Hiring an administrative assistant is meant to make life better for your community. It provides support to the board in building a better neighbourhood. At the same time, it gives residents a number of benefits, including access to emergency maintenance. HOA assistance is supposed to be a win-win situation.

What about when you hire a property manager only to find they aren’t a good fit? In the worst case scenario, that they are unable to deliver the kind of results you’re expecting? These scenarios call for the discretion of the board members in replacing the assistant.

Is it time for you to find a new HOA assistant?

It’s not advisable to switch virtual assistants for your homeowners association when the thought comes to you. You have to check if they display certain red flags first. Also, you need to follow the proper process of ending the contract with your existing VA to hire a virtual executive assistant anew.

9. Lack of monitoring on spending

If you’ve been surprised by the expenses in the past, it might be because a spending limit, called the NTE or Not to Exceed limit, wasn’t included in the contract. Failing to impose a restriction means the assistant may spend however much they feel is appropriate, draining your accounts.

8. Mismatch of expertise or skills

Sometimes, online professionals take on roles that they lack the capacity to handle. For instance, they might know how to handle daily operations but have minimal knowledge and experience in major improvements and renovations. They get overwhelmed by these tasks resulting in poor performance.

7. Selective or inconsistent enforcement

The board along with the assistant are all in-charge of enforcing the bylaws. When they choose to punish people they dislike while sparing those they are friendly with, there is a high chance of the association getting sued for discrimination, among other legal issues.

6. Increasing number of complaints

As mentioned, administrative assistant hiring is meant to ease the burdens of the association and residents. When homeowners are unhappy with how the VA is handling matters, hear them out. Complaints about slow service or rude responses are huge red flags that mustn’t be ignored.

5. Behaviour like that of a bully

When the assistant constantly pressures the board into getting their way, it’s another sign that you may need to hire a property manager for Airbnb and other units anew. Board members tend to think that because they are volunteers they have no right to fire employees but they actually do have a say in hiring decisions.

4. Receipt of kickbacks from contractors

A kickback is when the VA receives payment from a contractor when they get signed for the project. The conflict of interest means they end up booking contractors for landscaping, extermination, maintenance, repair, and the like without careful review or without bidding.

3. Lack of communication skills

With admin assistant hiring, it’s a given that they are going to be responsible for staying in touch with you, the board, the residents, contractors, and other parties. Being slow to reply or not responding at all is a problem. You won’t know how things are progressing and prospective residents will be turned away.

2. High turnover of properties

If your residents or tenants have been moving in and moving out constantly, there is likely a problem you need to address. If there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the units or neighbourhood, it might be the VA. Now hiring an administrative assistant is supposed to lead to happier residents, after all.

1. Lack of motivation

Pay attention if your assistant has been going on leave a lot recently, or if they are signing in late but logging out of work early. Perhaps they are taking their job for granted or have been unwell physically. If it’s the latter, it might be a good idea to let them go on an extended break for health reasons.

How do you change your HOA assistant?

Once you’ve decided that you need to proceed with hiring a rental property manager assistant, make sure you undergo the correct process to avoid any recruitment troubles. Here are some steps that we recommend you take for hiring a property management company assistant:

• Reviewing your current contract to see when it expires and if there’s a clause on auto-renewals.
• Giving notice to the virtual assistant about your plans to move forward in the HOA without them.
• Checking if it’s possible to cancel the contract earlier and if it’s reasonable in terms of the fee.
• Consulting with your association attorney to ensure that all of your legal bases are covered.
• Communicating with your residents, tenants, contractors, vendors, and more about the changes.
• Beginning your search for a new HOA assistant who is able to start as soon as the current one leaves.

Where do you hire a virtual executive assistant?

We’ve mentioned this in our previous post but we highly recommend that you hire remote employees from the Philippines, especially for your homeowners association. There are many platforms available for your search yet it’s best to work with a reputable offshore staffing agency instead.

We at Remote Workmate are experienced in connecting global organisations with top candidates from the Philippines. Not only do we have an existing talent pool to speed up the recruitment process but also we’re more than ready to search for more candidates according to your requirements.