HOA property management

My HOA is considering hiring a professional property management company. We’re not particularly big, we’ve been managed by an unpaid board of directors since inception 20 years ago. I’ve only been in the neighborhood for 10.

Heard horror stories from folks in other HOAs in the area that went this route.

Appreciate any feedback from those with experience. Pros & cons, anecdotes and such. Thanks!

 

Home For Sale.

Sorry, best suggestion I have.

 

I've dealt with both. I'm sure not all are the same but I would think a lot of the rules and violations would be similar

 

My question isn’t about the rules/violations...to date my HOA has been pretty tame and I haven’t had an issue. Hiring a management company would not change the existing declarations and by-laws the HOA membership is subject to. It would just be paying someone else to do the management work.

The question is about the wisdom of the HOA hiring a professional management company, which would be accompanied by a dues increase. The company would handle maintenance and upkeep of common areas, including clubhouse and pool, as well as violations no doubt. I’d like to hear from anyone who lives in a HOA that’s professionally managed, and what their experiences have been.

For example, my in-laws live in such a neighborhood and the company sends an employee out to canvas homes in the neighborhood for violations. They send letters and follow up on corrective action, etc. I don’t want that kind of nitpicking here. We currently have a good balance of neighborhood looking nice without absurdity.

 

FWIW.

It all comes down to the contract between the HOA and the Management Company.

The HOA board should hire a lawyer to help work through the contract details.

 

I live in an HOA managed by a professional company. They do a great job of maintaining the landscaping and I've only been pinged by them once for a "violation", i.e. my lawn was too long. It was mowed every Wednesday afternoon and they came by Wednesday morning so at its peak length. If I had to guess, a neighbor complained to them and they didn't actually come out as part of a routine visit.

Overall I have no complaints.

 

Great point. Will suggest at the meeting, if the board decides to go this direction.

Good to hear. Our current board just lets a contract each year with the same landscaping company. They do a fine job. Makes it difficult for me to support the need for a middleman that we now need to pay to do the same thing. There are other responsibilities but it’s mainly landscaping, maintenance on pool/clubhouse, and violations. Doesn’t seem that complicated.

 

I just moved out of a nightmare neighborhood (1600 houses) where the management company did not do their job by the book and a guy in the neighborhood who plays lawyer (he's been fired from a lot of firms and is being sued by multiple banks for not paying on loans) decided to take the HOA to court. He ultimately lost, we fired the management company and the board hired a new company. They ended up firing the new company for being incompetent as well. I have since moved but am still in the facebook group just so I can laugh at the drama people still have to deal with.

I grew up in neighborhood that was managed by an HOA company, was never an issue. The board still has complete control, the management company just does what the board tells them to do. Many times growing up we got letters because I would fix my truck in the street which they said wasn't allowed by one of the board members who I mowed for told them 1. It is a city street and 2. He is fixing it so it can move and not be an eyesore so stop with the letters for repairing vehicles.

Another example, the neighborhood we just moved from has a rule that no trashcans can be visible from the street. Well trash will smell horrid in a warm garage in July so they told the management company that as long as trash cans are on the side of the house it is fine.

Currently we are building a house in another HOA run neighborhood. The experience we had in the nightmare neighborhood doesn't deter me from it. You are still living in an HOA neighborhood, someone else is just doing all the tedious work that the board was doing for everyone.

 

One of the Main reasons I no longer do residential work. HOA’s

 

What’s your trade? Tell some stories.

 

Our neighborhood is only about 250 homes. It just can’t be that hard to do the management.

 

I treat other peoples properties/homes with the same respect as I would treat my own. You want it fixed cheap or do you want it repaired professionally. You can only pick one.
Other thing is developers buy a property. Throw some cosmetic changes on it then punt it out as condo’s. Buildings HVAC is all wrong then you gotta explain why somethin’ what was never designed to do, doesn’t work the way you think it should leavin’ average Folks holdin’ the Bag. No Sir, No more.

 

So you’re an HVAC guy. I’ve known some really good ones, and some crooks too.

Big difference between condo associations and HOAs though.

 

You are about to be charged a LOT more for what you already get. And then you also get to pay on top of that for all the ''professional management'' who's first job is to line their own pockets.

If there are no demanding issues then it's not something I would ever recommend.

Who suggested it and what is their kickback from the management company? [and there likely is one if it was brought up by one board member.]

 

I’ve seen so many Folks burned. This latest one the whole building envelope is full of mould & rotten. Can’t see ‘em bein’ allowed to even stay there while things go on.

 

Who suggested it and why, exactly. I’m meeting with the board president tomorrow to find out. I don’t have any reason to believe anyone involved is crooked. I’m more inclined to believe the current directors are all getting up there in years, don’t think anyone else wants to do the job, and are fed up with dealing with board stuff. Hopefully we just need some new directors.

 

Op.

My HOA did exactly that. Been in the home 20 years since build. Management company to support the locally elected board for the past twelve. I’m not really involved, but they’ve kept the dues low and the guys who hate HOAs and really should live in the country from considering here. I like my HOA.

I like country, too. Just not for my here and now.

 

I think HOA management is good. If you have rules I believe they should be enforced. Pass experience I have found out local HOA management become lax because they know the people living in the plan. Professionals have no personal ties and tend to enforce the rules. You get what you pay for.

 

What was the dues increase of any once the board contracted with the mgmt co? And what duties does the company handle? Local firm or regional/national?

 

HOAs suck my ass. The meetings suck ass, and the asshole people that complain my mailbox is green and not brown can suck a dick too.

The mailbox was an example of the dumb shit people bitched about at my last neighborhood. Its unreal how fucking petty people are. No hao where i am now, and not one issue. HATE them.

But, let me know if you want to know how i really feel.

I can say this, id not want an outside company getting paid to take more of the money, potentially raising the fees.

Fuxk HOAs