HOA Management Companies

California Associations can retain managers in different ways–each with a different mechanism for termination. Managers can be employees of an association (either under contract or at-will) or they can be employees of a management company who are assigned to the association.

1. Management Company. If the manager is an employee of the management company and the board is unhappy with the manager, the board can demand from the company that a new manager be assigned to the account. The process is fairly painless.

2. Employee Without a Contract. If the manager is an employee of the association without a written contract, the board could still be in a position where they need cause to fire the manager. Employment law in California is quite protective of employees and “at-will” has many, many exceptions.

3. Employee With a Contract. Depending on an association's governing documents, managers can be placed on muti-year contracts. If a manager has a contract, termination of employment normally requires “cause” per the terms of the agreement. Most contracts provide stability for their onsite manager by requiring good cause for termination so the manager cannot be fired at the whim of an incoming board.

ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE APPRECIATED
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The primary duty of a board of directors is to manage their association. Boards also have the authority to delegate management functions. Following are the forms of management commonly found in homeowner associations:
Self-Management. Small associations frequently use self-management, i.e., the board directly manages the association without the assistance of professional management.
Management Company. Small and medium-sized associations often employ a management company to handle day to day operations. This includes assessment collection, property inspections, soliciting bids for board review, correspondence, meeting attendance, etc. See manager fees.
Onsite Management. Large (and smaller high-end) associations will often employ a full-time onsite manager to handle operations. Assessment collection is frequently done by an outside company, but very large associations sometimes set up an in-house department for their accounting. More often than not, the general manager is a direct employee of the association. However, some associations operate with the manager as an employee of a management company.
Any experiences would be appreciated

Yes, what IS the question?

Smells like one.

Well, why didn't you just say so? Sometimes people get so bogged down in the legalese that they forget what the main issue really is - and often it's a matter of applying common sense instead of running to an attorney. What's true in my state isn't necessarily the case in yours, and you don't live there anyway, so why worry about that?

In this case, I'm not clear as to what the problem is or who you have the problem with. The property manager works at the board's direction, so if the property manager did or didn't do something, you need to go to the board. You should also consider what the property manager is paid to do - if it's not in the contract, they can charge more. The board also selects the association's vendors, including the property manager, and you have to watch for potential or actual conflicts of interest, such as a board member working for a vendor and favoring it above all others.

How do you voice concerns? Start by going to the Board and see what they say - have you tried that? Sometimes the problem is a communication breakdown that's easily fixed. Depending on what the problem is, you might talk to your neighbors and see if they have the same concern. Then all of you go to the next board meeting and express your concerns. Sometimes a board may try to blow off one person - it's more difficult when you have a group of people. If the problem has escalated to where a change of the board may be necessary, you'll need to rally your neighbors together and run a slate against them in the next election.