Your HOA Should Be in the Movies! Promoting It Through Video

we talk about a small trend, but one that’s growing: HOAs creating a video to showcase their community.

Is it a smart idea? Or does it go beyond the scope of an association’s mission?

This idea gets a good reception from community association insiders—mostly.

“I think it’s actually a good thing,” says Matthew K. Laderman, a partner at mem property management corporation in Somerset, New Jersey. “Some associations have entire marketing departments. It’s a way to help increase property values. You have this information available for people considering moving to the community and for brokers selling properties in the community. For my community where I live, we do just that. We do all kinds of things, and we have a marketing director.”

However, Krut recognizes this might not be feasible at most properties. “I think it’s mainly for a bigger association,” he says. “We’re approximately 500 homes. For smaller communities, it’s probably not worth it because there are fewer people looking in those communities, and the association probably doesn’t have the resources to create the video.”

A community in Colorado also took that route, but its goal was to pull itself out of a ditch it had slid into. “One of the communities we used to represent was a high-end Denver community that had gone through a relatively tumultuous period,” recalls David Firmin, a partner at Hindman Sanchez, a law firm in Arvada, Colo., with about 1,600 association clients. “It was oversold in terms of investment units, and there were a whole lot of foreclosures. Then it went through construction-defect issues. It had gotten to the point where real estate agents weren’t showing the building anymore.

“The community did a video to rebrand the community and to bring real estate salespeople back,” notes Firmin. “The board hired someone and used association funds for a professionally produced video. They were very proud of themselves.”

Firmin thinks the board acted appropriately. “I think creating a video is OK if it fits those restrictions,” he says. “It was intended to show off the building, get real estate agents in, and increase property values.”