Answers for Homeowners and Board Members

You can pay your assessment online through the owner portal at home.amlocommunitymanagement.com/public. Payments can be made by ACH bank transfer or credit card, and you can set up autopay so your assessment is processed automatically each month. There are no electronic payment processing surcharges charged to homeowners for standard ACH payments.

If you need help setting up your portal account or have a question about your account balance, contact the management office directly and we’ll get you sorted within one business day.

Log into the owner portal at home.amlocommunitymanagement.com/public, navigate to the maintenance request section, and describe the issue with as much detail as possible – including the location and any photos if relevant. You’ll receive a confirmation and can track the status of your request through the portal.

For urgent safety issues – a gas leak, water intrusion, structural hazard – call the management office emergency line directly rather than submitting through the portal.

Governing documents, meeting minutes, community rules, and other routine association records are available through the owner portal. Log in and navigate to the documents section to find your community’s current CC&Rs, bylaws, rules and regulations, and approved meeting minutes.

Under both Washington’s WUCIOA and California’s Davis-Stirling Act, homeowners have the right to inspect a broader range of association records – including financial statements, vendor contracts, and bank records – upon written request. Submit a written records request to the management office specifying which records you want to review.

Read the notice carefully and identify the specific rule or CC&R provision cited and the corrective action required. If the violation is accurate, address it within the timeframe specified in the notice – most violations are resolved at this stage and no further action is taken.

If you believe the notice is incorrect or want to dispute it, you have the right to request a hearing before any fine is imposed. Both Washington’s WUCIOA and California’s Davis-Stirling Act require that homeowners receive notice and an opportunity to appear before the board before a monetary penalty is levied. Contact the management office to request a hearing.

If you have questions about what the notice requires or what the timeline is, contact the management office and we will walk you through it.

HOA fees fund two things: operating expenses and reserve contributions. Operating expenses are the recurring costs of running the community – landscaping, common area utilities, insurance, professional management, pool maintenance, and administrative costs. Reserve contributions go into a dedicated savings account that funds major capital repairs and replacements when major components reach the end of their useful life, such as roofs, paving, and pool equipment.

HOA fees do not cover the interior of individual units, individual utility bills, or repairs caused by owner negligence. For a detailed breakdown of how your community’s specific assessment is allocated, review the annual budget distributed each year or contact the management office.

For more detail, see our post: What HOA Fees Actually Cover.

When selling a home in a managed community, you will typically need a resale certificate or demand packet – a document that discloses the association’s financial condition, current assessments, any outstanding violations, pending special assessments, and the association’s governing documents. Buyers, their lenders, and title companies require this as part of the purchase process.

AmLo processes resale certificates and lender questionnaires for all communities we manage. Submit your request through our Resale Certificates and Lender Questionnaires page. Processing times and fees vary – review that page for current details.

It depends on what you want to change and what your community’s governing documents require. Most HOA and COA communities have an architectural review process for changes that affect the exterior appearance of a home or the common elements – things like paint colors, landscaping modifications, additions, fences, solar panels, or EV charger installations.

Review your community’s architectural guidelines (available in the owner portal) before starting any project. If your proposed change requires board approval, submit an architectural review request to the management office before beginning work. Changes made without required approval may need to be reversed at the owner’s expense.

Note: California law prohibits HOAs from unreasonably restricting solar panel installation or EV charging equipment. Washington law has similar protections. Contact the management office if you have questions about your rights.

You have the right to dispute a fine before it is imposed. Under California’s Davis-Stirling Act, the association must provide written notice of an alleged violation and an opportunity to appear before the board at a hearing at least 10 days before any fine is levied. Under WUCIOA in Washington, similar due process rights apply.

If you have already received a fine and want to dispute it, you may request an Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) conference – a mandatory informal process available to homeowners under both California and Washington law. Contact the management office to request IDR. For disputes that cannot be resolved through IDR, formal alternative dispute resolution or legal action may be available.

AmLo charges a single flat monthly fee per unit that covers the full scope of management services – board meeting preparation and attendance, financial management, vendor coordination, owner communications, compliance support, and technology platform access. There is no separate schedule of ancillary fees, no vendor invoice markups, and no per-transaction charges.

The only pass-through costs are genuine third-party charges – certified mail for statutory delinquency notices, county recording fees – passed through at actual cost without markup. For a complete explanation of our pricing model and how to compare it fairly against other proposals, see our Pricing page.

Almost certainly yes, if your community is residential and located in Washington State. WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) applies to all residential condominiums regardless of when they were formed, HOAs with more than 50 homes, and HOAs with 50 or fewer homes assessed more than approximately $1,000 per year per home.

Open meeting requirements under RCW 64.90.445 are already in effect as of January 1, 2026 for all Washington community associations. Full WUCIOA compliance is required by January 1, 2028. For a detailed breakdown of what WUCIOA requires and how it compares to the prior RCW 64.38 framework, see our post: RCW 64.38 vs. WUCIOA.

As of January 1, 2026, WUCIOA’s open meeting requirements apply to all Washington community associations. Key requirements include: all board meetings must be open to unit owners; owners have the right to speak before the board discusses or votes on any agenda item; meetings must be noticed at least 14 days in advance with the agenda; all materials distributed to directors must also be available to owners; electronic meetings must include a telephone dial-in option; and executive sessions are permitted only for a narrow list of statutorily defined topics.

For more detail, see our post: How to Run an HOA Board Meeting.

The Davis-Stirling Act imposes comprehensive requirements across virtually every aspect of HOA and COA governance in California – financial disclosures, assessment collection procedures, reserve fund requirements, board meeting notice and open meeting obligations, secret ballot election procedures, and a detailed rule enforcement process that must be followed before any fine is levied.

For a comprehensive overview, see our Davis-Stirling Act Guide. For enforcement-specific requirements, see our post on HOA Rule Enforcement Under Davis-Stirling.

The answer requires a current reserve study. Reserve funds are considered adequate at 70% funded or above – meaning the current balance is at least 70% of what it would be if every component had been funded perfectly from day one. Below 70% is considered underfunded. Below 30% is severely underfunded and can affect unit owners’ ability to sell or refinance.

If your community doesn’t have a reserve study completed within the last year (required annually under WUCIOA in Washington) or the last three years (required under Davis-Stirling in California), commissioning one is the first step. AmLo coordinates reserve study engagements for all communities we manage. For a full explanation of reserve funds and what adequate funding means, see our post: HOA Reserve Fund 101.

SB 326 applies to California condominium associations with three or more multifamily units that have exterior elevated elements – balconies, decks, walkways, stairways – with walking surfaces six feet or more above ground level. The first inspection was required to be completed by January 1, 2025 for buildings in existence before 2020. Inspections must be performed by a licensed structural engineer or architect and repeated every nine years.

If your association has not yet completed its initial SB 326 inspection, the deadline has passed and you should schedule one immediately. For full details, see our post: SB 326 Balcony Inspection Requirements.

Switching management companies requires a board vote to terminate the existing contract and select a new management company, followed by a formal transition in which the prior company transfers association records, financial accounts, vendor relationships, and institutional knowledge to the incoming management company.

The transition timeline depends on your existing contract’s termination notice requirements – typically 30 to 90 days. AmLo has a documented onboarding process for incoming communities and coordinates directly with the prior management company to ensure a complete and organized record transfer. Contact us to discuss a timeline and what the transition would look like for your specific community.

The most important questions to ask are ones most boards never think to ask during the proposal process: What is the community-to-manager ratio for the specific manager who would be assigned to our community? Does the company mark up vendor invoices? Does it receive referral fees from vendors it recommends? What are the actual termination terms – including any auto-renewal windows or liquidated damages provisions? What is the company’s WUCIOA or Davis-Stirling compliance expertise?

For a complete framework, see our post: How to Vet an HOA Management Company: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Sign.

AmLo Management has two offices:

• Washington: Industrious 400U – 400 University Street, 3rd Floor, Seattle, WA 98101. Phone: +1 (425) 645-3732
• California: Industrious Marina Del Rey – 4204 Glencoe Ave, Building 3, Suite 220, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. Phone: +1 (818) 237-5920

AmLo Management serves HOA and COA communities throughout Washington State, with a primary focus on the greater Seattle and Eastside markets. In California, we serve communities throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, and Santa Clarita.

If you’re not sure whether your community falls within our service area, contact us and we’ll let you know.

Our standard response time for board and homeowner inquiries is within one business day. For proposal requests, we respond within 48 hours with an initial conversation or information request to build an accurate quote.

For after-hours emergencies – situations that pose an immediate risk to life, safety, or property – we maintain an emergency line that is available outside normal business hours.

AmLo Management is led by Loren Kosloske, who holds CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations) and AMS (Association Management Specialist) certifications – the two primary professional certifications in the community association management industry. AmLo is also BBB Accredited and a member of CAI (Community Associations Institute).

The fastest way is through our proposal builder, which collects the information we need to build a community-specific quote. Alternatively, you can contact us directly and we’ll reach out within 48 hours to discuss your community’s needs. We serve HOA and COA communities in Washington and California.