Management Fees

Started by JudyP1 • 9 replies • 1785 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

JudyP1 (Florida)
Posts: 24

Posted:

We have 135 single family homes in our Association here in Florida. My question is; how much should we expect to pay a Management Company to manage our affairs per year or pre unit? We would expect the company to handle all of our financials, helping with our budget and be present for our budget and annual meetings, plus a couple other meetings a year. We would expect two inspection trips through our community a month. And ofcoarse be able to answer questions from our board rep. and people in the community. Thank you for any input.

DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

I cannot comment on anything but to say that the inspections probably aren't worth paying extra for. Companies will be happy to charge you for them and then not do them or pretend not to see issues.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Judy,

All I can suggest is that:

1. The board should always handle the finances and not a third party (management company). Delegating authority to write checks doesn't provide any checks and balances and doesn't ensure that the funds are spent properly or wisely.

2. Get bids from many management companies. You will see what the general price is and get an idea of what you should pay.

3. As for inspection trips, be careful what you wish for. My HOA hired a third party to perform inspections on a monthly basis and it caused a lot of hate and discontent within the community. This was not only because they were citing people for actual infractions but they were citing people for infractions that didn't exist.

Hope this helps,

Tim

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Judy,

Comparing mgmt co fees among various HOAs is like comparing apple to oranges. Each assn is different as are the needs of each assn. Your mgmt fee will be based upon what your board wants the manager to do, the size of your HOA and the amenities. Get bids from 3 or more mgmt co and go from there.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DanielH1 on 01/20/2010 1:47 PM
I cannot comment on anything but to say that the inspections probably aren't worth paying extra for. Companies will be happy to charge you for them and then not do them or pretend not to see issues.

For one single family association we manage our primary responsibility is Covenant enforcement and inspections are critical. And how about when the common area consists of everything except the inside of the Units? Who inspects to determine what and when to make repairs and upgrades?

I think most would agree that inspections are critical in these cases.

DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

I agree that inspections are critical but we've had troubles with companies that fake them.

I can only suggest that a Board Member directly supervising the inspector is the only cure. And, as far as I'm concerned, this isn't worth paying extra for.

I guess that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that some management company in the universe does good inspections unsupervised.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RogerB on 01/21/2010 9:14 AM

Roger,

Inspections that look at the property for soundness of repair are certainly worthwhile and critical. I believe that an inspection of this type done annually or semi-annual is sufficient to determine soundness of repair.

Inspections of twice a month, in my opinion, are solely for the purpose of enforcement of rules (parking, storage of personal property, etc.). Yes, I agree that the rules/covenants need to be enforced and inspections are one way of verifying compliance -- the method used to verify compliance and how that method is applied may cause issues. They did in my Association due to the third party harping on every little violation, like a tricycle left outside overnight (once vs. repeatedly), for the perceived purpose of justifying their job.

Since the original poster stated they were looking for twice a month inspections, I cautioned to be careful what they wish for. I also agree with Daniel, that the additional cost might not be worth the animosity it can cause if performed improperly.

Tim

HB (Oregon)
Posts: 143

Posted:

We are in Oregon so I am not sure how it compares to Florida prices, but we pay approx. $8,000 per year for an 83 single family home HOA. They are full service meaning they take care of the finances (we get detailed monthly statements of our accounts for review), they do site review, violation notices, taxes, maintenance of common areas, get bids for us if work needs to be done, coordinating annual meetings, etc.

I have gotten bids from several other management companies in our area and they are all in the $8,000 - $15,000 range for 83 homes.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Tim and Daniel,
Have you ever been a property manager? Have you ever had a good management company? If the MC doesn't do the job according to the Board's satisfaction they should be replaced. With regard to yearly, monthly, or weekly inspections it all depends on the management agreement which depends on the facilities.

Here is a current example of a townhome association we manage which has 89 units,16 building and no amenities. In the past 30 days:
1) inspected the property with 3 contractors to get bids for metal hand rails.
2. inspected the property with a tree removal company to determine trees which needed removal and pruning.
3. inspected the property for parking violation complaints.
4. inspected the property to verify satisfactory completion of handrails.
5. inspected the property with handyman for removal of snow and ice problems.
6. and during each of these visits the condition of the exterior of each building and the entire common area was checked. That included the status of the project of rebuilding and staining decks, painting on the exterior of buildings, repair of siding and window shutters, status of the ACC approved homeowner's projects, condition of doggie stations, etc.

It is obvious that once a month is not sufficient for townhomes. But the Board may only want inspections once a month for single family homes with no amenities. I think you will agree that it all depends on the facilities being managed.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Roger,

No I haven't been a property manager. However, I have served on the Architectural Committee and am currently serving on the BOD. Therefore, I am doing, or have done, the duties of a property manager for a complex of 130 town homes nested into 26 buildings, 2 playgrounds, streets, sidewalks, etc.

Since we are self governed, we do not use a management company per say. However we do, and have, hired independent contractors to do bookkeeping and once the Architectural Committee with inspections. The contractor performing the duties of the committee (inspections for compliance, approving/disapproving requests, etc.) was the worst experience this Association ever had (based on the reaction of the membership). The only positive thing out of that experience was an almost 80% turnout at the annual meetings.

For us, an annual inspection for complance/soundness of repair and responding to infractions as they ae reported by the membership or seen by the Architectural Committee/Board (but not actively looking for them except during the annual inspection) works for us. The Association tried the twice a month inspection with disastrous results.

I do agree with you that the whole inspection issue depends on the various factors that affect the facilities being managed and the desires of the Board.

I was just offering my advise, based on my experiences. Many have had different experiences so they have different advise.

Tim

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here