Lantern HOA
Guides

Guides for boards and neighborhood organizers

Written for the volunteer doing the job. Concrete, procedural, and complete, with no product attached.

Running the association

How to Run a Self-Managed HOAThe five jobs every self-managed HOA board must cover, how to split them, which professionals to hire anyway, and the systems that survive board turnover. Leaving Your HOA Management Company: A Board’s GuideHow to decide whether to fire your HOA management company, read the termination clause, get every record back, and run the 90-day transition to self-management. HOA Board Duties, Positions & Fiduciary ResponsibilitiesA complete guide to HOA board of directors duties. Officer positions explained: president, secretary, treasurer, vice president, and at-large directors. Fiduciary responsibilities, time commitment, and what stays with committees. How to Run an HOA Annual MeetingNotice, quorum, proxies, the agenda, running the election, and minutes. A step-by-step guide to an HOA annual meeting that finishes on time and holds up later. HOA Reserve Funds: A Plain-English Guide for BoardsWhat an HOA reserve fund is for, how reserve studies work, percent funded explained, funding strategies compared, and how to talk to owners about all of it.

Community life

How to Run a Community Garage SaleA planning timeline, a permit and signage checklist, map and listing templates, and the logistics that make a neighborhood-wide garage sale work. Why Nobody Reads the HOA NewsletterWhy HOA communication fails, what residents actually want to receive, how to segment by urgency, and a practical cadence a volunteer board can sustain. New Homeowner Welcome Packet: What to IncludeA complete checklist of what new residents need in the first week, what to skip, and how to keep a welcome packet current instead of stale. How to Set Up Fair Pickleball Court RotationPaddle stacking, open play, challenge courts, and reservations compared. How to pick a rotation that fits your community and gets followed. How to Run for Your HOA BoardWhat the job involves, how to get on the ballot, a realistic campaign plan for a volunteer election, and what to do in your first 90 days if you win. How to Start a Neighborhood Social CommitteeHow to recruit volunteers, pick a first event people will attend, build a year calendar, and avoid the burnout that ends most social committees. Gate Access Options for Short-Term RentalsShared gate codes, call boxes, guard lists, and per-stay passes compared for hosts in gated communities. Plus how to stay on good terms with your board.

Where the advice ends up

Most of these guides come down to one move. Put the schedule, the notice, or the record where every resident looks. In practice, that looks like this:

Free document templates

HOA and condo association document templates by stateMeeting notices, minutes, and violation letters for FL, TX, AZ, NC, SC, WA, CA, IL, VA, OH, MN, GA, CO, NY, MA, MI.