Fairfax VA Property Management Company Recommendations?

Started by MatthewM8 • 5 replies • 531 views

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MatthewM8 (Virginia)
Posts: 5

Posted:

Hi, I'm on the board of an HOA in Fairfax County, VA. We are a fairly small development of 65 units. We've never hired a property management company before, but everyone is so busy now, we sort of have to.

Can anyone recommend a good property management company in Fairfax, VA?

Thanks!!!

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

We don't use specific names of communities or property managers on this website, but there are people from Virginia (TimB4, where are you???) who could send you a private message with some suggestions.

But first, you and the board need to think about what you want the property manager to do and what your budget can afford. There are assorted property managers on this board who can give you some general tips on what to look for, and you can also read older conversations on the subject and take some notes.

As for my tips, I say do your due diligence - get at least three bids and ask for references and check them! You might have the finalists attend a special meeting where the homeowners could ask questions or get some general information on how the property manager operates. From there, you can make a final selection and come up with a transition plan to get older association documents to the manager so they'll be able to store them and refer to them if needed.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

MatthewM8 (Virginia)
Posts: 5

Posted:

Thank you!

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Matthew,

I also reside in Fairfax County.
However, we are self managed.
Therefore, I can not offer assistance on a recommendation for a MC.

Tim

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SheliaH on 10/01/2019 12:31 PM
...you and the board need to think about what you want the property manager to do...

I think this is the most common sense advice and also the most commonly-ignored advice.

We hired a PM at the start of the year based on a couple of interviews last November where no one bothered to ask any real questions. We ended up with a PM that was a poor fit mainly because everyone had differing expectations of how the relationship was supposed to work. We fired them after 6 months. The PM was bad, no doubt, but I strongly feel the HOA was guilty of not doing its due diligence before hiring them. Not too many people around here agree with me on the last point, but I'm pretty sure we bear a large part of the blame for the relationship not working out.

If I had to pick one thing to do, one question to ask, I'd say it's this: Can you provide us with a list of every additional expense above and beyond the contract numbers that you might conceivably charge us for?

And get an answer even if it's a document that's 10 or 20 pages long. If they won't provide you with such a list, move on.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Matt

one of the main thing to look for in am MC is are they presently handling HOA's like your own? Also a clear/concise understanding of what services are they offering and if additional services are required, how much will they cost?

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