing up a policy, and soliciting feedback in two community meetings. We’d started with a dead-simple flat $25/month to charge, but after a community member pointed out that plug-in hybrids, also popular, would probably use less electricity, we added another tier at $15/month. Perfect? No, but with the controlling text written in English, implementation by a two-member Cantonese office staff already overworked managing 20 employees, 400 monthly invoices and another 100 bills, and a population of 800 whose first languages included Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, even Spanish, that was as close as we were going to get.

Not everyone saw it this way; the folks in the back wanted billing by the kilowatt-hour, and barring that, a complete ban on charging. Best-case, their demands were totally impractical—thousands of dollars installing proprietary chargers and Internet access in an underground garage, in addition to recurring fees for payment processing and management software, and yet another tool nobody knows how to use, all for the sake of properly billing $400/month. And the ban? Illegal under state law. Predictably, it’s been two years and the problem remains unsolved, Ryan still charging his Tesla, happily paying $25/month because that’s what he thought was fair, looking at his use.

Overview

This two-part series will explore how common-interest communities (the legal term for homeowner’s associations, or HOAs), especially condominiums, are facilitating the transition to electric vehicles. The first part documents how several associations handled the issue; the second is more analytical, going into detail on the questions a good policy should answer.

Researching this article, I surveyed representatives from 20 HOAs across six US states (CA, DC, NJ, IN, IL, WA). A key finding: it’s still really early. Though I sampled only 20 associations, I didn’t find a single charger installed in Illinois, New Jersey, or Indiana (9/2021). The only community I’d characterize as “having their act together” EV-wise was Bowdoin Place Condominiums (Seattle, WA), a 26-unit building whose size and layout made a straightforward “direct tap” possible.

Some things to keep in mind reading the case studies:

1. Compliance. Is it legal? In California, where I live, state law prohibits EV bans and obligates boards to develop policy for charging.
2. Billing. Direct utility billing is most convenient, but may not be possible in large buildings.
3. Capital costs and ownership. Who owns and pays for the equipment? Let owners install their own chargers; associations should fund and retain ownership of electrical systems, especially considering major electrical upgrades may be required to accommodate charging.

Note: This is a practitioner’s account, reporting what worked for us as community members and elected policymakers. We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice.

Direct tap: Bowdoin Place Condominiums, Seattle, WA

Bowdoin Place is a two-building, 26-unit condominium development in the Fremont neighborhood (near the Troll) in Seattle, Washington. The building sits atop a small hill, with a concrete-walled ground-floor garage.

The electrical meters were in the garage, so when six unit owners wanted EV chargers, they ran six conduit lines across the garage, and split the costs.

It doesn’t get much simpler than running a wire. “Each EV charger is installed in the owners units assigned parking space”, explained John Yu, an owner at Bowdoin Place. “The electricity is directly connected to that units meter. The installation was to 6 units based on the owners request for the installation.”

A brief aside on electrical billing

Never miss a chance to keep the association out of it.

Reddit, /r/hoa

I read that a couple years ago, it’s stuck with me. Using a “direct tap” from the utility meter keeps the association out of metering and billing. You really want to stay out of metering and billing.

My condo was built in 1976 with a single meter for each of gas, electricity, and water. At some point, the decision was made to install individual electrical meters for each unit (I believe this may have been due to regulation, but I couldn’t substantiate this), forcing my association to be a “submeter operator” (we re-meter and bill for electricity).

Submetering is awful. Every two months, by law:

1. Our staff goes door-to-door, gathering 328 meter readings, along the way dealing with inconsistently-placed meters, multiple meter types (3/4/5 dials, different dial -> kWh factors), vacant units, and vision-impaired senior citizens who report incorrect readings
2. Ensure recent calibration of meters, required by the California Public Utility Commission (PUC)
3. Apply the right utility rate, which requires tracking enrollment in CARE and other programs, ensuring rate discounts are applied (e.g. to senior and low-income citizens) as applicable
4. Ensure rebates such as the California Climate Credit, are credited to individual submeter customers in a compliant way (1/328? Based on use percentage?)
5. Determine which taxes apply (e.g. Oakland Utility Users Tax), implement the correct calculation formulas and rates
6. Journal all of it into the accounting system, ensuring taxing authorities are paid timely, often by check
7. Issue resident invoices, and get ready for the inevitable complaints and billing disputes: “This is way too high” (it’s for two months), “I used only 18 kWh of electricity in three months” (no you didn’t), “I’m not paying this” (great)

With net metering (feeding energy back into the grid), time-of-use (different rates based on time of day), and even more taxes and assistance programs, it’s borderline impossible to stay compliant. You owe it to your association to steer clear of this.

Shared stations: Pacific Renaissance Plaza, Oakland, CA

Pacific Renaissance Plaza is a mixed-use development in Oakland, California; residential towers and a street-accessible commercial area (mall), with three floors of underground parking.

The garage is divided into a deeded [1] portion used by residential owners, and a public pay-to-park garage available to the public, intended for owners, employees, and customers of commercial units. Four shared chargers are available in the commercial section on a first-come, first-served basis, though charging requires both paying the normal parking fees, as well as separate payment to ChargePoint. They don’t seem too popular; two of the four were inoperable when I visited, and according to management, residents who want to charge “would need to pull a token when they use the EV chargers in public parking, and pay for parking when charging is done”.

Pacific Renaissance uses equipment from ChargePoint. The firm’s model is outright sale of chargers to businesses and real estate operators, who operate them using Chargepoint’s subscription software for billing and station management (an additional expense). This has the advantage of letting operators “choose their own adventure”: free charging (as a customer/employee perk), cost recovery, or a large, profitable operation with many chargers—it’s up to the operator.

Overall? Not impressed. One of my priorities at City Center (my community) was avoiding electrical mark-ups. It’s bad enough making people pay inflated rates for charging; forcing them to pay for charging, and then for the privilege of parking—in my own home, no less—is borderline insulting.

And then there’s the issue of regulation. Today, submetering rules (detailed above) don’t apply to EV charging, but given the California PUC‘s regulatory zeal, anything could happen, especially in homes (condos or apartments). I have a hard time imagining it being 2030 without wonderful new “regulatory innovations” such as rate caps, time-of-use requirements, or other measures. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors already mandated 10% of spaces have chargers in commercial lots over 100 spaces, due by January 1, 2023.

Those electric vehicles—watch out. I guess the people in my building didn’t see the signs on many garages here, noting that exhaust “contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm” 😊

Not yet solved: City Center Plaza, Oakland, CA

I live here, 15 stories of residential space atop a 400-space, three-level underground garage. Unfortunately, direct taps aren’t an option as the vehicles are hundreds of feet from the meters.

Due to financial constraints (need to focus on structural and water issues), we’re tabling the project until probably 2023. Our early thoughts (many inspired by my experience in software and tech ops) are as follows:

• Invest in what won’t change: I learned this from software. I don’t know what the future holds for load allocation, billing, rooftop solar, or numerous other fast-changing areas of technology. What I do know is that whatever form it takes, we’ll still need conduit, transformers, service panels, and other base infrastructure, so we can invest there without too much risk.
• Phases. We’ll probably work in waves every year or two, electrifying 20-30 spaces spread out across the garage in each wave. This lets us test, learn, and refine the approach as we go, an incremental approach the Strong Towns folks would like.
• Keep bills low. We don’t want residents to pay a markup on electricity, even if it means spending more upfront.
• Keep it simple. There’s almost certainly some kind of communication system needed, but ideally it would be extremely simple; wired Ethernet, LoRA, etc. No patches, no software updates, no viruses, no Windows machines in the closet.

If you know of a good system for this, please leave a comment.

Other approaches

I came across two residential garages (one in San Francisco, another in Richmond) with a handful of shared chargers for residents. At the one in Richmond, residents can use the charger but are expected to move their car when charging is finished; at the San Francisco one (slightly higher-end), a valet moves cars to and from the charging station, managing sharing and returning cars to owner spaces when charging completes.

My friend Jared lived in an apartment without charging, relying on a nearby Supercharger (Tesla) for power. He mentioned it taking only an hour, but sometimes needed to charge multiple times in a week. He lives in a townhouse in Texas now, and is delighted to charge at home.

I manage a six-unit apartment, and when we install electric vehicle chargers (still a few years off), I’m going to run conduit directly to the chargers. If you can get away with it—the stations aren’t too far from the individual units’ breakers or panels—I would highly recommend this approach.

What’s next

In Part II, we’ll survey the elements of a good policy: (1) compliance, (2) billing, and (3) capital cost allocation.

What strategies have you seen for common-interest charging, especially in multi-hundred-space residential garages? Leave us a comment.

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We’re Dials, the system of record for maintenance. We help owners and managers of condos, apartments, and other large buildings see the whole picture—inventory, maintenance records, activity, and anticipated expenses. Learn more

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[1] “Deeded”: all common-interest ownerships (titles) have a separate interest, and a common interest. Separate is yours alone, common is owned along with other association neighbors. Your CC&Rs define whether your parking is part of your separate interest (“deeded”) or the common interest (“assigned”). Assigned parking can be moved; deeded is yours alone.

In addition to Dials, I run the project committee at my condo, a 348-unit high-rise called City Center Plaza. As head of the committee, I oversee capital planning, the process of allocating our limited reserve funds toward the highest-impact projects, as well as advising the treasurer on how much funding we need budgeted for future projects.

It’s a big job, and a decade of neglect has left things in rough shape (shocker). Take a look at our reserve study (above): 22 past-due projects costing more than $1.5 million. Naturally, money we don’t have, though with $800k in the bank, we are working it down; it’s a lot better than when I moved in, four years ago, with $400k off the books owed to vendors, and $50k in the bank. But that $800k is peanuts next to $5-10 million in deferred maintenance. And sadly, our condition is the norm: 70% of associations are underfunded, according to Buildium. If you can believe it, the board of the collapsed building in Florida was better than most—they had a plan, outlined in a letter urging homeowners to approve a $15 million plan of remediation. But with nothing saved, and a shortfall of $80-300k per unit, the die was cast. Accumulating that kind of funding is the project of a decade–maybe two–not a year.

And so you have it: the HOA Financial Crisis. 45,000 communities in California alone, with deficits of thousands, even tens of thousands, per unit. “American Local Governance in a Nutshell”, as Strong Towns describes it, situated in a broader crisis of disrepair affecting everything from dams, to bridges and space observatories.

No single person has the power to cause a problem of this scale. The HOA Financial Crisis is a product of broken feedback loops, bad incentives, and failed accounting/measurement systems. The good news is, recent advances in sensing and perception have made it inevitable that repair and maintenance will factor into price.

If you what to see how, read on.

Root problem: good capital planning doesn’t affect price

Capital planning is the set of activities ensuring a building stays in good shape long-term: keeping inventory, developing a plan, and carrying out the plan, including accumulating funds, and spending them on the highest-impact projects. Today, the quality of this process—how well a building is kept and the state of its reserves—doesn’t meaningfully influence price.

It should. I was surprised Wells Fargo’s quoted rate included a 0.25% premium on my condo loan, but they might have the right idea. Apart from the borrower’s ability to pay, the #1 thing mortgage lenders care about is not lending too much—on a $500,000 property, a conventional 20% down mortgage leaves $100,000 of buffer (the buyer’s equity) that all but eliminates the bank’s chances of loss. But crazy things happen—like Champlain Towers, where the board’s power to assess might result in a $150,000 lien on the unit, making that $500,000 property unsellable above $350,000 (assuming the seller has to clear the $150k assessment lien). That’s a $50,000 write-down for a lender, which given typical mortgage underwriting margins, is catastrophic.

It’s even worse for insurance: want to be first in line for losses when a caved-in roof causes tens of thousands in equipment damage? No, obviously.

Want to see fireworks? Tell a community their property prices are falling because buyers can’t get loans (banks won’t touch a place), or worse, the board can’t find insurance—all of a sudden, a lot more residents are going to show up, and board meetings will be a lot less dull.

So where’s the data?

It all starts with inventory. What’s in the building? Where’s the master list of pumps, pipes, and elevators, along with dates of installation, service, inspections, and which vendor did all of it?

Without inventory, there’s no way to know whether a project plan is realistic, how much funding should be set aside, or what’s most important to service next. It all starts from inventory. Typically, a couple things go wrong.

First, reserve studies aren’t good enough; reserve analysts are great at estimating component lifetimes and usually have project cost databases, but an analyst’s list assembled in half a day will never be as thorough as something done bit-by-bit over time by a diligent manager (especially onsite). Let the expert (reserve analyst) do the expert’s job (assessing lifetime)—it’s best if the association brings its own list.

Second, the association must own this data, and the system that houses it; vendors come and go, as well as managers, and boards. Inventory, repair, and maintenance data must be handled like accounting records—think Quickbooks—placed in a special system with custom-built permanent storage, with proper access controls and multi-user functionality. Ideally, a field-ready mobile application, that works even in the basement and has your entire complement (potentially dozens) of vendors able to log in and record work.

And third, entering inventory is a hassle. Making data entry as easy as possible, or even eliminating it altogether, is a long-term goal for Dials.

And how do we ensure it’s fresh?

Simple: solve someone’s problem.

Associations need better planning tools, and reminders to keep things updated. Over the next couple of months, we’re going to build the best set of capital planning tools out there, that will be fun to use, and help associations stay on track with their goals.

Using your inventory data, we’ll help you create a project plan, calculate how much you need to fund it, and guide you toward hitting your savings and operations goals.

If we can help even one association budget better, it will be worth it for us. If you want to level up, sign up for updates as we build (below) or try us out at dials.com.

To medical professionals, “charting” is like flossing one’s teeth: tedious, and easy to skip. But invariably, something you’ll regret not having done.

As a clinical dietitian, my mom was careful to chart each patient’s progress–how much weight they’d (hopefully) lost or gained, what seemed to be working, where improvement was needed. My dad was home pretty reliably by 5:30 or 6, but not my mom, who’d sometimes see eight patients back-to-back, with barely time for lunch, let alone charting. But she made time for it, somehow, obligated by either professional standards, or human concern for her patients.

Despite charting’s critical importance to long-term care, any medical professional will be happy to tell you how often it’s skipped. Fee-for-service medicine emphasizes appointments and procedures, not record-keeping and follow-up. Through I’m sure she rarely worked less than full-time, my mother spent most of her career as a benefit-free part-time employee, never properly compensated (in my view) for her diligence, or attention to patient needs.

I think of my mom often as I work on dials. The maintenance professionals who use our products are “building doctors”, and we’re giving them the tools to automate “charting” — gathering data — so that they can bill more work, spend less time on unpaid record-keeping, and get home to their families. Preferably, before it gets dark.