Answers, first.

HOA Charter is web software built for self-managed homeowners associations — the boards who currently run things through email, spreadsheets, and paper. Owners get one place to see documents, vote, report issues, and stay informed. The board gets one place to manage all of it. Every association gets its own private site.

What is HOA Charter?

The software is no longer the slow part of onboarding. Your board provides your governing documents and owner list, and we handle the setup on our end.

How long does it take to get set up?

No app to download — HOA Charter runs in any web browser, on a phone, tablet, or computer, at your community's own web address.

Do owners need to download an app?

Yes — from your phone's browser, use the share or menu button and choose "Add to Home Screen." That puts a one-tap icon on your phone that opens straight to your community's site, no app store involved. If you'd rather not do it alone, ask a board member and they can walk you through it.

Can I add HOA Charter to my phone's home screen?

September is our beta period. Communities that join now are among our first — you'll help shape the product as we head toward our official launch on October 5. Anything that feels broken or confusing gets fixed fast because you told us.

We're currently in soft launch. What does that mean for us?

The board issues each owner a temporary password tied to their email address. Owners sign in with that password and are asked to choose their own the first time they use it.

How do owners get their login the first time?

You can browse the document library, vote on open community matters, submit a request (maintenance, an architectural change, a violation report, a complaint, a suggestion, or a community notice), track requests you've submitted, and manage your own contact info and password.

What can I do as a resident once I'm signed in?

Use the request form after signing in. Pick the type that fits — maintenance, architectural approval, violation, complaint, suggestion, or community notice — add a description and a photo if it helps, and submit. The board is notified and you can track its status.

How do I report a maintenance problem or ask for architectural approval?

Yes — your requests page shows each one's status (open, in progress, or resolved) along with any note the board has added. You can edit or withdraw a request yourself as long as the board hasn't started working on it yet.

Can I see the status of a request I submitted?

Each open vote shows the deadline and what's needed for it to pass. You cast your ballot with one click, and you can change it any time before the vote closes. Results are visible to the board immediately and to residents once the vote closes.

How does voting work?

Your vote is recorded once per unit you own — casting a ballot on a community matter records it for every unit under your name.

What if I own more than one unit?

The document library, available once you're signed in. Documents are organized by category, and each one opens straight from your browser.

Where do I find my association's governing documents?

Residents can ask a question and get the relevant passage from their documents, with the source named.

Can I ask a question about my HOA's rules?

An admin console covering requests, public enquiries, votes and elections, announcements and events, the document library, and owner accounts — everything a board needs to run the association day to day, in one place.

What does the board's side of HOA Charter look like?

Each request can be marked open, in progress, or resolved, with an optional note back to the resident. The resident sees the update on their end automatically.

How does the board respond to a resident's request?

Yes — the board can post general announcements, dated events, and special meetings (including the petitioner names bylaws typically require), and they appear on the community's public announcements page.

Can the board post announcements and call meetings?

From the admin console: choose a yes/no vote or an election, add a title and description, and (for elections) list the candidates. Results stay private to the board until the vote is closed, at which point residents can see them.

How does the board create a vote or election?

Yes — the board can log meeting notes, the issues discussed, and each board member's recorded vote on them, all kept separate from what residents see.

Can the board keep meeting minutes?

Dues balances are entered and tracked in the admin console, and past-due notices can be sent to residents in-app. This is tracking only today — see Payments below for what's coming.

How does the board manage dues records?

Yes — each document is assigned an access level (public, resident-only, or board-only) when it's uploaded, so sensitive material like financials stays restricted to the board.

Can the board upload documents and control who sees them?

Documents are organized by category — governing documents, maintenance records, insurance, meeting notes, financials, and more — with access levels that keep board-only material restricted. Anyone with the right access can search and open documents from their browser.

How does the document library work?

Residents can ask a question and get the relevant passage from their documents, with the source named.

What is the document assistant?

Yes — scanned paper documents can be read and indexed, so older governing documents don't need to be retyped to be part of your library. During the September beta we confirm with your board before an older scanned document goes in.

Does the assistant work for scanned or older paper documents?

Every answer names the exact document it came from, so you can always check it against the source yourself.

Is the assistant accurate?

No — document uploads are a board function. Residents can submit photos with a request (for example, of a maintenance issue), but the document library itself is managed by the board.

Can residents upload their own documents?

The announcements page shows an alert when something is open for your vote, and the vote page shows each deadline in plain language, with extra emphasis inside the last 48 hours.

How do I know when a vote is coming up or closing?

The vote closes automatically at its deadline, and results become visible to residents at that point — no one has to remember to close it manually.

What happens if a vote's deadline passes?

Through announcements and, for larger items, through community notices — a resident can submit one, the board reviews and approves it, and once approved it's posted for every owner to see.

How does the board notify everyone about something important?

Pricing is based on your association's size and the tier you choose — see our pricing page for current rates and what each tier includes.

What does HOA Charter cost?

Early associations that join during our launch window lock in founders' pricing and terms for as long as they stay subscribed — see the pricing page for the current details and how many spots remain.

What is the founders' program?

Community covers the essentials — owners reporting issues, the board seeing them. Board adds full request resolution, structured meeting minutes, and dues tracking. Board Pro is coming, building on Board with automated dues collection once it ships. See the pricing page for exactly what each tier includes.

What's the difference between the tiers?

Not yet — dues collection is coming. Today, dues balances and past-due notices are tracked in the app, but payment itself happens outside the platform.

Can residents pay dues through HOA Charter?

It's coming, and we'll let current communities know as it gets closer — we're not committing to a public date yet.

When will online dues payment be available?

No — when payments launch, money will flow directly from a resident to your association's own bank account. HOA Charter is never in the middle of your funds.

Will my association's dues money go through HOA Charter's account?

No — every association's data is kept separate, and access is scoped to your own community.

Can another association see our data?

Yes — documents are stored privately, and each one's access level (public, resident, or board-only) controls who can open it.

Are our documents private?

Only the board, by default — financial documents are restricted to board-only access unless your board chooses otherwise.

Who can see our financial records?

Passwords are never visible to us in plain text, and temporary passwords expire after a set window so an old one can't be used indefinitely.

How are passwords handled?

Reach out to your board, or use the Contact form on your community's site if you're not signed in. Board members can route product issues to the HOA Charter team directly.

Something isn't working — who do I tell?

Your HOA Charter contact is available for setup questions, feature walkthroughs, and anything that comes up as you get started.

How do I get help if I'm a board member?

Support is included — questions about using the software are part of your subscription, not a separate add-on.

Is support included, or is it extra?