Managing Vendor Contract Renewals

One of the necessary functions of an HOA board is managing vendor contracts and their renewals. You may have contracts for groundskeeping, maintenance, pool maintenance, cleaning services, trash removal, utilities, security, and more. If you have a property management company, like CCM, they can manage the vendor renewal contract process for you. If not, it will be important for your board members to stay on top of this.

How do vendor contract renewals work?

Most HOA contracts with service providers are multi-year agreements and the majority of these contracts contain auto-renewal clauses. This means that if the HOA board does not inform the vendor in writing by a certain date that they do not want to renew their contract, the contract will automatically renew for another term (the length of which can vary) at a rate determined by the previous contract. Even if you are a satisfied customer, it is still a good idea to research and understand all of your options before having the contract auto-renew since the original contract was likely negotiated several years ago and your situation may have changed.

To start, review the existing contract and evaluate if its terms suit your current needs. If not, you will need to let the vendor know you want to renegotiate the terms. Even if you are happy with the terms of the current contract, you may want to secure competing bids to understand what other options you have.

The Request for Proposal Process

The process of requesting bids from multiple vendors for a service is called the Request for Proposal (often referred to as an “RFP”). The RFP should contain a description of the project, timeframe, budget, and any special instructions that would be useful for the vendors in putting together their bids. Typically, RFPs are sent to three vendors for bidding. However, if you have more or fewer qualified vendors that you want to bid on a contract, that is fine.

Once you select a vendor, whether it is the original contract holder or a new vendor, make sure to check that their licenses and insurance are up-to-date. Also, if the vendor is new for your HOA, check their references before giving them the contract.

When you are drafting the new contract, try to avoid agreeing to any auto-renewal clauses. Also, make sure to note on your collective HOA calendar the date that you will need to let the vendor know if you plan to renew. Since the contract will likely be for multiple years, it is possible that a new HOA board will be in place then and will be unaware of this important date otherwise.

Managing the contract renewal process is an important function of the HOA board or property manager. All of CCM’s property managers are experts in developing and managing vendor contracts. If you are interested in learning about how CCM can facilitate this process for you, as well as our other services, contact us today.

Consolidated Community Management (CCM) is a full-service property management company specializing in condominium and homeowner association management in Broward and southern Palm Beach Counties.  We are committed to working together with community Boards of Directors to develop management plans tailored to the unique requirements of each community and their residents.

CCM provides a quality of service that is unique to our industry and consistently delivers a distinct competitive advantage.  Our concentrated, extensive local presence and knowledge of community associations results in lasting partnerships and superior service.  We have built our industry reputation on employing the best in the business and assigning only a limited number of properties to each Property Manager Team.

Our team at Consolidated Community Management provides expert property management services at competitive prices.  Contact us today by calling (954) 718-9903 or clicking on ccmfla.com.