PM Issues - What is considered severe?

You may want to begin by reviewing all the information you have (some board members may bring up different issues you hadn't thought about, while others bring up the same things, so you can skip duplicate information). As you review, look for what they have in common. For example, is the manager not returning calls at all? Not providing board members with information on potential contractors (if that's his/her job)? Not monitoring contractors when they work on the property? When did this happen, what type of damage resulted and what did it take to resolve it (pay close attention to the issues that cost the Association more money).

Be sure to have the property management contract handy, as you'll need to compare what it says vs. what's happened. And don't forget to poll the homeowners - they may be very happy with the property manager and maybe it's the BOARD MEMBERS (or one or two) who are trying to micromanage and doing a piss poor job of it, and/or are asking the manager to do things that are inappropriate at best and illegal at worst. If so, you'll figure out soon enough who that is and they need to be told to stop it.

From there, rank the issues in order of priority. Make sure you have your dates, times and details in order because I think the next step would be to go the property manager's supervisor (if you're dealing with a property management company). Tell them your concerns and see what the supervisor's willing to do to resolve the problem, come up with an action plan - and a deadline. Sometimes it may be a matter of changing property managers within the company, but if that doesn't work, you may need to consider hiring another company. This will be time consuming in reviewing various companies, so you may want to have a subcommittee at the ready to begin looking.

Write your processes down so you'll know who did what and when in case things escalate. You'll need to designate one person or maybe the board officers to talk to the property manager so he/she isn't hearing from a dozen people, each with their own opinion on how things are and should be. Good luck!

Thank you for the feedback.

That is an objective one "how has the PM cost us money". There are a couple of them.

John, Florida Law does not allow the BOD to have a meeting that isn't open and announced to the public membership. The only exception is when it involves an attorney regarding a member.

What is the best way to present and handle this situation? We would like to ask for another PM from the company and then change companies when we have time to research other companies. We want to make sure we at least do our best to find a good one this time.

Erika, I like Shiela's idea of writing everything out so you are covering all board member's concerns. I switched companies about 2 years ago. I am on the fence about the new company; they have made some careless mistakes and continue to make the occasional mistake making it necessary to question lots of stuff, but then they offer great suggestions and I know they are on top of other important things. I do not know if there is such a thing as a perfect PM company, but for the person assigned to you, you should have a good relationship and trust them. 2 board members could speak to the general manager without discussing board business in a way that would not violate the rules. You could get your questions answered and then at the formal meeting, present your findings. I agree, you dont want the person there that will most likely be manipulating your board and residents. This board meeting should take place without the PM present.

I would advice against this.
Having a debit card makes it very, very easy to have access to association funds.
For those who are not as strong willed or ethical as yourself, the temptation of using a debit card may be too much.

We write checks for all bills.
Yes it does cost a little more but we feel it provides better checks and balances.
I suppose in time, this will have to change. However, I won't like it when it happens.

Erika:

I am just wondering how long has the MC been with you?

Are there in fact other PMs they might assign to your property?

Do you or the other Board members have access to ALL records and documents of the association?

Before you bar-b-que the PM at an opening meeting you might want to have in place a plan B. Just in case their performance goes downhill from that point on. Just in case the MC decides not to offer you a new PM.

Once people get the message they are no longer wanted it CAN turn ugly rather quickly.

And there have been cases where the MC begins to be "difficult".

Sometimes bring ing a problem to a head can make it worse and I would hope your Board has both considered and prepared for the worst if that should occur.

Good Luck.

Erika,

Why not just fire the manager?

We did that in our HOA and hired a profesional book keeper for a fraction of the money, along with an accountant who

prepares the taxes ect.

Easy!

How hard is it to cut the grass and pay the bills?

These managers are nothing but rip offs...sometimes literally if they have their hands on the HOA bank accounts!