Cutting Corners

When an Association Board of Directors is faced with a substantial maintenance project, re-roofing, painting, wood destroying pests and organisms, wood replacement, ect. they will need to acquire the information needed to make an informed decision. Association Management will be able to provide the financial information required, a list of qualified vendors capable of performing the work, and recommendations of qualified project managers if necessary. These elements form a team by which both project specifications and a scope of work can be created.

Job specifications indicate precisely what materials are to be used and how the work is to be performed. Without exact specifications a contractor is left with options as to quantity and quality of materials, methods of instillation and job oversight requirements. When specifications are not clear and concise the ability to cut corners becomes an option. A scope of work to be performed indicates the specific areas where the work specified is to be completed. Again if the scope is not clear cutting corners becomes an option.

Both the specifications and scope of work are necessary to receive competitive bids that are comparable to each other. The decision, as to corners that can be cut to save on overall cost, should be made by the Board based on alternatives provided by the members of the team before bid proposals are requested. Vendors are aware that when asked to provide specifications and a scope of work that this information will be sent to their competitors for bids. Most vendors will perform this work for a fee and concede that if they are awarded the contract the fee will be waived. The caution here is to make sure the vendor selected is qualified with a current license, bond, insurance and Association references.

Project oversight is important to make sure specifications are followed and the scope of work is completed. In most cases Board members and Property Managers lack the time and expertise to provide the project management needed. On projects where one vendor is performing the work and providing the oversight along with documentation on work completed, additional oversight may not be necessary. A Consultant/Project Manager may well be worth the additional expense on large projects using multiple vendors and requiring many steps to be completed in sequence. Their job is to help provide specifications, scope, vendor screening, bid analysis and see to it that the job runs smoothly following the specs and all work is completed.

More times than not we are called on to inspect properties where the Association has recently painted, re-roofed or performed wood repairs throughout the community. Active termite infestations and fungus infections were covered and are now manifesting themselves by additional damage obvious to the residents. The roofer will install new roofing over infested or infected roof members. Painters are paid to make things look good and will patch, caulk, and paint to attain the desired result. Contractors will make repairs with little or no regard as to what caused the damage they are repairing. One of the critical steps was left out of these projects. If an inspection and treatment for wood destroying pests and organisms had been performed, the condition causing the damage would have been eliminated.

The teamwork concept can not be over emphasized. The Board has the tremendous responsibility of managing a non-profit Corporation with multi-million dollar capital assets. Property Managers provide the information and education the Boards require to make decisions. Vendors provide the expertise and knowledge of their industry to implement the work to be performed. When we all work together in a spirit of cooperation the results are mutually beneficial to all.

Park Hoover,
Homeowners Association Division Manager