Are You Unhappy With Your Community Management Company?

Working and living with a management company is a complex matter. It can bring peace of mind because you can forget about complex administrative duties. However, it can also cause more stress than it should. The main reason why the latter is a common occurrence is improper practices. A bad management firm will create more problems than it solves. Thankfully, you’re not alone, and there are a few things you can do to solve that.

What are the most common complaints about community management companies?

There are many articles going through the staple complaints people have toward their management company. A simple Google search yields several results, but some are definitely more common than others. If you’re unhappy with your association, chances are it’s because one or more of these reasons. If that’s the case, then we have good news for you; they’re easier to solve than you might think.

Lack of communications

The most common complaint people have from their management company is that they feel like they don’t care about them. That’s easy when the company doesn’t respond to inquiries and requests in a timely manner.

Delays in problem resolution

Property management is complicated, as you need to keep many variables and services in mind. Bad tactics result in problems going unresolved and homeowners feeling neglected. Most commonly these problems are quick to fix, but inefficiency prevents that.

Lack of respect toward homeowners

Dealing with a community is difficult, and management companies can deplete their patience quickly. The result is that they tend to treat everyone rudely, even those who didn’t present any issues before.

Maintenance inefficiency

Maintenance problems are the easiest way to make an unhappy community. Not only does it feel like neglect, but it also makes the entire residence look deteriorated. Even smaller problems add up quickly.

Bad vendor selection

Finally, not hiring the right vendors breeds a plethora of other issues. Poor results and sketchy staff makes the board lose the community’s trust, so having a good contacts database is vital.

What can you do about it?

We’ve helped several clients resolve their issues with their management company. Most of these cases came from the same roots: choosing the wrong company and a lack of communication. The latter is easily the most important, as it can also exacerbate other problems unnecessarily. Therefore, we have three tips from our own experience for how you can rid yourself of that stress.

Screen your management company

Make sure you ask for previous references and evaluate the company in the areas that you care about the most. That’s the first step to guarantee community satisfaction from your management company.

Communicate with everyone

Any good company has the right communications channels set up. Going for a firm with plenty of options to get in touch with them should be a priority if you want to avoid issues.

Set clear rules

Make sure everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, both the company and homeowners. Transparency and compliance helps in keeping everyone happy.