Unless you’re careful about choosing a community association management company, you can end up taking on more headaches than you save. Thorough evaluation can save you from this situation and can lead to a positive working relationship with your management company. Here’s 5 tips to bear in mind when trying to choose the right firm to manage you:
1) Identify your needs. Know what you need a management company to do for your association. For example, many managers offer a range of services, including full-blown management of an entire community, oversight of the basics, or project management for such infrequent but complex tasks as determining a special assessment plan or helping with a bid process to control costs and identify quality vendors. Determine what services you need, and then interview at least 3 companies to choose the one that can provide just what you need at the most reasonable cost.
2) Have a contract. Regardless of the length of your agreement, make sure it’s in writing and spells out which services your management company will and will not provide, how often if will provide the services, and the fees the company will charge. Failure to provide accurate and timely financial reports is a common complaint among board members. To avoid that, state in the contract that your association needs accurate financial reports by specific dates—such as the 10th of every month—and that the failure to meet that requirement will be considered a material breach of the contract. Also make sure you carefully review the termination provision. If the association isn’t happy with the services provided, make sure you can quickly and inexpensively terminate the contract.
3) Spell out when to contact the manager. No community manager should have to field calls from every resident on every issue. Ask the management company which calls you should tell residents to direct to the board and which should be directed to the management company. Not all management companies will want to handle calls from homeowners, but The Management Trust fields all calls on behalf of the Board of Directors. We believe that it’s important that our board members not have to directly deal with homeowner issues and want to ensure that the information a homeowner receives is completely accurate.
4) Build a positive relationship. Always be professional with your management company. But remember that some personalities simply don’t gel. If you find that the person overseeing your account just doesn’t seem to click with your board or owners, it may be time for a change. Consider including a provision in your contract stating you can request a new manager for any reason. The Management Trust has Executive Managers (EMs) who are assigned to each manager. ” If a client is unhappy with their community association manager, they should come to the executive manager who oversees the manager with any issues,” says Grace Paluck, of the Management Trust- Monarch Division.
5) Retain control over your funds. Even if you hire a management company to handle every task for your association, don’t let it take total control over association funds. Make sure someone on the board has signature authority over the association’s bank accounts. You don’t want management companies to hold the association’s funds hostage over an early termination fee.
This article is provided by The Management Trust.
2) Have a contract. Regardless of the length of your agreement, make sure it’s in writing and spells out which services your management company will and will not provide, how often if will provide the services, and the fees the company will charge. Failure to provide accurate and timely financial reports is a common complaint among board members. To avoid that, state in the contract that your association needs accurate financial reports by specific dates—such as the 10th of every month—and that the failure to meet that requirement will be considered a material breach of the contract. Also make sure you carefully review the termination provision. If the association isn’t happy with the services provided, make sure you can quickly and inexpensively terminate the contract.
3) Spell out when to contact the manager. No community manager should have to field calls from every resident on every issue. Ask the management company which calls you should tell residents to direct to the board and which should be directed to the management company. Not all management companies will want to handle calls from homeowners, but The Management Trust fields all calls on behalf of the Board of Directors. We believe that it’s important that our board members not have to directly deal with homeowner issues and want to ensure that the information a homeowner receives is completely accurate.
4) Build a positive relationship. Always be professional with your management company. But remember that some personalities simply don’t gel. If you find that the person overseeing your account just doesn’t seem to click with your board or owners, it may be time for a change. Consider including a provision in your contract stating you can request a new manager for any reason. The Management Trust has Executive Managers (EMs) who are assigned to each manager. ” If a client is unhappy with their community association manager, they should come to the executive manager who oversees the manager with any issues,” says Grace Paluck, of the Management Trust- Monarch Division.
5) Retain control over your funds. Even if you hire a management company to handle every task for your association, don’t let it take total control over association funds. Make sure someone on the board has signature authority over the association’s bank accounts. You don’t want management companies to hold the association’s funds hostage over an early termination fee.
This article is provided by The Management Trust.