Pick the channel by what the thing is
Not by who you think should pay for it. That question is often genuinely unclear, and getting it wrong is the most common reason a report sits somewhere without an answer.
- Something is broken, worn out, or needs maintenance → a maintenance request.
- Someone appears to be breaking a community rule → report it to your association.
- You want to change something about your own home → an architectural request, before you start the work.
- A question, a document, a billing problem, or anything that doesn't fit → ask your association or management company.
Filing under the wrong one is not a disaster. The right channel simply reaches the right people first. Your portal shows only the channels your association has turned on; if the one you need is not there, contact your association or management company.
"The gate is broken"
That's a maintenance request. So is a burnt-out light in a hallway, a sprinkler running at 2am, a cracked path, a leaking irrigation valve, or a lock that no longer catches.
Include four things and you have given whoever picks it up everything they need:
- Where, precisely. "The pedestrian gate on the Elm Street side," not "the gate."
- What happens, not what you think caused it. "It doesn't latch and swings open" is more useful than "the closer is broken."
- Since when, if you know.
- A photo. One photo removes more back-and-forth than a page of description.
If it is a safety problem — an open gate at night, an exposed wire, water where electricity is — say so in the first line rather than at the end.
"My neighbour's tree"
This one is different, and worth understanding before you file it.
A neighbour matter is not a repair request. You are asking your association to look at whether something breaks the community's rules. That is an enforcement question, and enforcement decisions belong to your association's board and manager, not to you and not to Roam.
Three things people are commonly surprised by:
- Reporting is not the same as a finding. Your association will look. It may conclude that nothing has been broken, or that the rule doesn't cover it, or that it is between you and your neighbour.
- You may not be told the outcome. Many associations treat enforcement against another owner as that owner's business. That is not the association ignoring you.
- Some neighbour problems are not association problems at all. Roots, overhanging branches, boundary lines, and noise are sometimes civil matters between two owners, or matters for your city. Which of those applies depends on your governing documents and your state's law.
What helps: a date, a photograph, and a plain description of what you observed. What does not help: a history of the relationship.
"Something in my own unit"
Usually your responsibility — but not always, and this is the boundary Roam cannot draw for you.
Associations divide responsibility very differently. Depending on your governing documents, any of these can fall on either side:
- fences and gates between lots
- balconies, patios, and decks
- roofs and gutters
- windows, screens, and front doors
- water lines, sewer laterals, and slab leaks
- exterior paint and siding
- trees, depending on where they stand
Your CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules are what actually decide this — usually in a maintenance or "common area" section. Two homes on the same street in two different associations can get opposite answers.
If you genuinely don't know, say so when you report it: "There's water coming up through the slab in my garage. I don't know whether this is mine or the association's — can you tell me who handles it?" That is a normal question and a reasonable one to ask before you spend money.
If you want to change something
Use an architectural request, and file it before the work starts.
This is the single most avoidable violation notice there is. Paint, fences, windows, doors, solar, satellite dishes, landscaping, sheds, and hard flooring in an upstairs unit are all commonly covered. Approval after the fact is not guaranteed, and "the previous owner did it" is rarely an answer.
What needs approval, and what your association will consider, is in your governing documents. If you're unsure whether something needs it, ask before you buy materials.
If it's an emergency, don't file anything first
Fire, gas, flooding, a downed line, or anyone in danger: emergency services first, then whatever after-hours number your association or management company publishes.
A request in a portal is not monitored around the clock. Treat it as a record of what happened, filed after the emergency is handled — not as a way to raise one.
If you don't see the right option
Not every association turns on every channel. Your portal shows what yours has enabled.
If nothing matches what you need, contact your association or management company and describe it in your own words.
What this article can't tell you
Whether a particular repair is the association's or yours. How long yours takes to respond. What it will prioritise. Whether a fine or a charge could follow.
Those vary by association, and your governing documents and state law control. If a real amount of money or a legal question is involved — a dispute over who pays, an insurance claim, a disagreement about a boundary — ask your manager to put it in writing, and get your own advice before you commit.