Community Management (CM) is asking the HOA to approve contracts at premium prices, while residents are increasingly experiencing poor-quality, incomplete, or minimal services from some contractors.
A clear example is the front-yard maintenance contract, where CM and Community Landscaping (CL) proposed pricing at approximately twice the price quoted by the previous contractor. Paying double the previous price while receiving little or no corresponding improvement in service raises serious concerns about value, due diligence, and contract oversight. At a minimum, the HOA should ensure that the community is receiving fair market pricing and the level of service for which residents are paying.
This appears to be becoming a recurring issue. The community is entering into contracts at premium prices while, in some cases, receiving services that do not appear to match the contracted scope or the community’s needs. Recent examples that warrant review include:
- Front-yard maintenance
- Paver project
- Entrance tree maintenance
- Overall community landscaping contract
- Other recently approved vendor contracts
The HOA should not allow contractors to determine which services they will provide based on convenience or preference. Contractors should be required to deliver the services specified in the contract, at the agreed-upon quality and frequency, and the HOA should verify that those services have actually been performed before approving payment.
It is also important to consider the broader financial impact. HOA fees and club dues did not double during this period, yet the proposed front-yard maintenance cost did. This raises several reasonable questions:
- Why did the HOA not conduct sufficient due diligence before approving a contract at approximately twice the previous price?
- Why was the proposed price not more aggressively negotiated in the interest of residents?
- Were multiple competing vendors asked to provide quotes?
- Was the selected vendor’s pricing compared against prevailing market rates?
- What specific improvements or additional services justify the significant increase in cost?
- How will the HOA verify that residents receive the full value of the contracted services?
Residents trust the Board to manage community funds responsibly, negotiate competitive pricing, and maximize the return on every dollar collected through HOA fees and assessments. When contracts are approved at premium prices without clear evidence of better service or measurable additional value, it raises legitimate concerns about the quality of the HOA’s financial analysis, vendor selection, and negotiation process.
Better contract negotiations could reduce costs, improve service quality, and provide homeowners with a better return on their HOA fees and assessments.
Furthermore, there are other vendors reportedly providing comparable services at prices lower than the current annual assessment. This makes it even more important for the HOA to conduct competitive bidding and market-price comparisons before committing residents to long-term or high-cost contracts.
The objective should not be to protect contractors from competitive pricing. The objective should be to protect the community.
The HOA should ensure that every contract delivers three things: fair pricing, clearly defined services, and verified performance. Residents deserve nothing less for the money they contribute to the community.
Can we ensure that our money does not fly away?