How to fire a property management company

Look for PM's that are presently managing associations of your relative size and needs. Get names and contacts at these associations from the PM and contact the associations for a reference.

Sound advice from Shelia:

think about what you want your property manager to do and prepare your request for proposal accordingly. When you start comparing companies, it should be based on the same criteria. Perhaps one reason you're not happy with the current bunch is because you were asking for services that weren't part of the contract.

It's very hard to make an informed consumer choice when you're choosing an HOA management company because the information you most need (what HOA boards have fired them and why) is all but impossible to find.

Presumably the prospective companies you are looking at will give you references. How long have they been clients? If all their references have only been with them a year or two, that's a red flag. Look them up on Glassdoor - what are employees saying about the working conditions there? Look on Indeed and see how often they have posted job openings, that will give you an idea of employee turnover. Know that whatever questions to ask the company directly are going to be answered with the rosiest version of the truth. They'll tell you that they aim to give their porfolio managers no more than 8 properties, but leave out the part where that's just a theoretical goal and the manager really has 12 properties. Unless you are seeking an on site manager, it's not standard to have you meet interview the actual manager you'll get, but if the contract is large enough or the company is small enough they may let you.

Ask for a complete list of fees - from late fees to transfer fees to scans and copies. Ask for a sample contract - look for multi year contracts, cancellation penalties, automatic increases, automatic renewals, 'on boarding' or 'off boarding' fees.

It takes about 60 days for the new management company to get up to speed, and your current company probably wants a 30 or 60 day notice so I'm going to suggest waiting until next spring to make the change if you have annual assessments that are due on January 1. Transitioning companies is always a pain, but it is exponentially worse if you do it during an assessment billing cycle. If you're monthly, there's never a good time though.

And when you do make the change, know that you will have to tell your homeowners over and over and over again for at least 2 years. I would often have owners call me upset because they jut found out about a management company change that happened years prior. Be prepared to send out multiple letters, emails, post notices, call meetings and remind ever owner you come in contact with.

You've rec'd a lot of good advice, Damn, including the in important points made by JohnC & Sheila. And then Mark & Barbara added really important points too.

You also might try careful reading your current contract with your MC. What would you like to add to it? What's not needed after all? What did they tend to neglect. Were they supposed to b on your premises 40 hours a week (onsite), 12, or? Would more or fewer hours work for your HOA?

Committee: Unless your board is really large, I think the whole board should be involved. If you want an executive committee of th board,, OK. I would not have a committee of non-board members. In my high rise HOA anyway, non-derictors know cry little about our budgets or technical/mechanical systems.

Consider this, the lawyer for your HOA was hired by your property management company. I would go to a different lawyer, one that is well versed in contract law.