Print edition: 
After owning a local commercial and residential waste collection company, Joel Elsea wanted to find a different way to make an impact on the value of homes in the neighborhoods he was working with.
This idea quickly evolved into a small business, Elsea & Petty HOA Management.
The company's goal is "to improve and maintain home values for the residents in our client neighborhoods and to help take the load off of the few volunteers in each neighborhood who handle the operations of the neighborhood, while still allowing each board to maintain the decision-making authority," Elsea said.
Five years of operation later, Elsea & Petty HOA helps manage homeowners associations with more than 6,000 homes in the Wichita area.
Elsea and co-owner Heather Petty attend monthly homeowners association meetings in their neighborhoods — board meetings, general meetings, annual meetings.
Elsea and Petty usually handle the tasks that association boards most dislike, such as accounting, billing and covenant enforcement, Elsea said.
"We have to be the accountant, the engineer, the press secretary and the referee, so a lot goes into helping each property," Elsea said.
A community manager is assigned to each association the company works with to get to know the neighborhood and the issues that make each association unique.
"We answer a lot of complaint calls about barking dogs, pooping geese, pool problems, and of course, problem neighbors," Elsea said.
Elsea & Petty HOA Management also meets with vendors to obtain quotes for work in its client neighborhoods.
"The job can be a challenge, and some residents can be extremely demanding when it comes to issues that are somewhat out of our control," Elsea said. "We put in a lot of hours. It's not 9 to 5 around here. It's more like 7 to 9."
Elsea said he came up with the idea of a homeowners association management business many years ago. He asked a friend's wife, Heather Petty, if she knew anyone with a strong accounting background who would be interested in his idea. Petty left her job as CFO of the Sedgwick County Zoo and joined Elsea.
Elsea said a basic day in the office consists of "planning, organizing and putting out fires."
"We want to see home values increase as a result of our efforts and reduce neighbor-to-neighbor friction," Elsea said. "If we are doing our job correctly, all residents will benefit from our efforts. We want our client associations to enjoy their neighborhoods and, when they are ready to sell, to be able to sell their homes quickly and for top dollar because of the way the neighborhood is maintained and managed."
