Isn't this the property management company's job?

[jeromedawg]

So earlier today I got a Ring Doorbell motion notification and when I went to look who was at my door I saw a dude with a pressure washer spraying water all over our front door and at the Ring...! Apparently this was a company the board hired to power-wash all walls/doors/etc in the community.  The guy also sprayed water at another camera (fortunately that one's fully weatherproof) I have posted above our front door (there has been an increase in package theft and burglaries in the area I'm in in the past few years). Fortunately, the Ring is OK AFAIK. Anyway, right before all this the Ring recorded him grabbing a pkg that was delivered, so it looked like he was stealing it but supposedly he was just moving it out of the way so he could spray water all over our door and porch... he put everything back after I intercom'ed him (he was up on the roof at some point for who knows what reason).

Anyway, I shot an email over to our new HOA community manager at the property mgmt company asking if notices had been left about all this and when, because normally we normally get notices of work done around our community (most of the time on our garage doors). In this case, I didn't see anything (and confirmed with a neighbor too since I've been out of town) and the community manager's response was basically "Here's the contact info for the vendor - go call them yourself" -- uhh, aren't part of the HOA dues we're paying going to this person's salary because she's supposed to be looking into these matters herself? Seems this latest property manager is trying to pawn her work off to the people she's supposed to be working for.

Was my request unreasonable or something? Shouldn't she be facilitating with the vendor to make sure they provide notices or to figure out (on our behalf) when notices should have been left? Seems pretty unhelpful to me...

EDIT: just got another email back where she was passing the buck onto the vendor: "the vendor should be performing its own project management" and "you have been provided with their information if additional problems arrive" - I'm a bit baffled that I'd have to contact a vendor that the board contracted with (and where you think the property mgmt company would step-in for oversight as they obviously have the details) regarding a simple questions about why residents didn't get notices....

[lbmustache]

Yes it is the property management's job. Mine posts notices at least a week in advance informing us of any major work, including power washing.

It sounds like you got a new bad HOA manager. Maybe they are just clueless (hopefully it's this). Do you know who is on the HOA board? I would talk to them first, and if things don't seem to get better, perhaps several of the residents can write a formal complaint.

[Dicey]

Sometimes it's the management company, sometimes it's just a lazy employee. Find out who the owner of the company is and forward the emails to them. Ask if this is the level of service you should expect from their firm. Then take the answer to the board. My bet is you'll have a new agent in no time. It's a PITA to replace management companies, so your board is NOT likely to be terribly supportinpve of you if they've just made a change.

Start attending meetings so people know who you are. Be super nice and very polite. Never let them see your agenda (if you have one). You'll be amazed at what you learn for a minimal number of hours invested. Seriously.

[jeromedawg]

I haven't heard great things (or had great experiences) in general with the people on our board - they're old and expired residents who are probably maintaining their position on the board for the power and control. I don't know how many current residents are supporting them or just don't care but things like this are starting to catch peoples' attention. Especially newer residents, who are definitely not happy.

Good idea on forwarding the emails on. This time I'll let it slip but if she continues to respond in this fashion for future inquires/requests, I'll definitely be getting more people involved. She's the new community mgr who replaced one who was really awful. And I think he got fired because another neighbor of mine complained about him. The property mgmt company and our HOA board have gone downhill big time in the past few years living here... either that or maybe I didn't notice or care to notice that it was this bad before. I guess it could be the latter since I've been WFH 100% the past couple years lol so I notice all these things being around here all the time.
Anyway, I've only dealt with her once or twice prior to this correspondence and the helpfulness received was neutral. I'm starting to get a more negative view of her as more issues come up that should be things she takes back to her plate (and seems to avoid)