Re: Management Companies and Builders

We are part of an HOA in NC that is still under the control of the builder. We have an upcoming annual meeting in July at which time we will aquire another seat on the Board, now tipping the scales to favor the homeowners. Most of us are dissatisfied with the current management company for various reasons, however we were advised by the 2 current homeowner board members, that we cannot change because the builder signed a contract for this management company to stay on until the builder is fully out and off of the board. Since after this upcoming meeting we will be the majority on the Board, don't we have a say in what management comapny is running our HOA. We are a community of 440 proposed homesites/homes and currently are about 330 occupied. I believe our by-laws require the builder to not hand over the HOA until we are at 95%complete/occupied. Also, can anyone give us an idea of how much management companies get paid for a community of our size? We are currently paying about $20,000 annually, and were advised that this figure increases with every new house that closes. Please advise and shed some light.

Usually the MC contracts have a 60 day out clause for either party. I agree with Roger that you should ask to see the copy of the management contract. Depending on your ammentities in your community you could be paying anywhere from $8 per door and up. See if you have an attorney in the community that would help you with this process. Make sure you don't take over the association until everything you need has been delivered by the developer.