Condo Association Management Blog

Anyone who is completely satisfied with their Property Management Company, say so. If not, completely satisfied tell us what's wrong with them.

Our Property management company is run by the wife of the VP of the association. When the contact is renewed each year for years now the board automatically renews no input frm HOA members. Recently serious breach with key security. Even found a complete ring of unit keys his key and 21 others in the lock of an owener who had not requested work. The door was wide open very early in the morning. as fate would have it, the keys were addressed that morning at an HOA meeting. They said the door was being painted No workers were on site. The stories keep comming. Owners are afraid to complain.

Sandra: 1. why is everyone afraid? 2. does the HOA vote? 3. it's a blatant conflict of interest for the association to hire a company owned by the wife of an officer. 4.Suggestion: go to the bakery, get some coffee cake, invite people over to talk about it. Slowly, over a period of time build a group willing to get out there and get out there a get rid of the vp and his wife's management company.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I too am confused. 
 
I am a Realtor and live in a condo. We have an election every year. Many times, no additional owners run for a position on the board. That says that the owners like the community management and the board. When there are issues, new owners run for the board. If no one cares enough to run and make changes, you get what you ask for. Why don't your run? Don't complain. Do Something, NOW.

Weiss makes a good point. If no one is running for election there is a presumption that people are satisfied.

I did run for the board but since I was the only one running the association did not allow voting. I believe its because I've been very vocal about our management company. For over a year I've been requesting to see the financials but management company keeps putting this off. I've asked to see the audits which are required and management company says there is no need for one it would just cost us too much. This community has given too much power to this management company and I am now being bullied because I've been told to drop all the questions and I refuse to back off. I cannot prove mismanagement of our monies but suspect it. Why won't the law do anything to protect us? This community brings in a quarter of a million dollars but won't account for any of it. I was told to pay and shut the h... up!!! And I've read the by-laws and the state laws and the non-profit laws but if its ignored why have these laws? Our management company knows no outside agency will back any resident complaints. This is my first property dealing with an HOA and want out but the economy is so bad now nothing is selling.

What grounds did they give for not running an election. If you have read the state law and if it favors your position, write to the state attorney general. You may also have an ombudsman in your state. Write to her. In addition, write to the Governor's office and ask what state agency deals with HOA's. It's possible that the governor's office will copy the agency thus giving a little heft to your complaint.  
 
Harold

By way of background, I have owned three condos in my lifetime located in different sections of the country. I have worked with both large and small PMs, and have found their service to be consistently poor. The problem, in my opinion, is that the PM model is broken. PMs are trained and experienced in the area of property management, which most do well. The breakdown occurs because PMs insist upon controlling your HOA's checkbooks, a task for which they are poorly trained and not inclined to perform well as they do not have an accountant's personality. Controlling your HOA's finances, however, is how they reduce turnover of their client base. Many board members are worried about changing PMs for fear of bills going unpaid during the transition period.  
 
Also, the PM model is built on speed of service, not value to the HOA. Thus, if you examine your financial statements closely, you may discover that your PM has paid bills that you as a board member would never have paid. It is, however, faster for a PM to pay a bill than to protest one, which costs your HOA money. Here is an example: our HOA has a major repair project under way, and scaffolding has been constructed in our courtyard. Recently, one of our neighbors discovered that all of the plants in our courtyard were dying. We contacted the PM, who in turn contacted the landscaper, who informed the PM that it was too dangerous for his crew to work around the scaffolding. 
 
So, what is wrong with this picture? First, we paid the PM to manage our property, but he never noticed that the plants were dying. Second, we paid the landscaper to manage our entire property, but he charged us his full fee for paying attention to about 75% of the landscaping. Third, we had to pay our new landscaper several hundred dollars to remove plants that should not have died and replace them with new ones. At the end of the day, the PM got paid for not managing our property and the landscaper got paid for not landscaping the entire property, and I raised $%^& with the PM for paying the old landscaper his final bill when he has been overpaid for one year now. Had our board controlled our check book, we would be about $1,500 ahead of where we are now. 
 
And this, Gentle Readers (sorry Miss Manners) is what is wrong with the PM model. If you are lucky, you can locate a PM that simply wants to manage your property and leave the bookkeeping to bookkeepers.

I am in agreement with the comments made by Larry. The most successful projects are those that only hire a PM to assist, not run the show. If the Board does not get out and walk the property on a regular basis, meet and see residentsto hear complaints and sometimes a compliment, the complex is doomed. 
 
 
 
This is what is wrong with mine, but eventhough I am willing to serve on one of the two open positions, the Board refuses to put me on. I am now reviewing the audited financials and finding many questionable charges. It is time to bring in the State of Texas and attempt to get some involvement of others to call for the resignation of the Board. 
 
 
 
The above is only the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to email on what successes I have and for my failures at nlogan@research-initiative.org. It may help others.

Our PM has been in place for about ten years and seems to be dissinterested. He now has six other communities and that has to be the reason for the lack of focus. When our communmity needs a contractor for repairs I wonder how many of his other properties also need that contractor which causes a delay for our repairs. He is very helpful at the meetings but during the 30 days in between, he has been known to forget about scheduling repairs or to check to see if the work was done. I know of three instances this year where a resident asked for some work to be done in April(at the annual meeting)and those residents happened to see me on the grounds in August and September asking when the work would be done. One person is on the board and had to remind the PM about repairs in October (that person was incapacited for several months with an illness.) Of course, there are aways the 'iron clad' excuses why thing happened like they do-and they are never his fault. This PM is liked by most members on the board,but the work ethic is just not there. We have over 100 units and I have not spoken to all of the residents, but I have found only one resident who defends him. The others do not have a kind word for him. The board is contemplating replacing him.

My husband and I purchased our unit in 92 and moved in. Every owner here rents out their units so we were the only owners who lived in our unit.It has been my understanding that the manager must live on site and own their unit. We took over for a elderly gentleman who was no longer able to manage.  
My husband and I were trained for the job.My husband passed away 2 years ago and I am still managing.Now I have been reelected every year to manage as are the rules.The president of the assn helps me deal with any issues that come up.I have a good relationship with the tenants and people tend to stay a long time.It is very important to have a good relationship with the tenants. So as Bruce posted, the property manager can be replaced when election comes up.

Is there no. Limit to how many times a person can be elected as president??? For 30 years the Hawaiian King Building has had the same president. He makes sure no one else gets to be president. Must have much to protect 

Traindt: perhaps your 30 year president just likes the job.