Wise Property Management provides management services, accounting and bookkeeping services, administrative support, and a variety of other services for homeowner associations (HOAs) and communities all around Tampa Bay. If your Pinellas County community is interested in working with a reliable St. Petersburg HOA community management company, speak with the knowledgeable and experienced professionals at Wise.
In this brief article, we will discuss a few common mistakes HOAs make when they don’t have the right management company in their corner and how a knowledgeable property management company can be of assistance.
1) They Have a Poor Screening Process
How high are the standards you are setting for your HOA community? Poorly managed properties overlook critical aspects of the screening process, including performing a background check, checking referrals, or speaking to the prospect. Some HOAs ignore the screening process altogether. Successful communities can nip a lot of potential problems in the bud when they thoroughly screen applicants before they become a problem.
2) They Don’t Streamline Payments
Considering it’s 2019, rental payment processing should be offered online through a portal that only residents can access. Antiquated communities require a check to be delivered once a month to the management office, which can lead to more complications, including bounced checks or late payments. When tenants are late, it’s important to have effective communication strategies in place to resolve this issue. An experienced property management company can confidently handle all the accounting and bookkeeping services your business needs.
3) They Don’t Cover Their Bases
All living agreements begin with a lease. Poorly managed HOAs don’t have a reliable process in place for tracking lease agreements or fail to get some critical parts of an agreement in writing. For example, when a tenant agrees to rent out a unit for an additional month, this needs to be put in writing. A community run by an experienced property manager knows that the lease not only outlines the expectations of the agreement for both the lessor and lessee, but also provides the property with protection when things don’t go according to plan.
4) They Aren’t Proactive
One of the primary reasons why tenants leave a community (aside from personal reasons) is that they feel undervalued where they are currently living. If your property management company drops the ball and fails to make timely repairs, maintain the upkeep of the property, or is unresponsive to requests, this will lead to disgruntled residents looking to live elsewhere. A successful community has a proactive management group that is quick to resolve issues for residents and ensure their experience is meeting expectations.
5) They Don’t Know the Law
There are a myriad of ways an incompetent property management company can get themselves into hot water and taint the reputation of their community. For example, if a property management company doesn’t understand the complexities of laws related to sending notices or recordkeeping, this can lead to serious liability issues. When you work with a trusted partner that has been successfully servicing the Tampa Bay area for decades, you know that your community is in good hands.
Are you ready to work with a St. Petersburg HOA management company that makes life easier for you and your board members and improves the value of your property? If so, submit our proposal request form today!