Why are there so many problems with HOA management??!!

I've been on the Board of a couple of HOAs and wonder if other Board members/managers etc. experience the same problems, or am I just too impatient? What kinds of problems do other HOA members have with their management companies??

Hi Donna, thanks for your feedback, are you a Board Member or HOA manager?

Actually I find this a potentially interesting topic for discussion. I would expect that Gloria from NC and Roger from CO could bring great perspective.

A community developer once said to me, "I don't know why anyone wants to get into the property management business these days. The field is pretty competitive and in order to make any money at it you have to get your company so big that you can't do it well".

While I'm sure that generalization isn't universally correct, it certainly rings true with our community's experience.

When I was President of our BOD, I did a cost and labor analysis of what it would take to run our HOA to be self-managed. For perspective we're 103 unit fee simple attached villas, but we have have signficiant maintenance responsibilities even for the exterior of the fee simple units as well as a pool, and about 16 acres of common ground that requires landscape maintenance. Assuming no out-sourcing of any functions, I determined it would take approximately 55 man-hours/month to do this.

We're currently not too pleased with our MC, but I suspect they don't devote 55 man-hours/month of resources to our HOA which may be the reason we're not happy. At what appears to be a local market competitive rate of ~ $15/door/month, IF they were to devote the 55 man-hours/month, this only works out to about $22/man-hour.

Perhaps, it all simply reverts to the old adage of "you get what you pay for", but I'm not sure there would be a lot of positive sentiment for paying MC rates greater than that.

I'd welcome others' perspectives.

Michele agreed, but when you get a bad one, the results are usually spectacular.

Dee,

If the PM isn't doing the job expected of him/her, the mgmt co should be contacted. Perhaps another PM can be assigned to your HOA.

The problems you mention that happened in the past are not all the fault of the PM, the board must also share some of it. If you receive a telephone bill charging you for calls you didn't make, don't you contact the telephone co and let them know of their mistake. Same with the PM; if the monthly invoice isn't right, the PM or mgmt co should be contacted so it can be corrected. When the reserve study was completed the board should have reviewed it and noted the errors.

Bottom line: the BOD "should" be paying close attention!

John,
Yes I could "bring great perspective" but will bite my tongue. But will only mention 3 things.
1) We offer our services because there are many poor M.C. with agents budened with too many associations to do a decent job.
2) We offer our services becuase there are many poor Boards which need considerable guidance.
3) We have the expertise, do not need the money, and remain small to provide prompt, personal, professional services.
We do it as a contribution to the communities we serve; just as we provide financial support to keep this board going (not to solicit business) and offer information from time to time.

Roger -

Thanks much for your reply . . . I was particularly taken with your commentary about Boards needing to accept their fair share of accountability for poor management situations - so true!

Keep up the good work .. .. ..

Cheyenne,

I am in Florida where MCs must be licensed but that is not a cure all. We have had several poor ones and hope we can find a good one. If there is a problem with the landscaping company the PM sides with the landscaper, even though he is not fulfilling his contract, calls from owners are not returned, financials are provided only to board members at their meetings even though any homeowner should receive a copy. If a homeowner wants to see the financials they must go to the PMs company (a distance away) and then are told they can see them for about three hours a day, one day a week (during work hours). We are told we are not to receive any info on late pays, etc. I could go on. The PM seems to be totally ignorant of state laws. Owners are the ones who pay the assessments and I see no reason why we can't find out where our money is going. In addition the management company is nickel and diming us to death with many extras, reproducing docs, mailings, etc.

When I moved here I thought "oh good we will have things taken care of"..what a joke, we have more problems with them than we would without them. They do process quarterly assessments and their reports are often not accurate and we can have that done by another source. We spend more time looking over their backs to see if liens have been filed, etc. than we should.

I may need to get back on the board just to find a competent management company if there is such an animal out there.

Ellen---you've had a year off--time to get back on the board. Isn't it pathetic that those of us who want a "break" from the b.s. of being a board member STILL have more interest than people who replaced us? The "vacation" is over my friend----get back on there.