No matter how self-sustainable your homeowners association might seem to be, you will always need to work with the residents on one side and vendors on the other. Both of these relationships are crucial for greater property values and a happier community.

Regardless if your HOA board is newly formed or has been at it for a while, you’ll realise that reliable vendors are precious. They will work with you on ensuring that projects are done on time and with good quality. On the other hand, a bad relationship with them will become a major headache.

Choose the right vendors to begin with

In order to work well with them, you need to select reputable providers from the get-go. Some of your prospects are going to look great on paper but are unable to deliver results in real life. This is why you mustn’t pick the first company to make a bid or contact you.

As a rule of thumb, shop around by speaking with other associations, checking testimonials, and seeing their offices yourself. It helps you to know about a prospect better when you’re speaking with them and watching how they do their job in person.

For your own protection, verify the insurance policies, licenses, and certifications of every vendor you’re thinking to hire. If you notice someone has sued them or filed a complaint about them before, you’ll want to research further or look somewhere else.

Strengthen your relationship with HOA vendors

Managing vendors is one of the many responsibilities that an HOA board has. If you’re a board member, you have to serve as a middleman between the community and the providers. The association is paying for projects related to common spaces so it’s important to keep their needs in mind.

i. Be accountable for each other

When partnering with a vendor, it’s easy to lose track of the money spent and the value added by the project. For better vendor management, each party has to hold the other accountable for reaching the desired outcome. This has to be the centre of your relationship as vendor and client.

• Define and write down what you expect from each other regarding the work, payments, and so on.
• Monitor the progress towards your desired outcome over time and communicate regularly.
• Set metrics regarding the scope, productivity, and quality then compare the progress with them.

ii. Be transparent with information

For vendors to be as effective as possible with their roles, they need information to be freely available. As the client, you know where all of the valuable data is found so give them access. They are going to ask you certain questions so they can better cater to your needs.

• Avoid dictating where they must get their supplies or what brand their equipment has to be.
• Inform them ahead of time about colours that are allowed, aesthetic standards, and so on.
• Give them examples of what you’re hoping to achieve in visual form for the ideal reference.

iii. Be consistent with communication

Many projects fail because the parties involved are lacking in their contact and conversations. This is all the more crucial when you are working as a middleman for a resident. You want to ensure that the needs of the homeowner is properly conveyed to the vendor.

• Schedule regular check-ins with the provider, the client, and yourself, be it weekly or even daily.
• Clarify the milestones set and the deadlines for each aspect so everyone is mindful of the time.
• Agree on a communication channel from the beginning, be it through calls, email, or chats.

iv. Be focused on solutions

If you feel that something the provider is doing isn’t working for you, be sure to bring up solutions and not just comment about the problem. The objective is for the issue to be resolved and not to puff up your chest because you’re right about something.

• Ask questions about any tools or platforms they ask you to use for communication or task management.
• Bring up the matter as soon as possible rather than wait for it to become an even bigger issue.
• Keep your emotions out of the conversation, especially when you need to find a new vendor.

Find help for managing vendor relations

Running an association is going to take up much of your time already, so it’s good to have a helping hand with vendor-client relationships. A virtual assistant who specialises in homeowners associations is a wonderful addition to your team so you may focus on other tasks for the community.

We at Remote Workmate are a virtual staffing agency who work to connect associations with remote workers to assist them. Our existing talent pool consists of candidates who have been screened according to stringent standards. If you want new applicants, we’d happily evaluate them for you.

Need an HOA virtual assistant? Click the button below to start a conversation about remote recruitment.