Program status: published learning materials for self-study and a possible pilot. A scheduled cohort depends on community interest, facilitators and practical arrangements. No enrollment, DBPR credit or accreditation is created by this packet.
Purpose and outcomes
This lesson follows your website’s eight-session Academy curriculum. It connects board authority, financial controls, and property care with the contracts that assign everyday work. Participants will learn to:
- Separate board decisions from management’s contracted operating work.
- Identify duplication, missing assignments, and unclear service expectations.
- Compare proposals using consistent scope, staffing, total cost, and evidence.
- Distinguish license verification, insurance review, permits, and association approval.
- Recognize contract terms and changes that need legal or technical review.
- Complete a manager performance scorecard and contract-review checklist.
This packet synthesizes the linked website pages and adds fictional teaching examples. It is not a contract template, a provider ranking, or an independent legal verification of every source statement. Have a qualified manager and association counsel review specialized content before delivery. Academy participation does not replace required director certification or approved continuing education.
Before class: required reading
Use the current Board Synergy articles linked below. Reading times are suggested allowances, including reflection. Follow the stated topics even if an article’s headings have changed. Keep required preparation within the stated range; new supporting resources below are selections, not an extra reading list.
| Assignment | Focus | Bring an answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Let Boards Govern. Let Managers Manage. 7 minutes | Why change matters, board/manager roles, service expectations, and practical path. | What operating task do directors perform, and was it assigned to management? |
| 2. Property Manager Contracts 9 minutes | Service scope, measurable performance, full costs, authority, attorney review, and exit. | What does “full service” leave unanswered? |
| 3. Association Contracts 8 minutes | Typical agreements, terms, legal-review priorities, and ongoing oversight. | Which contract term could create substantial risk even on a small job? |
| 4. Associations & Vendors 7 minutes | Responsibility, selection, qualifications, written expectations, and performance. | What should be verified before an invoice is approved? |
| 5. Contractor License Search 6 minutes | Person/company verification, scope, multi-unit buildings, and four separate checks. | Why does a Sunbiz listing not prove professional authorization? |
| 6. Association Contract Bidding 6 minutes | Threshold, exceptions, common scope, and decision file. | Why compare the aggregate commitment rather than one monthly invoice? |
| 7. Management Effectiveness Tools 7 minutes | Workload log, contract-to-service review, scorecard, and improvement plan. | What evidence would support one service rating? |
Optional extension
Who Manages What?—association, UCO, and WPRF routing; Conflict of Interest—relationships and independent evaluation; Financial Controls—approval, payment, and independent review.
Participant preparation
Privately locate the current management agreement and one recurring vendor agreement. Identify one promised deliverable, one extra charge, one unclear task, and one renewal/notice date. Bring anonymous questions; do not circulate confidential contracts, credentials, or resident records.
Performance review, safe conduct and an orderly transition
Preparation choice: select one supporting item most relevant to your association, or use it instead of an existing optional extension. For Lesson Eight, use it as your topic-specific reading. Do not add all these readings to the required workload.
- Changing management companies — Review exit rights, notice, authorization, records and continuity before committing.
- Contractor threats and resident safety — Separate protective steps, evidence preservation and findings of wrongdoing.
- Handbook: work, contractors and alterations — Track scope, authorization, permits and closeout.
- UCO community contract approval — Community-wide decisions have a different authority chain from your association’s contracts.
Bring one answer: Which task would this resource help you complete, who can authorize it, and what evidence would show completion?
90-minute teaching schedule
| Minutes | Activity | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | Review prior action and opening prompt | Identify a task-assignment gap. |
| 10–35 | Five lecture segments | Roles, selection, contracts, and performance. |
| 35–65 | Proposal comparison and vendor-change case | Comparable questions and review checkpoints. |
| 65–80 | Scorecard and contract checklist | Two take-home tools. |
| 80–90 | Knowledge check and next steps | One documented improvement. |
Opening prompt: “The association pays a manager, but directors still chase every repair. What would you examine before concluding that management has failed?” Expected themes: contract scope, routing, authority, staffing, evidence, and board delays.
Lecture content: 25-minute instructor guide
Scripts and examples below are original teaching material synthesized from the readings.
A management scorecard identifies a service gap, not automatic breach or cancellation rights. Review the signed term, renewal, cure and notice clauses with counsel; prepare a coordinated handover of records, accounts, open work and owner instructions. For contractor incidents, the manager should preserve evidence, contact the company and coordinate appropriate precautions. Conflicting accounts require review; no criminal finding is needed before considering reasonable protective arrangements within the association’s authority.
Substitute this emphasis for an older example where needed; keep the five-segment schedule. Follow the source labels below when discussing duties.
1. Define the division of work · 5 minutes
Sources: Let Boards Govern; Management Effectiveness Tools; Who Manages What?
“The board sets direction, approves authorized decisions, and reviews results. Management performs the work assigned by the contract and lawful instructions. The first question is what we are paying for and who is actually doing it.”
Use a 30-day workload log to distinguish governance from operating work. Vendor scheduling, work-order tracking, packet preparation, and records filing may be delegable; the agreement determines what was promised. Some tasks may properly remain with the board. Do not assume every manager or self-managed association performs poorly.
Use one agreed instruction channel and backup. Distinguish manager coordination from legal, engineering, accounting, or insurance judgment. Clarify UCO/WPRF boundaries before contracting for community-wide work. Delegation needs oversight; it does not transfer every association responsibility.
2. Buy observable services · 5 minutes
Sources: Property Manager Contracts; Management Effectiveness Tools.
“A useful service promise identifies a deliverable, timing, responsible person, and evidence. ‘Responsive management’ is an aspiration. An agreed report schedule and an escalation process are commitments the board can review.”
Discuss financial packets, dated site reports, open work-order lists, meeting support, deadline calendars, owner-request routing, emergency response, and backup staffing. Distinguish acknowledgment from resolution: answering a leak call is not repairing the leak.
Ask who is assigned, who covers absence, what other work they carry, and what support staff provide. Review results across several months. The toolkit’s ratings and service targets are discussion aids, not statutory deadlines or findings of breach. Changes to scope or fees need an appropriate written agreement and approval.
3. Compare qualified providers on the same scope · 5 minutes
Sources: Vendors; Contractor License Search; Bidding.
“Give providers the same job description. Then compare qualifications, exclusions, staffing, schedule, insurance, and total cost. A cheaper proposal can be a different product.”
License, insurance, permits, and association approval are separate checks. Verify the individual, company connection, active status, and scope for the actual multi-unit building. A real license number, business filing, or familiar referral alone is insufficient. Have the insurance adviser review appropriate coverage; a certificate is a summary.
The website summarizes competitive bidding for covered commitments exceeding 5% of the total annual budget including reserves, with specified exceptions. The lowest bid need not win; there is no universal three-bid rule in that summary. CAM service contracts have a statutory bidding exception, but comparable proposals remain useful and document requirements may still apply. Have counsel check the actual procurement rule and any claimed exception.
4. Understand the agreement before committing · 5 minutes
Sources: Association Contracts; Property Manager Contracts.
“Read the proposal, attachments, incorporated terms, renewals, and changes as one agreement. Ask whether the next board could understand the vendor’s duty, the price, who can authorize extras, and how the relationship ends.”
Cover scope/exclusions, fees, payment milestones, staffing, insurance, indemnity, liability limits, warranties, dispute provisions, renewal deadlines, termination, and handover. Signature authority and authority to approve obligations are separate.
The contracts page does not claim attorney review is universally required for every agreement. It recommends risk-based review; management agreements, major construction, loans, long commitments, and significant liability clauses are priorities. Legal review, technical specification review, and insurance review answer different questions. Disclose interested-party relationships and obtain the applicable procedure before commitment.
Plan exit while negotiating: records and native data, keys, account control, open work, claims, deadlines, fees, and continuity. Use the actual notice method and timing; do not treat a classroom worksheet as a termination notice.
5. Signing starts the monitoring process · 5 minutes
Sources: Vendors; Contracts; Effectiveness Tools.
“Match invoices to authorized work and completion evidence. Keep changes in writing, track dates, and address gaps with specific facts. Good oversight is fair to both the association and the provider.”
Maintain a contract file and calendar. For technical work, obtain appropriate professional inspection rather than relying only on a director’s impression. Document missed deliverables, request a correction plan, and use notice/cure provisions where applicable.
Before withholding payment, ending a contract, or asserting a remedy, obtain counsel’s review. Urgent protective work may still be necessary; document its condition and authority. Use a few improvement actions reviewed at 30, 60, and 90 days. A low score prompts investigation, not an automatic finding of misconduct or a decision to replace a company.
Practice lab · 30 minutes
Use the final five minutes of the existing proposal comparison to name transition risks: pending invoices, records exports, authorized bank access, deadlines and emergency coverage. Alternatively, replace the change-order exercise with a reported contractor threat: specify immediate safety steps, neutral documentation, supervisor contact and legal-review points before access restrictions.
Compare two fictional management proposals · 20 minutes
Example Association has 30 units; equal sharing is assumed only for this cost exercise. Neither proposal has yet undergone license, reference, insurance, or legal review. Prices are teaching data, not market quotes.
| Item | Proposal A | Proposal B |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly base fee | $600 | $750 |
| Routine visits | One monthly; written report not specified. | Two monthly with dated report. |
| Monthly financial packet | Included; delivery date unspecified. | Included on agreed schedule. |
| Board meetings | Four included; eight additional meetings at $100 each. | Twelve included. |
| Emergency service | Call center; escalation and cost unclear. | Named responder/backup; extra callout costs still unclear. |
| Records export / transition | Fee and format unclear. | Usable exports specified; termination terms require review. |
- 5 minutes: Calculate known annual fees using twelve board meetings.
- 8 minutes: Identify missing information and make the service scope comparable.
- 7 minutes: State a conditional recommendation and professional-review checkpoints.
Answer guide: A: $7,200 base + $800 meeting extras = $8,000 known annual cost. B: $9,000 known annual cost. Difference: $1,000 per association annually, or approximately $2.78 per unit monthly under equal sharing. Other charges remain unresolved; neither figure is a complete quote. B describes more observable service, but price and descriptions do not establish actual capacity or quality. Ask for staffing, references, fee schedules, emergency terms, legal review, and evidence. A may be improved through clarification; no provider wins automatically.
Vendor change-order case · 10 minutes
A contractor approved for walkway repairs offers an additional drainage repair onsite. A director says “go ahead” without a written price. The next invoice includes the extra work, and the manager assumed the director was authorized.
Identify the original authorization, urgency, scope, price, funding, approval process, and completion evidence. Preserve correspondence and obtain counsel’s advice on the existing commitment; do not assume the extra is either automatically payable or automatically void. For future changes, specify an authorized contact, written scope/price, and approval rules. Keep immediate safety action distinct from discretionary expansion.
Take-home tool 1: manager performance scorecard
Use the contract and agreed service levels. Rate a defined period with evidence: 0 missing; 1 inconsistent; 2 meets agreed level; 3 consistently strong. Mark “not in scope” or “evidence unavailable” rather than assuming failure.
| Service | Contract / agreed expectation | Evidence & rating | Next action / due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial reports and budget support | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Site visits and work-order follow-through | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Meetings, notices, and packets | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Vendor/project status and changes | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Records and owner-request routing | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Emergency response and backup coverage | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Calendar, communication, and handover | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Review board-caused delays, missing authorizations, and vendor dependencies as well as management performance. Agree on up to three improvement actions and review at 30/60/90 days. The scorecard is not accreditation, a legal determination, or a public company rating.
Take-home tool 2: contract-review checklist
- Need and responsibility: Does this work belong to our association? What result is required?
- Comparable scope: Locations, quantities, materials, schedule, exclusions, and deliverables.
- Qualifications: Current credentials, company connection, relevant experience, references, and subcontractors.
- Protection: Insurance review, permits, technical specifications, warranties, and legal terms.
- Cost: Base fee, extras, reimbursements, escalation, deposits, payment milestones, and transition charges.
- Authority: Procurement rules, funding, conflicts, board/owner approvals, authorized signer, and change-order limits.
- Performance: Reporting, inspection, acknowledgment versus resolution, deficiency correction, and escalation.
- Term and exit: Start/end, automatic renewal, notice deadline/method, termination rights, cure provisions, and continuity.
- Records and access: Association-controlled accounts, usable exports, backups, data security, keys, and handover.
- Decision file: Proposals, checks, reviews, approvals, executed agreement/attachments, changes, invoices, and closeout.
Professional checkpoints: counsel for legal exposure and remedies; engineer or relevant specialist for technical scope; insurance adviser for coverage; accountant for financing/payment controls. A manager’s business evaluation does not replace all these reviews.
One improvement for your board
Unclear task ________. Contract provision ________. Proposed clarification ________. Required approval ________. Responsible person ________. Due date ________. Evidence ________. Discuss it through the association’s process before changing duties or fees.
Use the updated tools in your take-home work
Add conduct/escalation terms, transition coordinator, notice deadline/method and handover evidence to the contract checklist. Keep the scorecard a documented service review rather than a public provider ranking.
Open the six handbook working forms · Return to the Starter Kit
Identify what makes an instruction binding
The revised website distinguishes Florida law, governing-document requirements, UCO procedures, contractual duties and Board Synergy recommended practices. For each task, record the actual source and applicability. A recommendation can improve the work without becoming a legal rule; a UCO procedure does not replace the association’s own required decision process.
Record: instruction ________; source/version ________; organization responsible ________; approval/review needed ________; completion evidence ________. Keep restricted records, credentials and privileged material out of classroom examples.
Knowledge check and closing · 10 minutes
- Does “full service” establish every duty? No; examine the written scope.
- Does a low base fee establish best value? No; compare total cost and service.
- Does license verification establish insurance? No.
- Must the lowest bid always win? The source says no; check applicable requirements.
- Does a score prove breach? No; review the contract and facts.
- Does signing finish oversight? No; monitor delivery, payments, changes, and renewals.
Exit prompt: “One service expectation we should clarify is ________. The evidence we need is ________.” Before Lesson Six, identify an anonymous owner-communication or fairness scenario and the procedure your association uses to respond.
Source and facilitator notes
Website alignment reviewed October 17, 2026 against the current linked Board Synergy articles, operating tools and Academy overview. Added resources and exercises are identified in this packet. Scripts, fictional examples and worksheets remain instructional material, not association approvals or official forms. See the eight-lesson review note for changes, source checks and review limits.
Have a qualified manager and counsel review contract scope, professional boundaries, procurement, conflicts, and remedies. Technical or insurance examples need the relevant specialist. Recheck consequential legal statements against current primary sources before delivery. Keep discussions anonymous and neutral; evaluate systems and evidence rather than naming or ranking companies.
Explore Management & VendorsReading links use relative paths so the packets can move with the site. Keep the lessons beside their referenced webpages when publishing. The source review used the supplied temporary website; confirm current law, agency rules and association-specific facts before delivery. This is not a line-by-line legal recertification of all underlying articles.