|
Condominium home owners associations generally hire property maintenance companies to manage their properties on their behalf because this is the most cost effective and suitable thing to do. There many day to day activities that goes into ensuring that the complex is an attractive, convenient and safe place to live in. As a result, the workload is usually beyond the capabilities of the association. The management of the HOA should take a few factors into account when selecting a property maintenance company. These factors include: 1. The company should have a lot of experience offering residential and commercial property services. It should also have a very good reputation in the market. This can generally be determined asking other condominium associations for feedback on their association management companies. Very often, it is sufficient to see a complex in order to have a good idea about how it is maintained. Owners and tenants in the complex are also good sources of information. 2. The association should find out whether they will get an on-site manager from the property maintenance company. If the complex is a small one then the maintenance company might only send a manager for a few hours every day. Any people sent for HOA management should be well trained and highly experienced at their jobs. 3. The company should offer a comprehensive list of services. Not only should it undertake maintenance and cleanliness of the property and gardens but it should also provide accounting services. It doesn’t make sense to have to deal with different vendors for various property related jobs. 4. What will the costs be like? It is always good to be able to get work done for a low cost but not if there is a drop in quality because the company that provides maintenance is cutting corners. The question of not hiring a property maintenance company does not arise because the scope of work is very large and the association will not be able to handle it on its own. Once a suitable property management company has been chosen, the association should enter into a written contract with it. The contract details all terms and conditions including the different fees that will be charged and is a very important document that can be referred to in order to assess performance. Performance assessment of the property management company should be done on a monthly basis. In addition, the contract should also contain a mutually satisfactory termination clause.
Related Articles -
association management, home owners associations, HOA management, commercial property services,
| 
