Property Management Company question

We have just discovered that our former PM paid our electric and water bills late, incurring late fees. There were always funds available for payment. The invoices went to their office in central Florida and were paid, we did not see them and it never ocurred to us that this would be the case.

I am going to request copies of the past two years of bills from our power company and then request reimbursement from our former PM. Should this also be reported to the state?

There are other things that they did- and their financial reports were so complicated, we would ask questions and the CAM would make some explanation. When we met with the general manager, he was so condescending, so we figured we were new to this and had a learning curve- that WE just weren't getting it. When it came time to do the budget is when we realized that it wasn't us- they weren't doing their job.

Other things that were done- they used money from reserves for something that was unrelated to our common areas, annual audit (per C & Rs) was not done- instead they had a compilation done without a vote to waive the audit requirement. Advised the previous board to begin a law suit on a property without even trying to go through city code enforcement. I guess I am thinking that the late fees on electric bills are the most tangible thing that we can report to the state and I can't help but wonder how many other HOAs around the state are also paying more than they should because of their "oversights".

Karen,

Are prop. mgmt companies licensed in FL? If not, what state agency would you report them to? But, frankly, I don't think that's feasible unless you can prove their actions were intentional. Perhaps you just have a property manager who doesn't know how to perform his/her duties correctly. I would suggest asking for a new property manager or perhaps just hiring a new prop. mgmt co. Also, I hope the board has realized how important it is for them to understand the monthly financial statements and to not stop asking questions until the answers are understandable. Remember the property manager works for you not the reverse.

There is no way the Board could or would have time to catch a "late" fee on a utility bill.

Ah, another reason to have a Finance Committee!!

Roger said: "Karen, first you need to look at the policies of your Board. Obviously, they do not have adequate procedures in place."
Uh - the bills went directly to the PM's office. Are you saying that unless the board tells them "our policy and procedure is that the bills should be paid on time," they needn't bother? So it's not the PNs fault? . Someone who's being paid to pay your bills, needs to be told they should pay the bills on time? I wonder if they were late cutting their own check? What a crock.

Harold, you have been viewing my posts for many months so I believe you know that I advocate never allowing the managing agent to be a signer on any financial account. Whether or not the MA prepare the checks or pay the bills the Treasurer should always be presented with the invoices and check them monthly. If an invoice is not paid promptly the Board needs to know why not. If the managing agent is paying the bills they must be held accountable.

It was obvious from Karen's post that the Board had not established internal financial controls. That is why I said it is the FIRST step.

Have the treasure open up an on line account...thats what I did, so I get a first hand look and print each one out.

Karen said: "We have been having a back and forth with our lawn man who insisted multiple times that the irrigation was on in an area, yet residents kept complaining that it wasn't..... just found out that there was zero water used in three areas for three months...."

IMO, just another reason for the board Treasurer to be looking at the bills. Just looking at the meter readings should give a hint as to whether or not the usage is consistent. Although we had a landscaping co., my husband always double-checked the timers and would adjust them accordingly. If we were getting a lot of rain, he would turn them off for a few days. The amount of money we saved by him doing this was phenominal!

Sidney-

Our lawnservice has overridden the rain gauges, even though they have been instructed to reconect them, telling me "Eveyone in the business" will tell us that they never work. We are required to have them by law, as well, so he has put us at risk of a penalty.

We will be voting to terminate his contract next month for a number of reasons.