Condo Association Management Blog

Be careful. One major mistake many boards make when they switch to self management is their ability to interview and hire competent,professionally trained facuility managers and chief engineers. The larger the association the more critical this selectuion becomes. It would be very unusual that a sittming noqard member has a background of experience that would qualify him to conduct and then evaluate such interviews. If a management company is retained and they are ethical you camn rely on theim to supply the incumbents for those positions. If they do not pergorm to the boards satisfaction they have recourse to the management company.

we switched and so far we are doing fine we are trying to list an approved vendor list, landscaping fire control systems plumbing, electric ect. other isssues are dicussed unless it's a emergencey. be prepared to put in a lot of your time, sweat etc. dont expect eveyone to help but a few will pitchin doing minor cleaning ect, make sure you know your insurance to but we were getting nothing for the co who was helping us except them making sure they got paid every month, when we took over we deep in debt, we re better now but a lot of hours and meetings with board members, accountants lawyers were done we use the knolage of everyone involved and if we dont know we go to an expert who is licensed in that area if you think its easy, wrong be careful on every move that made, good luck

Two factors come into play when determining if an assn can be self-managed: the size of the assn and the number and type of amenities and, most important -- are the members willing to serve on the board and do the work. 
 
 
 
In most assn's it's very difficult to get members to run for board positions even when the assn contracts with a mgmt co. If there is no mgmt co it's even harder because the board members are then required to do all the work. 
 
 
 
If the assn is small and there are very few amenties, self management is a possibility. But a large assn with many amenities (swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis courts) would be better served to contract with a mgmt co; there is just too much work to self manage. Most assn members, although willing to do the work, just do not have the time to effectively manage a large assn. -- it's a full time job.

We are a 448 unit Condo Association in Orlando Florida. We have now been self managed for around 8 years. There is a lot of comment regards accounts. One board member (vice president)manages the maintenance staff who are employed directly to the association along with gardening staff. No one is on contract they are all employed by the Association. Many members have questions the board member who manages the maintenance along with the manager (female) particularly relating to their remunerations. Wages paid in the budget proposal are always collective not individually listed so there is a lot of unrest but having said that no one does anything to clarify the situation.The lady president runs the show as she sees fit. All in all I think it could be good but all owners need to be interested & keep[ their finger on the pulse, Accounts can be manipulated as we all know.

I have to concur with Scott and Mary -there is more to consider than just how much money you are saving.  
 
 
 
It's a penny-wise and pound-foolish risk...you might be trying to look like a hero for cutting costs, but then realize that your membership is either unwilling to volunteer to help manage and/or unqualified to manage even a part of the association.  
 
 
 
That is one of our problems in our Florida HOA, 170 townhome units. Our property is almost 30 years old, no reserves set aside for common asset replacement because prior boards were "saving money" by self managing and not raising assessments as the decades rolled by, or not planning for replacements of the assets. Our demographics are such that 90% are retirees who do not want to get involved in board issues, do not want to be out surveying the property in a golf cart, etc.  
 
 
 
Be sure you have the base - in age, experience and enthusiasm - to self-manage or you will have lots of problems..different than dealing with a management company.

I agree with Scott... We happen to have an excellent management company that is up on our state laws, CC&R's, and our rules and regulations. We are always comfortable with their advice. It does take board members with some clear understanding of just what to expect from a management company to conduct interviews for one because bad management companies are usually the result of weak boards that allow bad managements companies to exist. Good ones are available, you just need to know what to look for. 
 
 
 
Yes, it is possible to manage your own condo affairs without a management company, but remember it is a lot more involved work, and board members must possess a clear knowledge of all laws and rules. As someone said, getting people to fill board positions is difficult enough, let alone expecting them to be knowledgeable. I've seen assessments, association fees raised and even a bankruptcy in other complexes where with good management this didn't need to happen. A present board may do well with managing but what about the next group of board members and so on? Can you be sure everyone in the future will be able to take care of business properly. Remember your condo is your investment whether you are on the board or not. Not using a good management company may be penny wise and pound foolish.

There are many great comments here. Two issues are most important.  
 
1 You must have enough educated willing owners to self manage. Few Associations have the right mix to pull this off. Today, most owners are doing all they can do to make a living to support their family. All owners must be willing to help and not disagree just to disagree. 
 
2- An honest high quality management company will save your Association money and increase values. They understand the law,proceedures and how to get the job done.  
 

Our board decided 4 years ago to self manage in an attempt to save money because we had the wrong mgmt company. They decided to keep the on site manager and now in this short time we are having to file criminal charges against her because she has stolen approximately $500k from the property. The current board has hired a management company and where we were running a deficit in two short months we not have a surplus.

Forgive me...this is not a solicitation...though it will likely come across this way...but there are a few other companies that do this. 
 
We offer a management platform for self managed associations. We do accounting, collections, process assessments, AP and provide critical administrative functions. We offer on line tools to the self managed association for violations, ACC, Work orders. We provide professional counsel. This is a cost savings that falls between full service and self-management. Again there are a few that do this..most of the accounts we get are self-managed because no one is building in Florida anymore.

we switched and so far we are doing fine we are trying to list an approved vendor list, landscaping fire control systems plumbing, electric, etc. 
 
 
 
 
 
I 'self-manage' our builing alone and I suggest that your HOA join 'Angies's List'. They are all over the country and I believe a yearly membership fee is about $20. Being able to get reviews on actual companies will save you hours and hours of research, not to mention disastrous decisions of hiring a bad company. 
 

I have lived in a condo for about 10 years now. It has always been self managed. There are 12units here. I ran the association myself for about 5 years. I had some problems with collecting condo fees from some owners. Some owners paid every month with no problem. As for the maintanance,snow removal, etc. I called around and tried to find the best and cheapest company for the job. I was left by myself to handle everything, because none of the owners wanted the responsibility. I was removed when a rich guy bought one of the condos and felt he could take over. Now, the owner that does the treasurer work feels he is the only owner and owns everyone and everything. There are no meetings, no votes, no budget, he refuses to show any other owners any bills or bank statements. He does whatever he wants and so far he is getting away with this. He adds odd fees like document preparation fees, and taxes to our condo fees. Most of the owners pay what he wants to stay out of court. There are only a couple owners who will stand up to him, and we are the ones that he pulls into court and he usually wins. He will just say, "I called a meeting and no one showed up so I decided for myself" and he gets away with this. He is never asked in court for proof of anything.He said he isn't keeping track of anything he does, so there is no paperwork to show other owners. I would be careful if you want to self manage.

Florence, 
 
 
 
If the other 10 owners aren't concerned with his obvious mismanagement of the HOA, then they are getting exactly what they deserve. This is an accident waiting to happen. Don't be surprised if he walks away with all the money one day!

I agree with what others have said. We fired our management company of over 15 years last year and became self managed, because they basically took us for granted and for 2 years prior, they only wanted to collect our fees and pay our bills so we were doing everything anyway. Get organized and get your ducks in order first before yo do anything! 
 
1. Get a copy of all contracts with current vendors. 
 
2. If your mgt. company pays all your bills especially utilities, start requesting copies of the bills so you know what your account numbers are. 
 
3. Request copies of bank statements so you know your account# as well as your balances.  
 
4. If you don't have a formal ledger system for all owners get one, get full payment history for all delinquent owners. 
 
5. Question every expense and review your monthly financials. 6. All board members MUST get involved because this becomes a full time job and you will need help especially if you have no formal property management experience.  
 
7. Review your documents and bylaws as well as your state laws- they will become your bible.  
 
8. Interview/find a CPA to handle your books. 
 
Good luck if you choose to do this!

We are a 15 unit condo association in Pa. 
 
We have in the last 6 months (and it took 1 year to organize) went with a reputable management service. 
 
I must say they are doing a bang out operation for us and I couldn't be anymore pleased with the out come. 
 
2 board members have stepped down and I filled one of the seats. The president stayed as I wished her to and things are starting to turn around for us. 
 
Management immediately went after 3 longs past due owners (4 years of back dues might I add) and recovered almost all of out debt they owed. It won't happen over night, but I can now sleep knowing where my money has gone. 
 
The dues were raised and it is well worth the $22.00 per month each of us pays to have them take care of everything. A special assessment also was put into place and we are starting to see a plus to our account. 
 
I could not ask for a better service to get us turned around. 
 
For those of you thinking to go this direction, please consider only to a reputable management service (over 1 million) in business they do. 
 
Good luck and seek now for we waited 4 years to crunch the people that was messing up our association. 
 
We are little, but we stood tall a fought back and 1 year from now we are going to look even better. 
 
Good Luck

Self-management does not work for the betterment of Owners. Only the president and his self-appointed managerial position, plus a bunch of lawyers protecting him with Condo. Owners' money. So, he is nicely entrenched with lots of 'perks'...I shall say no more!

Gee, 
 
 
 
It's apparent you don't really understand the concept of self-management. It only means that the board does all the work -- there is no manager, or prop mgmt co. around to handle the financial work, enforcement, obtaining bids for contractors, etc., etc. Even with a manager, the board is in control (or should be!) and calls all the shots -- the mgr only does what they are told to do. 
 
Many assn's are self-managed -- effeciently and quite effectively -- usually the smaller ones with limited, or no, amenities. But it does take much more work and dedication on the part of the board members. On the flip side, there are many assn's professionally managed where the management leaves a lot to be desired. Some boards allow the manager to do as he/she pleases and some managers act like little dictators. There are pros and cons on both sides of the issue. But to say, that being self managed means you have a "self-appointed" Pres enjoying "lots of 'perks'" is just not true.

We are about to start self management, in our HOA of 120 and still building. I hope it works,but it worries me. I"ve been on the board before, there is a lot of reluctance by members to participate.