Confessions of an HOA Manager

Leslie Alvarez has watched the same pattern repeat itself over and over — in her own career and in the careers of managers around her. The shrinking. The over-explaining. The undercharging. The hedging of opinions that didn't need to be hedged. The habit of making yourself smaller so everyone else in the room is more comfortable. In this solo episode, Leslie is done staying quiet about it. She talks about what self-erasure ac...

Every manager listening to this episode just pictured a face. Maybe two. Maybe an entire board. In this solo episode, Leslie Alvarez tackles the single most common — and most damaging — dynamic in community association management: the board member who has decided that their elected position comes with the authority to run everything. The vendors. The staff. The manager. The community. It doesn't. In this episode Leslie ...

This industry will beat you up if you let it. The emails before 7am. The board member who has decided today is the day. The homeowner who is actually furious about a government shutdown or an unpassed budget — and you are the one who has to answer the phone. In this episode, Leslie sits down with two long-term veterans who have figured out something most people in this industry never do — when to give a shit, and when y...

Every violation letter lands somewhere. In this episode, Leslie steps back and hands the microphone to someone who knows this industry from the other side of the enforcement process — as a homeowner, and as a realtor who has watched clients navigate HOA communities for years. Georgette Beck joins Leslie to talk about the arbor her father built by hand that the board made her remove, the trespassers who climb over her dock gat...

Boards are struggling to fill seats. The same small group of volunteers keeps carrying the weight year after year. And qualified, caring homeowners are looking at what board service actually requires — and quietly deciding it's not worth it. In this episode, Leslie sits down with Clayton Thompson, founder of HOA Start and a 19-year industry veteran, to talk about the growing volunteer crisis in HOA leadership. Why good people...

Leslie Alvarez took last week off. On purpose. And she's not apologizing for it. Leslie comes back with something to say about the thing she kept thinking about while she was resting — artificial intelligence and what we are quietly losing as an industry while we embrace it. She uses AI. She'll be the first to tell you that. But there is a version of AI use that has crossed a line — filtered photos of communities that d...

Twenty-eight years in this industry and Leslie Alvarez kept noticing the same gap — the voices were either too positive, too negative, or too focused on the management company. Nobody was giving the boots-on-the-ground manager a place to tell the truth. In this solo episode, Leslie shares why she created Confessions of an HOA Manager, who she built it for, and what she hopes it becomes. For the managers who carry more than an...

When an HOA's insurance renewal came in at $750,000 — up from $60,000 the year before — it wasn't just a budget problem. It was a governance crisis, a communication challenge, and a test of every relationship in the room. In this episode, Leslie sits down with Cory, an insurance professional with over ten years of experience working with community associations, to walk through one of the most dramatic premium stories ei...

Everyone in community association management has heard it. The word that stops a board meeting cold, derails a perfectly reasonable conversation, and somehow ends up meaning everything and nothing at the same time. Transparency. In this solo episode, Leslie Alvarez unpacks what transparency actually means — legally, practically, and professionally — and what it absolutely does not mean. She also shares the first date st...

Twenty-eight years in this industry will teach you things no training ever could. In this solo episode, Leslie Alvarez pulls back the curtain on what community association management really looks like from the inside — the complexity, the human moments, the skills nobody thinks to mention in the job description, and the deeply rewarding work that keeps great managers coming back year after year. She also has a message for boa...

Property manager. Community association manager. LCAM. These terms get thrown around like they're interchangeable — and Leslie Alvarez is here to set the record straight. In this solo episode, Leslie breaks down the real difference between managing a rental property and managing a community, why the distinction matters more than most people realize, and the one credential she keeps seeing listed after people's names like it's...

A flooding unit. A force entry. Two sheriffs at her side. And a homeowner standing frozen in the middle of the room — eyes open, completely still, not saying a word. In this episode, Leslie sits down with Shanna, a CAM with 15 years in the industry, to talk about one of the most unforgettable moments of her career — and the calm, steady professionalism it took to see it through. It's a story about staying focused when t...

What happens when a board decides to fire the property manager and take over operations themselves? Spoiler: it's rarely what they expect.

In this episode, we're talking to Maureen about the reality of self-managed communities—the appeal, the pitfalls, and the hard truths boards need to hear before making the leap. From governance missteps to operational chaos to the moment they realize they've bitten off more than they can ch...

In this episode of Confessions of an HOA Manager, Leslie sits down with longtime industry leader Marcy Kravit to talk about the realities of building a career in one of the most demanding professions most people never fully understand.

From career growth and leadership challenges to burnout, personal loss, and reinvention, Marcy shares the moments that shaped her both professionally and personally—and what ultimately kept her ...

What starts as a complaint about feral cats quickly becomes something no one saw coming. In this episode, Leslie Alvarez shares the story of a homeowner who wasn't just frustrated — she was convinced. Convinced the cats were watching her. Convinced the HOA wasn't doing enough. And convinced that anyone who owned a cat was part of the problem. What looks like a nuisance complaint turns into a front-row seat to how quickly emot...

During the early days of COVID, community associations found themselves navigating something no one had ever prepared for.

Mask mandates.

Closed amenities.

Restricted access.

And a constant balancing act between safety, rules, and emotions.

In this episode of Confessions of an HOA Manager, Leslie shares the story of a condo community trying to enforce pandemic safety policies when an owner’s visiting family—and their spring ...

What happens when fear takes over… before the facts are clear?

In this episode of Confessions of an HOA Manager, Leslie is joined by Lisa, a seasoned community association leader, to share a moment that began as a routine board meeting—and quickly escalated into something far more serious.

A report of a potential threat near the clubhouse sent tension through the room. Decisions were made quickly. Emotions ran high. And ...

After 28 years in community association management, I’ve learned one thing for sure…

You never really know what’s behind the door.

Back when collections looked very different than they do today, there were times when the process required more than just letters and emails—it required showing up.

In this episode of Confessions of an HOA Manager, I share a real story from early in my career that started as a rout...