Are volunteers doing work the association already pays for?
The concern raised by Century Village board members is practical: directors chase contractors, prepare routine paperwork, organize records, and handle resident requests while the association continues paying a management company.
When those tasks are included in the management agreement but directors routinely perform them because service is missing, the association has a value problem. Owners pay for management while volunteer time fills the gap. The arrangement can hide weak service, exhaust directors, and make continuity depend on one person.
Volunteer commitment is valuable. Association funds deserve accountability.
What a condominium manager can contribute
A qualified community association manager can organize daily operations, coordinate maintenance, prepare information for board decisions, track deadlines, communicate with residents, and maintain a reliable administrative system. The precise scope depends on the agreement and legal requirements.
The benefit is not simply fewer phone calls for the president. Effective management helps the association follow through: a problem is recorded, assigned, acted on, checked, and closed. Records and routines remain usable when directors change.
Property management does not automatically include plumbing, engineering, legal representation, an audit, or unlimited project supervision. The manager coordinates qualified specialists within the agreed scope; the board approves decisions and expenditure as required.
A practical division of responsibilities
This table illustrates a possible arrangement to negotiate. It does not override your contract, governing documents, or statutory duties.
| Work | Board’s role | Manager’s agreed operational role |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Set priorities, approve funding, and review unresolved risks. | Log requests, arrange visits and contractors, track work, and report completion. |
| Financial administration | Approve budgets and spending; review reports and bank activity. | Process authorized transactions, maintain records, reconcile accounts, and prepare scheduled reports. |
| Meetings | Make decisions and conduct board business through the proper process. | Prepare agreed notices, agendas, meeting materials, and draft minutes; coordinate deadlines. |
| Rules & complaints | Adopt authorized policies and decide enforcement matters with fair process. | Receive reports, document facts, issue authorized correspondence, and organize follow-up. |
| Projects | Approve scope, contracts, funding, and required owner votes. | Coordinate proposals, schedules, access, and updates within the agreed project scope. |
| Records & communications | Oversee compliance and establish communication expectations. | Organize records, process requests, update authorized information, and track inquiries. |
Directors should still ask questions, inspect results, and stay informed. Reviewing a reconciliation is oversight; rebuilding the company’s missing reconciliation each month is a service gap to address.
Why the overlap persists—and how to recognize it
Possible causes to investigate
- The agreement is limited or vaguely worded.
- No one has assigned ownership of recurring tasks.
- A director takes over before the manager can act.
- Multiple directors give conflicting instructions.
- The company lacks enough time, staff, or backup coverage.
- Repeated service failures are handled informally and never reviewed.
Signs worth documenting
- The same promised report is repeatedly late.
- Requests disappear without status updates.
- Directors routinely arrange included services themselves.
- Records reside only in a volunteer’s personal files.
- No reliable after-hours escalation process exists.
- Invoices continue while agreed deliverables remain incomplete.
These are diagnostic questions, not findings about a particular company. Compare expectations, contractual duties, and documented performance before drawing conclusions.
Measure the service owners are buying
Use a short monthly review rather than relying on general impressions. Agree on the measures with the manager and include important commitments in the contract.
- Financial reporting: Were agreed reports complete and delivered on time? Were discrepancies explained?
- Property care: Were scheduled visits documented? Are significant deficiencies assigned and followed up?
- Work orders: Which items remain open, why, and who must act next?
- Compliance: Are upcoming notices, filings, inspections, and other applicable tasks on a shared calendar?
- Resident service: Are inquiries acknowledged, routed, and resolved or escalated?
- Board workload: Which contracted tasks did directors take over, and what caused that?
Distinguish acknowledgment from completion. Also identify delays caused by missing board approval, unavailable funds, resident access, or third parties rather than attributing every delay to the manager.
Reset the relationship in six steps
- Review the agreement. Mark included work, excluded work, additional charges, and promises that lack a frequency or deliverable.
- Record the current workload. For a representative month, list routine tasks directors perform. Identify which belong to the purchased service.
- Agree on responsibilities. Meet with the company and create a written task schedule. Put contractual changes in an approved amendment.
- Provide a workable channel. Name an authorized board contact, set spending limits, and clarify escalation. Ensure board decisions are properly authorized.
- Review improvement. Use a practical review period agreed with the company—for example, 60–90 days—without altering contractual or legal deadlines.
- Make an informed decision. Continue improved service, negotiate a different package, or compare replacement proposals. Obtain counsel’s advice before termination or withholding payment.
Do not leave urgent safety or legal tasks undone to demonstrate a service failure. Protect the association, document what happened, and pursue the appropriate remedy.
Clear roles. Measurable service. Stronger boards.
Choose capacity and fit—not just a low fee
Ask who will be assigned, what relevant licensing and experience they have, how much time is allocated to your property, and who provides accounting and administrative support. Ask about other assignments, travel, backup, and after-hours coverage; a property count alone does not establish capacity.
Compare proposals against the same task list and expected workload. Check references from associations with similar buildings and needs. Request sample reports and a complete fee schedule.
A limited package can be appropriate if the board deliberately retains certain tasks and has the capacity to do them. An apparently inexpensive package can become costly when essential services require repeated extras or unreliable volunteer effort.
Property Manager ContractsCoordinate with UCO and W.P.R.F.
Document the handoffs between your association, its manager, and community organizations. For example, decide who assembles occupancy paperwork, submits authorized documents, reports a community-service concern, and follows up.
Your management agreement should address association work without assuming it includes control of recreation facilities, gates, or every community service. Confirm current responsibilities with the organization involved.
Publish clear contact instructions for residents, including the association’s maintenance emergency procedure. Residents should know where to report a building issue and when to call 911.
Important phone numbersFlorida standards & related resources
§468.4334 requires managers and firms to perform authorized duties diligently, honestly, fairly, and with care, account for funds, and avoid unreasonable or excessive fees. It also establishes assigned-manager information, meeting attendance, contract-access, and records-return requirements.
§718.3025 requires covered management agreements to specify services, reimbursable costs, frequency, minimum personnel, and applicable interest disclosures. Review the actual agreement with association counsel.
DBPR license searchManagement contract guideFinancial controlsBack to Property & SafetyReviewed October 17, 2026. Educational guidance and suggested management practices. Duties depend on current law, governing documents, and the agreement. Consult association counsel on disputed performance, remedies, or termination.
Make continuity part of the management arrangement
Board Synergy recommended practice Maintain a board-accessible operations register: recurring deadline, assigned person, required approval, expected evidence of completion, backup contact, and escalation route. Review open items with management rather than relying on a director’s personal inbox.
- Confirm authority. Document who may instruct vendors and approve spending. Operational instructions should implement authorized board decisions.
- Retain access. Keep association-controlled access and recovery arrangements for bank accounts, records, the website, and other essential systems. Use individual authorized users and appropriate safeguards; do not circulate passwords in minutes or public documents.
- Plan a transition. Inventory records, keys, pending work, deadlines, contracts, balances, and account administrators. Agree on secure transfer, receipt, and removal of obsolete access.
- Check completion. A promised handoff is not a completed one. Confirm that the board or successor can actually retrieve records and continue urgent work.
Florida law Section 468.4334 contains manager practice standards and records-return requirements. Contractual duty Service scope and transition arrangements also depend on the agreement. Have counsel address disputed performance, termination, and applicable deadlines.