COLUMN: Barbara Holland

Q. The manager from our property management company is very knowledgeable and stays current with the law.

However, I take issue with this person's attitude, being rude and ineffective and slow in resolving violations that are reported. The board seems to condone this behavior.

Recently, our community was in violation of the new water district irrigation schedule, something I pointed out to the property manager and the association president. I thought it would be resolved within 24 hours. The manager sent an e-mail indicating the landscaper had been contacted and would be contacted again in four days for a status check.

After four days of overwatering, the problem was corrected. The manager and I exchanged e-mails regarding my opinion about the timeliness of the resolution.

Afterward, I received an e-mail from one of the board members telling me that I was not treating the manager with professional courtesy. I wonder if the board member also advised the manager of the same.

A. Since I haven't seen the e-mails, I cannot speak to any rudeness on the part of the property manager. You do acknowledge that the property manager did immediately respond to your concern by contacting the landscape company.

The landscape company, in turn, did not immediately correct the problem for reasons that are not clear.

From experience, association management can be very frustrating. Many management companies must work with contractors that the board has chosen. Some of these companies are not very responsive. Management companies can recommend action taken against a company but, ultimately, the board is the sole entity that can terminate the contractor.

Boards and management companies should consider including penalty clauses when landscape companies do not respond within a 24-hour period, when those maintenance problems can lead to fines. The procedure should be included that upon a telephone call, e-mail or fax, the landscaper would be properly noticed regarding, for example, broken sprinkler heads. The landscape company would have 24 hours to respond or be held liable for any fine assessed against the community or any abnormal water charges.

Obviously, there is no excuse for rude behavior, a subject that is discussed often in property management offices, including my own company. It can be a difficult task communicating with the public and it takes much skill to communicate effectively with another person, especially if the message is one that the homeowner does not want to hear.

As a homeowner, you can address this concern by either writing a letter to your board or attending the next board meeting. If enough owners complain about the management company's service or attitude, the board will eventually get the message.

Questions for Barbara Holland may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759.

Barbara Holland, Certified Property Manager, is president and co-owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and is the author of two books on the subject. Holland is a past president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

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