Using Community Association Welcome Letters for New Residents

Setting the tone for positive and constructive relationships from the onset is a great way to make an impactful first impression. For new members of condominium and homeowners association communities, one of the best ways to achieve this is with the use of helpful welcome letters for new owners and residents. Such letters should go well beyond a basic formal introduction to the community. In addition to such warm sentiments, they should provide essential information and serve to alleviate any anxieties and concerns that new association members may harbor.

After expressing sincere words of welcome, the letters should include contact information for accessible association staff and representatives. They should encourage new residents to contact those individuals via email or telephone with any questions or concerns they may have, and the office hours for the association’s administrative office should also be included.  Participation in association meetings is an essential component for building strong and constructive relationships with new members. The welcome letter should include the meeting schedule with dates, times and locations, and they should encourage new members to attend the meetings and use them to introduce themselves to the directors and their fellow association members.

Adherence with association rules begins with awareness and understanding of all the regulations and standards. The letter should include a brief review of all of the most basic and essential rules and guidelines, including those covering parking, garbage disposal, deliveries, and the use of shared community amenities. Those amenities and any resources that are available for the benefit of residents and their guests should also be delineated and discussed. The benefits of living in communities with associations are derived from the carefree lifestyle options they provide with such onsite features as pools, fitness centers, sports courts, clubhouses, meeting rooms, and others, and they should also be spotlighted in the letter. Special events and gatherings that are hosted by the community should also be highlighted.

Many communities now feature websites to facilitate communications with residents and providing association members with access to official records. Welcome letters should include the website URL address and information on all of its contents, as well as information on how to register and gain access to any sections that are exclusively reserved for association members. If a community utilizes a newsletter or informational flyers, these items should be mentioned and described in the welcome letter and included with it as attachments. Such items often include owner/resident profiles, so the letter can be used to encourage recipients to submit their information for consideration for such a spotlight in the future. First impressions make a lasting impact, and welcome letters can help to enable communities to get off to a strong start towards building warm and congenial relationships with all their new owners and residents.

Our firm’s South Florida community association attorneys write about important matters for associations in this blog and our Miami Herald column, which appears every two weeks on Sundays, and we encourage association directors, members and property managers to click here and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our future articles.