Management Company vs. Self-Managed HOA

My apologies in advance if this topic was already discussed.

Our community is very unhappy with level of service that we have received from our Management Company and a request the the very active BOD was made to have our HOA Self-Managed.

We have a mixed 326 home community (208 townhomes with amendities / 118 single family home with no amendities).

The biggest obstacle that we have faced with our Management Company is the lack of involvement with landscaping/snow removal contracts and slow response to issues. The Board and Committees have been doing the RFP, Monitoring Landscaping Progress/Issues while the Management Company cuts the check for the invoices.

We were approached by a resident who is a licensed CPA but is now stay at home mom (with kids in school) who would work part time in the HOA owned clubhouse (20-25 hours week) to do the administrative duties, vendor relations and field resident complaints for a third of the cost that the management company charges our community each year. We have another resident who offered up his law firms' legal services at a ridiculously low rate. These savings will reduce our residents' monthly dues dramatically.

When we discussed this with our current Property Manager, his reply was:
"In my 30 year of managing associations, no association has ever attempted to do what you are considering!"

Are we crazy to even consider this?

What are the pros/cons of Self-Managing the community as described?

Thanks in advance for your input.

I am on my third HOA/condo. It is the first one that is "self-managed" and has been for many years. By this I mean the manager is an employee, not on contract. The manager also owns one of the homes in the HOA. She is a disaster with infrastructure, the books, communications everything. It is the most negative and wasteful community in which I have ever lived. I think my HOA has a reputation among contractors as being easily overcharged, with no questions asked. Why? Because the manager does not feel it is her job to oversee contractors. If you want to hire an individual to run things, put this individual on a one-year contract with an option to renew, with hours she chooses.

A 326 home community may be a bit much to be self managed, especially if you have lots of common areas and amenities to keep track of. You'd also need a very motivated Board to stay on top of things - there would be a lot more involved than just showing up to a meeting once a month, and some members may not be able or willing to do this. I also agree hiring residents to do things like legal services can create another set of problems because they're also homeowners.

Your property manager doesn't sound like he's that interested in keeping your business, but before you give him the boot, let me repeat what I said in another post where the OP had a similar problem. First, I'd have a sit down with him and his boss (if applicable) and provide a very detailed description of the problems you've had. Be specific as to what needs to be done to resolve this before you terminate the contract and come up with a performance plan and a deadline by which there needs to be considerable progress, and get all this in writing.

Before that meeting, review your contract to see what the property manager is supposed to do - perhaps one reason you're not happy is that you're asking for work that isn't in the contract to start with.

During this period, you want to consult your attorney to review the contract to see what it says about terminating the contract, so you'll know what your next step will look like if it comes to that. You will also need a transition plan and that will need to be planned very carefully to ensure you get all your records, select a new management company and get them up to speed. There are various websites around the web with tips on how to do this - I'd start with books I've seen on the Community Association Institute website which talk about how to select and then work with a property manager.

Of course, you'll also need to prepare a RFP and send it to other interested companies and then do your due diligence. None of this will happen overnight, so buckle up.

If the property manager finds his contract is at risk, he may straighten up. If he works for a company that has several managers, you might want to see if you can be reassigned (the company may be willing to do that rather than lose your business).

I live in a MC managed community of 320 homes ... I'm on the Board. I am also on the Board of rental house neighborhood of 189 homes.

The 320 home community has sidewalks, common areas, park, gazebo, walking greenbelt - self managing would be very, very difficult. The MC does a pretty good job - mainly because they handle other neighborhoods so have experience across several regimes. Having a bookkeeper is NOT a good substitute.

The 189 home community has almost not amenities other than an entrance with landscaping. It is straightforward to manage for the volunteer board - BUT, even in this case, the work is still significant for the treasurer and the secretary.

I"m going to respond as a CAM; I have worked directly for associations and for MCs. Personally, I prefer to work directly for the association.

As far as "self-managed" associations go, I'm not in favor. There are too many niggling statutory details (at least in FL) that get over looked by volunteer management.

Hi Jeremy,

Your current HOA board is not actively managing its primary vendor - the management company. Therefore, I would never trust one or two of them, or a resident, to manage such a large community. It's really a small town in some ways.

Your active board should be leading contract negotiations and vetting vendors. It will save your community's money and help the board know its vendors rather than rely on a manager to be a pass-through. The management company's task to issue payment to vendors is important, too, and no small task. Having local board members observe the results of a vendor's work, on your community property, is smarter than relying on a property manager solely.

Overly-active HOA boards stay chronically displeased with everything as problems must exist - or be created - in order to justify the high levels of activity. Board members are unaware of it in many cases. I'm not seeing a problem. Your HOA board is complaining about the level of work it must directly handle.....that gets WORSE under a self-managed system because you add vendor payments and collections to what would be a full plate of operations.

Don't do it.