HOA Property management company

Started by MaryM1 • 7 replies • 1927 views

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MaryM1 (Delaware)
Posts: 9

Posted:

Does anybody have an HOA property managment company for their association? We are trying to get a price for comparison for the community. The reason behind this is this:

There are 5 board members, we were re-elected for our 2nd term, which we did not want. We solicitated, created a nominataing committee and nobody wanted this responsibility.

We the BOD agree that enough is enough, Voting is set for September, and we are soliciting again for nominations, etc....however, we are putting out our monthly newsletter and we are letting the community know in no uncertain terms that we are finished. If a new board does not come forward, then are hands are tied and we will be forced to secure a property management company, which in turn will increase our assessments immensly. This should scare somebody into taking office. I have no idea of any, and approx how much they cost. Is it per household? Any suggestions?

MaggieM1 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 9

Posted:

MaryM1

I am a property manager with **** Management Company. Where are you located?

MaggieM1

Maggie McLaughlin
Official HOATalk.com Sponsor
SBC Property Management Group
(Pennsylvania Community Management)
Phone: 215-443-5252
*See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

JM2 (Oregon)
Posts: 439

Posted:

Hi Mary:

Securing a property management company will still require a BOD. However, the BOD will no longer have their hands in the day-to-day management of the association, and can then work on setting policy for the MC to carry out.

You may want to hire on a management company, independent of whether new members come forward for the BOD. The question is: Is the board able/willing to self-manage the HOA, or do you need a manager to carry out the necessary tasks?

Many MC's have varying levels of service. The one I used to work for, had four levels:
1) Financial only - took care of cutting checks, collecting assessments, maintaining property records, etc.
2) Financial and consulting: the above, plus about 2 hours of manager time as a resource to the BOD.
3) All but meetings - financial plus day-to-day management, preparation of management reports for the BOD prior to meetings, but no attendance at meetings (or the Association paid for such attendance as an extra, when needed/desired).
4) Full management - #3 plus meetings.

It would be good for your BOD to discuss what's needed, decide on that, and then contact local management companies. The local chapters of CAI usually have their own websites that include a section on vendor-members and usualy there have management companies listed. You can locate your local/state chapter at: http://www.caionline.org/about/aboutchap.cfm

What and how they charge for services will depend on how much service your BOD wants/needs. Some charge a per-door price that varies on the type of community (condo/townhome/single family) while others charge a package price based on the estimated hours, with a charge for extra houres. Whichever you talk to, be sure to look at the "extras" - cost for sending violation letters, copying, mailing, etc. because that's part of the whole cost - not just the contract.

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA

GloriaM (North Carolina)
Posts: 829

Posted:

Mary:

Management companies sometimes will base their contract on 10% of your budget, other times it is based on your amenities within your community. Of course the more you have the more they will have to manage.

Their contract would also be tailored to what the board wants as far as services. Full service management would cost more, tailored services less.

Shop around, get references, speak to them (the references) and make sure the principles of the business have experience, certifications and are bonded. Too many times you may find the principle of the business is not experienced in HOA business. Just like an attorney, it is a specialized field and your MC should be knowledgable of your state laws. I hope this helps.

HaroldS1 (Arizona)
Posts: 314

Posted:

A management company cannot run an HOA on it's own. Only a BOD can do that. If you do all quit and no one comes forward, you will need to petition the courts to nominate a receiver - and there you are correct; your dues will increase tremendously. Maybe you ought to run that scenario past your members. Harold

KevinK5 (California)
Posts: 64

Posted:

Mary, we were in the same boat. No qualified applicants. We gave the neighborhood an ultimatum and the ones who volunteered were the jerks everyone else complains about. We could see where that was headed so instead we hired a management company.
I am in the Orlando, FL area. We are a small community with only 51 homes. We got quotes based on the number of homes but they were only valid if there were 150 homes or more. We also got flat rate quotes varying from $300 per month to $1,000 per month depending on the level of service. Since this is our first time with a management company we selected a small company run by a husband-wife team to keep our costs low. So far they have been very helpful in advising us on proper procedures. They are also addressing the jerk problems and we are now looking forward to being on the board.

LindaW (Florida)
Posts: 17

Posted:

KevinK5,

Could you share your experience with me off board? We are in a similar situation in our community. I don't know if it is acceptable to communicate outside this board?

KevinK5 (California)
Posts: 64

Posted:

You can contact me through our web site www.crownpointwoods.org. I am the webmaster.

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