Gutter & Downspout cleaning in Townhouse HOA

Our HOA pays for cleaning annually. Last year we had a number of complaints:

1 Sludge left in gutters, single story homeowner checked on his, not sure on other 94!

2 Downspouts left with clogs, this only emerged with next heavy rain, after warranty period. One was ours and there was a dry bundle of twigs and leaves half way down, they were not removed in cleaning, but found when we paid for extra visit and they opened up the downspout.

I have now researched gutter cleaning expectations for HOA complexes. Some online data says downspouts need to be water flushed (but the practicalities of getting 95 owners to be in so techs can use their water should it be needed, seem hard), others say a blow with vacuum or similar is enough, others recommend techs check bottom and top of downspouts to check for signs of clogs, a marble, a plumbing wand etc.

What is reasonable to expect of a commercial company providing service to 95 townhomes. They are charging us $8,250 and we are in a high cost area (before those members in low cost areas faint!). At $87 per house it seems reasonable, as long as it is done thoroughly.

Any wisdom?

Thanks, Sue

First, let's put aside the money part for a moment. Companies can charge whatever the market will bear, so if you don't like the quote, get another one. In fact, it's usually a good idea to get at least three.

I live in a townhouse community and we have lots of trees around, so it may be some areas in your community have bigger trees and therefore more stuff that can clog the gutters. Wind might have been a factor - was that kicking up before or after the work was done? That may explain the downspouts and gutters with lots of twigs and whatnot. How healthy are the trees - could the abundance of twigs indicate there's a bigger problem? Finally, have people been yelling about this for a few years now or was this a quirk?

I might have suggested getting gutter guards, but frankly, I've heard too many arguments for and against. So did our board. The president told me they kicked around the idea of trying them, but changed their minds. I don't know if that's an option you should explore, but it may be worth a look. You could install something on one or two buildings that get lots of leaves and see if that helps. You probably won't eliminate all of them, but if it can prevent lots of clogs, it could be worth the investment.

Meanwhile consider the locations in the community that have the most issues and what they are. You could call in an arboisf who could make suggestions and get several quotes from people with different approaches and pick one for a year's experiment to what was most effective for the price.

Thanks for adding your thoughts

Wow Julie, that's a fabulous service level, well done your HOA!