PM Removal

Hi, our BOD is happy with the current property management, but some homeowners are not. How do we go about removing the property management? Will a petition signed by the homeowners work, and what percentage do I need in order to get this accomplished?

Veronica,

I concur with John, If any of the members do have issues with the P.M., you need to relay that to the BOD. Have proof or documentation of what you are unhappy with and disagree with. The Board is the hire and fire entity of the association. You ask how much of a percentage do you need for a petition. Is this unhappiness a problem with many other members or is this just something that gets blown up as it gets passed along as a he said, she said?

Keep in mind, a petition can't necessarily be used to dismiss the PM.

However, it's very likely that homeowners could generate enough interest and/or signatures to request a special meeting to "fire" the board. Then, conceivably, they could install (elect) a board that is more likely to remove the PM.

It might be in your best interest to review your governing documents to see exactly what sort of process may be used by homeowners to do that.

Plus, basic crisis communication 101, don't let the grapevine take over your communication. The way you do that is to feed the grapevine with the communication you want it to spread. There are all sorts of ways you can do that, but all of them involve developing key messages (or establishing the information) you want the members to be receiving. Then simply locate some "grapevine feeders" (i.e., vocal overly friendly neighbors) and make sure they have all those messages or that information.

Keep in mind, never ever make your "messages" about people. If you know what's being said, build your counterpoints around that.

Remember, the more information your residents have, the more open the communication, the better equipped they will be to be your partners instead of your adversaries.

We have been trying to feed the grapevine through some neighbors that actually attend meetings and know what has been done, and what kind of improvements we're working on. So hopefully that'll help calm people down.

About the newsletter, we don't have one, we never have, I don't know why. There has been occasions where it has been discussed but nothing has ever been done about it. I believe that we should put one together at least this one time to let everybody know what we are working on. Maybe this is the perfect time to start one!

Veronica,

Keep it simple and cheap to put out but find someone who is a member to get creative. There is free art and nice stuff on the internet that you can use to dress it up. Be informative but stay away from controversial stuff. Use facts only.

The first step is to get the problem out in the open. If nothing else, put out notices that you are having a special open Board meeting to discuss Property Management. Then do what doesn't come naturally to most people and listen. You may or may not have the pulse of your community.

For the last year our president has claimed that we must justify the existence of the HOA. She outwardly was convinced that people wanted to just do away with the whole thing. She then orchestrated to show just how unpopular the whole thing was at our last annual meeting.

Well the whole thing backfired on her. Turns out that most of the people want some simple course adjustments to the HOA and our building standards. I think that they want some relaxation of what is allowed to put the rules more in line with the working class nature of the neighborhood.

Robert,

I agree with you and Kirk -- in part. If there is a group of members who are complaining then I would say have a meeting and get it all out in the open. But if it's only one member, I certainly wouldn't recommend getting the whole membership involved. People complain all the time. If their complaints go unanswered, or if they don't like the answer they're given, they may resort to making threats of legal action. Oftentimes their complaints are unfounded. Taking up the time of the board members is just something that comes with the territory, but I don't see the need to also take up the time of the members. IMO, the members also have obligations and one is to know what the gov docs say before they start complaining about something.

Veronica, to remove a property manager the Board can make such a request to the management company and provide the reasons they want the manager replaced. To remove a management company the Board can review the management agreement and decide on the best manner in which to proceed. If the Board is happy with the management company while some homeowners are not that is handled by the members expressing to the Board the problems they want corrected.

Generally the members have no authority to remove a managing agent or a management company. That can be done by the Board in accordance with the management agreement.

It's amazing what a few good thoughful posts and an inquring mind can learn on this here internet. Very good thread.

Good luck and I'd like to know how this ends.

Well, our monthly open meeting will take place this week. We are currently gathering paperwork and information to show how this new management company has done so much for us, and we will try to clarify people's doubts as much as we can. And also, explain how complex it is to change the PM. I believe that changing a vendor is not as complicated as it is to change PM's...so hopefully everybody will see the big picture, instead of just listening to one or two persons who are causing trouble here... I have added to the agenda the newsletter so hopefully this will also help in keeping everybody up to date with what is going on...

Hi Ellen, I will let you know about the outcome of our meeting...
The management company definitely hasn't breached any part of our contract. And yes, it will be not only costly for our HOA, but also time consuming to look for another one.

As an Association Manager who has been in this position and helped a board overcome discontent of a group of residents there is a way to resolve the problem for both sides of the argument. Find out for sure if it is the PM who is at fault or are contractors that are hired really the culprit of the discontent. Sould a change in teh contractors or the specifications of a contract resolve the problem? Second find out exactly what it is that the PM is doing or more likely not doing that the group thinks they should be doing? Frequently the discontent is more likely to be a perception not a reality. If the board wishes to keep teh PM it is imperative to send out a general notice to all residents exactly what the PM's role is versus the Board and various contractors. Residents frequently will perceive a failure of the PM when in fact it is a poorly written contract for a servicer, lack of funds to accomplish desired tasks, or an expectation that the PM is the person who actually makes the decisions or does the work themselves. The PM should be capable of disseminating the information that will explain the current status and satisfy the discontent.