About HOA Member Services
Company Structure
HOA Member Services is a trade name of HOA Member Services, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, launched in 2013 as an internet company headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Business Purpose
The purpose of HOA Member Services is to provide valuable information and resources to members and management personnel of homeowner associations in a fast and efficient manner that will educate and assist them in connection with the management and operation of their homeowner association, promote member involvement, enable associations to operate more efficiently and economically, and enhance enjoyment of the HOA experience.
Mission Statement
The mission of HOA Member Services is to provide members and managers of homeowner associations with general information and resources that will educate and assist them in connection with the management and operation of their homeowner association, promote member involvement, enable associations to operate more efficiently and economically, and enhance enjoyment of the HOA experience.
Meet the Team
Lawrence Szabo
Manager / President
HOA Member Services is the creation of Lawrence Szabo (“Larry”), a native and resident of Los Angeles California. Larry has been a practicing business and real estate lawyer in California since 1974. As an attorney, for more than 30 years Larry has represented homeowner associations in connection with a multitude of matters ranging from minor corporate housekeeping issues to multi-party construction defect litigation. During that period, he has also represented individual members of homeowner associations in connection with legal issues that they have had with the homeowner associations in which they were members.
In addition to his involvement with homeowner associations as an attorney, for over 40 years Larry has been an investor in real estate and has owed, either personally or through a business that he was the managing officer of, many properties that were located within common interest developments. From the purchase of his first condominium in 1974, Larry has been a member of numerous homeowner associations in which he has also served as a member of committees, boards of directors, and as an officer.
Larry is also licensed as a real estate broker in California and a trained mediator. He is currently a member of the California State Bar Association, the L.A. County Bar Association, the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, California Association of Community Managers, and the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors. Larry holds an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Juris Doctor Degree from Southwestern University.
Jonathan Szabo
Manager / Vice President
Jonathan Szabo (“Jonathan”) has been working together with his father Larry since 2009 after he spent a short stint as an Associate for Macquarie Energy, LLC. He began his career with Larry in Real Estate, working in the area of property acquisitions and property management. As a manager, Jonathan was actively involved with issues pertaining to homeowners associations and their members. Jonathan was an integral part of the development of the HOA Member Services Website. He currently helps manage and operate all components of the HOA Member Services Website including marketing, social media, advertising, and member relations. Jonathan also holds an active California Real Estate Salesperson License and is a member of the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, California Association of Community Managers, and the Beverly Hills/ Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors. He graduated from The University of Southern California (USC) in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys spending quality time with his wife Megan, who he married in the fall of 2016.
Pamela Szabo
Manager / CFO/Secretary
Pamela Szabo (“Pam”) is an important part of the administrative end of the HOA Member Services business. Her responsibilities include overseeing bookkeeping, accounting, and computer programing and technology. She has a passion for technology and is always looking to improve the way things are done. Pam is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Mathematics. Her background experience includes over 30 years of teaching mathematics and computers, and serving as a corporate financial officer.
Background to Company Formation
From his background and experience as an attorney and an owner of properties located within common interest developments, Larry Szabo, the President of HOA Member Services, has developed extensive knowledge about laws affecting common interest developments and the inner workings of homeowner associations and how they function. From this history, he has learned that the people involved in homeowner associations, from members who are bound by extensive legal documents (i.e. bylaws, declarations, CC&Rs, and rules), to officers and directors who are vested with the responsibility of prudently managing and operating their association, rarely have the educational background and experience to enable them to fully comprehend and appreciate their rights and responsibilities as association members and as officers and directors of homeowner associations. As a result, they are generally very dependent on the expertise, advice, and assistance from more educated and experienced professionals such as attorneys and property managers. Ironically, even though it is a lack of knowledge and experience that necessitates the use of property managers and attorneys, association directors have the ultimate responsibility for properly managing and operating their homeowner association.
Larry has also learned that, because the cost associated with the use of attorneys and professional management is a considerable expense, frequently individual members and associations will avoid utilizing a property manager or attorney. This may save money in the short term, but it also may result in higher cost long term problems that result from insufficient knowledge of laws, regulations and the requirements of an association’s governing documents. In order to bridge this gap, Larry recognized the need for a vehicle to: (i) provide information and resources to members of homeowner associations, and their management personnel that would help them to better understand and deal with legal and operational issues pertaining to homeowner associations; (ii) create greater interest and participation in homeowner association governance; (iii) facilitate and expedite access to resources that are necessary for the proper performance of duties and responsibilities; (iv) and enhance member enjoyment of their HOA experience.
Thanks to the development of the internet, the ability to deliver valuable information and resources to homeowner association members and management personnel in a fast, efficient and economical manner has become a reality. HOA Member Services is the vehicle for the delivery of that information and those resources. Proper use of this website will enable us to fulfill our mission “to provide members and managers of homeowner associations with general information and resources that will educate and assist them in connection with the management and operation of their homeowner association, promote member involvement, enable associations to operate more efficiently and economically, and enhance enjoyment of the HOA experience.”
We hope you enjoy and benefit from the use of our website.
Best Regards,
Larry, Pam and Jonathan
Industry Information
Industry data indicates that as of 2020, in excess of 75 million people live in over 352,000 common interest developments that are located throughout the United States and that the number consistently increases annually. Common interest developments are created and operate in accordance with a variety of federal, state, and local laws and regulations as well as the governing documents of each separate common interest development.
By definition, a common interest development involves interests that are owned individually (separate interests) and common areas that are owned by all the individual owners in common (common areas). Each owner of a separate interest is a member of the homeowner association that is vested with the responsibility of management and operations of the common interest development. To accomplish that, the members must conduct elections to select the members of the board of directors that acts on behalf of the association. The individual directors are volunteers with diverse backgrounds and experience, are not compensated for their service as directors, and rarely possess the level of knowledge and experience that is required to properly manage and operate their association in accordance with all of the laws, regulations and provisions that are contained in their governing documents . By necessity, they must rely heavily upon assistance from professional management companies and attorneys who are educated and trained in the laws governing common interest developments.
Ironically, although it is their lack of knowledge and experience that necessitates the use of property managers and attorneys, the directors always have the ultimate responsibility for properly managing and operating their homeowner association. Typically, property managers and attorneys are retained independent contractors who, absent being liable for damages resulting from wrongful conduct on their part, are not liable for the decisions made by an association’s board of directors.
Because the cost associated with the use of professional management and attorneys is a considerable expense to a homeowner association, which relies on dues and assessments paid by members to fund its operations, many associations are self managed and avoid using professional management and attorneys as much as possible. While this may save the association money in the short term, it also frequently results in long term problems that are created by the association operating on insufficient knowledge and not in accordance with all of the laws, regulations and requirements of their own governing documents that they are responsible for complying with. HOA Member Services hopes to bridge this gap by providing members with information and resources that will educate them on various issues they are confronted with and which will enable them to perform their responsibilities faster and more efficiently.
The information contained on this website and in other member communications (newsletters and emails) is not intended to be a substitute for assistance from more experienced and trained professionals where the interests of the association are best served by the utilization of such professionals. The effective use of the information and resources provided by HOA Member Services will enable association members and management to more efficiently interface with professionals that are required and better understand and deal with daily association management and operational issues that do not generally involve property managers or lawyers.
