How to become a member of the association?

Membership in a California homeowners' association is coupled with an ownership interest in a common interest development. This requirement is frequently mirrored in an association's governing documents, i.e., members must be owners of real property (lots or units) subject to the association's CC&Rs. In short, a person must be on title to be a member. All HOMEOWNERS who are on title of their units are part of the association's membership; tenants are not members.

The primary task of a homeowners' association, through its Board of Directors, is to maintain, repair and replace the common areas, which protects the property values of its members. Even though homeowners' associations are often viewed as mini governments in nature, they are not pure democracies where members can vote on all issues. Instead, powers are delegated to elected representatives (the Board of Directors) with some powers are reserved to the membership.

The "Board of Directors" is the elected body that governs an association. The "directors" are persons designated, elected, or appointed to act as members of the governing body of the association.  The number of directors elected to a board is usually 5 but can be less or more.  The primary duty of a board of directors is to manage their association. 

 Following are the types of management commonly found in homeowner associations:

1. Self-Management. Small associations frequently use self-management, i.e., the Board of Directors directly manages the association without the assistance of professional management.
2. Management Company. Small and medium-sized associations often employ a management company to handle day to day operations. This includes receiving assessments, paying bills, preparing monthly financial reports, prepare and mailing the annual budget report and policy statement, performing property inspections, soliciting bids for projects, handling correspondence, preparing board meeting packets, etc. 
3. Onsite Management. Large and high-end mid-sized associations will often employ a full-time onsite manager to handle operations. Sending monthly invoices, bills, and receiving assessments is either done in-house or is contracted with a management company. The onsite manager can be a direct employee of the association or an employee of a management company. The arrangement provides the full service described above but with a higher level of service since management and staff are on site.

The association and its members employ a management company (Platinum Group)

who conducts the association's day-to-day operations. The board delegates the management of the activities of the association to the management company, but all corporate powers shall be exercised under the ultimate direction of the board.