Performance Issues?

Is this HOA your only account, Jennifer? Or is part of a portfolio? Put another way, can you estimate how much time you spend on this account per week? Do you have an office on the premises?

It's always good to check in with the Board regularly, to make sure expectations are understood on both sides.

Regarding emails, I answer mine within 24 hours and would consider 48 hours a late response. However, I have learned not to answer them immediately, because if you do that, they come to expect it all the time, and answering five or six hours later becomes "too long".

16 properties is an enormous workload and kudos to you for staying on top of it. Being with the same property for three years is also an impressive consistency - I wonder if your board realizes how good they have it!

I would talk to my boss before approaching the board directly, particularly since one of the board's concerns is that they haven't heard from him.

I will respond to all emails by the end of a business day and sometimes weekends. It might not be the answer, but I will inform them I am in the process of researching.

16 properties is a lot, unfortunately, not uncommon.

When I was on the board (10 years with mine), our property manager had almost as many clients as you, so depending on the issue, answering within 48 hours by mail or phone is fine. At the very least, I like getting an acknowledgement that my email was received within 24 hours of it being sent (automatic replies are good that way). Our manager had my work phone number and email, as well as the personal stuff – my rule was to start with the home information unless it was an emergency, and never had a problem with her in that regard.

At that time, our newsletter also ran periodic articles on what the property manager can and can’t do, so people wouldn’t go yelling at her about something the board had to address. We also had a year-end survey where we would ask people how they felt about the property manager’s performance, with a space to describe specific problems. It was anonymous, so they could really cut loose if they wanted. However few people responded to the survey anyway – some people gave the property manager an average or below average rating, but never elaborated as to why, so we couldn’t respond. You might want to suggest the board conduct such a poll so you can see if there are any issues that need to be addressed.

We were fortunate in that we never had major problems with our property manager during my tenure. She retired just before I left the board and just as her predecessor did, she brought our current manager with her to some of our board meetings so she could meet everyone and see and hear for herself what our issues were. I agree that if one has a problem with another person, he/she should be adult enough to first address it with that person and if it doesn’t work, THEN you take it to a higher authority.

Unfortunately, there are people who won’t even go to their neighbors with an issue, but would rather complain to the board and have them deal with it because they don’t have the guts or maturity to do it themselves. I realize it can be a little dicey to talk to some people, but I usually start with treating people with respect and not yelling – I’ve been fortunate that works at least 80% of the time.
If you haven’t heard anyone else on the board complain, you’re probably ok. Unfortunately some people carry silly grudges for no reason at all – why would this board member still be honked off at something that happened a year ago, especially if the matter was resolved shortly thereafter? It may be the board member has also spoken to other homeowners who are concerned about something and are yelling at her, and so now she thinks there’s a problem.

I agree it would be helpful to ask the board president if the next meeting could include an agenda item where expectations can be discussed. Without singling out specific board members (they know who they are), you can start with an overview of how quickly you respond to homeowner inquiries and board member issues, and then ask is that is the understanding of the group. If not, encourage them to express their concerns – hopefully they will be specific. If this board member still keeps her mouth, there’s nothing you can do about that, but keep the lines of communication open. I think bringing along your supervisor to this meeting is a great idea, so he can hear what’s going on and also offer suggestions. Sometimes people have to hear the same thing from a higher up before they finally believe it.

Our Board has an expectation for returns on calls or texts by COB ... and within 24 hours on emails.

I consider 48 hours unacceptable.

That is far too many properties for a single person to manage. If it is an office with support, sure.

Thank you!

Jen

Request a sit down with the troublesome BOD and get things out on the table.