Tips from Your HOA: How to Choose a Vendor for Your Maintenance Projects (MN)

For the most part, the idea of actual “maintenance free living” in a homeowners association is just that – an idea. In reality, people living in associations still have some maintenance responsibilities. When it comes time to perform maintenance on your home, here are some tips from the association’s perspective to keep in mind:    Read […]

HOA Construction Contracts: Review Closely Before Signing

Far too many homeowners associations fall into the trap of signing biased HOA construction contracts. Avoid becoming one of them by familiarizing yourself with these contract must-haves.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Security Services for your HOA or Condo: Considerations for Selection (FL)

Community security is not a one-size-fits-all solution. What works for a high-rise, may not meet the needs of a garden style condo or a PUD, HOA or POA. Surveying residents about their security needs, desires and goals is a great way to gauge the community’s thoughts on the subject to get you started with the […]

How to Create and Solicit an RFP

Many community projects can become complicated quite quickly. Creating a request for proposal (RFP) can both help the HOA identify exactly what it wants from a project, as well as help the association find a vendor who can best deliver that. Here, we’ll briefly explain what an RFP is, break down how to create one, […]

Selecting an HOA Vendor

How do you know where to start, who to trust, and how to find companies that will provide the best quality workmanship for your Association?  Below are ten helpful tips that will guide you in the right direction when selecting a new HOA vendor:     Read the entire article……………………………….

It’s Worth It! Hire a Licensed Contractor (AZ)

Have you ever heard the phrase “penny wise but pound foolish”? One common mistake is trying to save a little money by hiring an unlicensed contractor. In the end, the unlicensed contractor ends up costing a lot more money for the association.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Be Careful with Swimming Pool Contracts (GA)

Associations can minimize potential liability and set the stage for a successful pool season by carefully negotiating and reviewing swimming pool contracts.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Choosing Vendors for the Homeowners Association (AZ)

Running any organization comes with a certain amount of stress, but this is especially true when your organization is a Homeowner’s Association. These organizations receive quite a lot of flak for their commitment to maintaining property standards and ensuring neighborhoods are kept up to par, but there’s no doubt that an enormous amount of work […]

Should The HOA Hire Licensed Contractors Only?

Homeowners associations go through a lot of repairs and maintenance work. And while it may be tempting to go with an unlicensed professional that offers bargain-basement prices, it is always best to hire a licensed contractor.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Navigating Community Association Construction Agreements with Contractors for Renovation and Remodeling Projects

Construction agreements can often be some of the most costly expenses that condominium associations and homeowner associations (HOAs) will ever review and consider for approval regarding their common element projects. However, many associations neglect to retain legal counsel who has the expertise needed to draft and implement the most effective terms and agreements. Instead, Boards […]

HOA Snow Removal Contracts: What You Need to Know

Does your HOA have a snow removal contract? If you’re a board member, it is vital to ensure your HOA has a good contract with a reliable snow removal vendor before the snowstorm hits.  There are three types of snow removal contracts that an HOA can sign with a snow removal vendor. These contracts determine […]

How Can Having The Right Vendors For Your HOA Affect Your Finances?

As an HOA board member, finding vendors for your HOA is one of your most important duties. Unfortunately, many boards opt to settle for cheap vendors that deliver poor results all in the name of saving the association money. What these boards don’t know, though, is that vendor selection can impact the HOA’s bottom line.  […]

Community Association Service Contracts Do’s and Don’ts (FL)

One of the most important tasks for community association board members is the oversight of maintenance, cleaning, security, valet parking, construction/painting, landscaping and other vendor services. These essential services require the use of written contracts that should include vital protections for associations, which would be well advised to turn to highly experienced community association attorneys […]

The Pros and Cons of Bulk Cable / Internet Service Agreements

Fast, reliable internet service is an amenity that most residents value in their homes. Some even want that to extend this to common areas, expecting the community association to provide at least some additional wireless connectivity. In many cases, Condo Associations and even some traditional Homeowner Associations are turning to Bulk Service Agreements to provide […]

How to Hire a GOOD Contractor: Five Simple Tips (MI)

Many factors have made 2020 an interesting year. We are now fully understanding the cause and effect that a global pandemic has on many industries. While some industries such as travel and entertainment have been devastated, others, such as home improvement services, have been remarkably busy. You may notice when walking the aisles of Home […]

Can an HOA Accept Donations?

When running an HOA, there’s always a need for more funds. Even the most financially stable HOAs can always find ways to put more funds to good use. So, you may be wondering: Can HOAs accept donations from vendors? What about fundraising? Can an HOA donate to charities?   Read the article………………………………

Condo questions: Don’t enter into a contract without proper protections (FL)

Q: We signed a contract for a landscape vendor to install various trees and shrubs throughout the community. The contract is simply an estimate of $50,000 with no content other than a price and a description of the plant materials. Our president signed the estimate and now the contractor claims he can’t get the materials. […]

What to Do When a Vendor Damages Association Property (FL)

Service providers often cause property damage in community associations. Imagine a furniture delivery driver in a rush to make his next appointment, clipping your community’s security gate and taking a portion of it down the road, or a garbage truck leaking hydraulic fluid on your community roadways, leaving permanent stains. What should your association do […]

Additional Insured

Earlier this month, one of our insured communities had an interesting experience. They hired a contractor to do some fence repairs, and in the process of fixing said fence, the crew hit an irrigation line. This caused a considerable leak and one of the units suffered water damage.  Read the article……………………………..

Contractors using Subcontractors and Your Community Liability

It’s inevitable: at some point, a community association needs to hire a contractor. Some need their contractors for standard maintenance, others hire help for repair after an emergency or national disaster; but no matter why your HOA is looking into hiring a contractor, you should know that they don’t always work alone. Contractors oftentimes hire […]

Tips for reviewing cable service provider agreements (MI)

In 2009, 87.8% of American households had either a cable or satellite TV subscription; however, by the end of 2019, that number dropped to just 65.3% of American households, as more American households “cut the cord” and turned to internet-based TV subscriptions, such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube TV. With this steep drop in cable […]

Finding Your Audience: Going Where the Food Is

Is your community association focused business having trouble getting the eyes and ears of condo and HOA board members? You are probably wasting your marketing dollars in the wrong place.  The late comedian, Sam Kinison, had a famous sketch in which he proposed a simple solution to world hunger – Go Where the Food Is! […]

Do Your Due Diligence When Choosing An HOA Collection Agency

If you are on a board of directors of a Condo or HOA or you manage one there will be delinquencies. If you have decided that your community association attorney does not get the job done in recovering your money, you may want to consider a collection agency. Here we will advise you as to […]

Guide to Creating an RFP for your Community Association

When your HOA or condo association decides that it’s time to hire a management company or switch management, it can be difficult to know how to choose the right company. Creating an HOA Management RFP (Request for Proposal) is a great place to start. An RFP is a document drafted by your board that can […]

Tips On Selecting The Right Vendors For Your HOA

One great challenge for HOAs is to choose the appropriate vendors to complete the required tasks of their communities. If HOAs are not careful, they will end up spending unnecessary amounts of their allotted budgets on expenses that they could have found less expensive elsewhere. For HOAs that are looking to utilize their resources in […]

Mind Your Bid-ness: Combating Kickbacks & Other Fraud

Kickback schemes, bid mishandling, and the like are not always easy to identify—or to prove – because like any illicit activity, this type of fraud is perpetrated in secret. That’s why it’s imperative to build a few basic safeguards into your community’s contracts and procedures to prevent (or at least significantly hinder) wrongdoing by bad […]

Construction Progress Payments: The Hidden Trap (FL)

The owner of real property can end up paying twice when they pay their general contractor who, in turn, fails to pay the subcontractors and suppliers. However, this very real consequence can be avoided, too. While drafted to protect contractors and suppliers, Florida law also provides substantial protection in favor of the consumer (a.k.a, the […]

Indemnity and Hold Harmless Provisions in Association Contracts

Condominium and homeowner associations frequently enter into contracts with third-parties. Examples include landscaping contracts, management contracts, and construction contracts. In order to protect the interests of the association, many community association attorneys include indemnity provisions in the contract. Here’s a common example of an indemnity provision:   Read the article………………………….

Project contracts need to protect the association (IL)

Q: Our association enters into many contracts each year with different contractors. The contractors typically give the board its one or two page proposal that the board agrees to and signs. The proposals are also reviewed by our property manager before the board signs them.   Read the Q&A………………………….

Law now requires contractors to be paid more promptly (IL)

Q: Our association tries to standardize contractor agreements through the use of a contract rider. One of the issues we address in a rider is the retainage from each contractor payment. One of our contractors says the language of our rider violates Illinois law on retainage, and says there is some new law about this. […]

Condo column: Can HOA terminate unreasonable contract?

Q: Our homeowners association recently turned over from developer control, and we learned that the association has a 15-year contract to maintain the clubhouse elevator and the rates are not market rates. Can we terminate this contract now?  Read the Q&A…………………………….

Condominium Mechanic’s Liens

Mechanic’s lien claims are complex in that each state’s statutes differ dramatically.  There are certain unique issues when a contractor seeks to commence a mechanic’s lien proceeding for improvements made to a condominium.   Read the article……………………….

Say What?

In terminating a third party vendor, a board of directors must be careful in disseminating information concerning the basis for its decision – especially if the decision was due to poor performance or contractual violations by the vendor.  Read the article………………………

Snow is a Four-Letter Word (CO)

Looks like snow is coming this Thursday. Yet I am still running around in shorts and sandals, and I definitely have not checked my tires yet!!  With winter conditions right around the corner, it’s time for associations to review their snow removal contracts. So what should be included in these contracts? Below is a checklist […]

Vendor Bid-Outs: A Guide to Choosing the Right Vendor for Your HOA

Whether it be for a single task or an ongoing project, selecting a vendor to perform work for your association can be a daunting process, but it doesn’t have to be. In selecting a vendor, it is important to consider various factors such as dependability, liability, cost-to-quality ratio, reviews, and expertise. Fortunately for SpectrumAM customers, […]

How to Evaluate Service Provided by Contractors

One of the common issues that boards deal with is whether a contractor is providing adequate service. Before passing judgment on the service being provided by a contractor, the board should be aware of the exact specifications the contract requires. For example, if the board is unhappy that their landscaper is not weeding flower beds, […]

How to Complete an RFP

Welcome back to the third topic in our board basics series! We started the series by encouraging board members to double-check and make sure their insurance is sufficient for their association’s needs. Last time, we discussed the importance of HOA committee guidelines.  This week, we’re going to walk you through how to complete a request […]

Vendor Relationships – Navigating Resident Interactions

Our industry depends on a close network of skilled industry professionals who are dependable and responsive. Emergencies are common, particularly in condominium developments where breaks in shared or common water lines can lead to disaster. Quick action by association vendors can extinguish the root cause of the emergency and potentially reduce, if not eliminate, thousands […]

Essentials of Vendor Contracts

All too often, condominium, townhome, and/or homeowner associations enter into contracts that are no more than a one- or two-page proposal. The deficiencies in these contracts often only come to light when there is a problem.    Read the article…………………………..

Your Association’s Contractor Walked Off The Job – Now What?? (FL)

As happens far too often, contractors bid on an improvement project, start the work, only to later walk off the job. The contractor might do this for one of many reasons: the job was not bid correctly, prices go up, the laborers demand more money, and anything else that leads the contractor to believe they […]

Softening Surprises on a Major Facade Repair (NY)

We have a pre-war building on the Upper West Side that needed facade repairs for Local Law 11. We did our site visits and noted that there was a fair amount of cracking at the building corners. In buildings from this era, that indicates deterioration of the structural steel behind the corners, behind the masonry. […]