The HOA Board Quarterly Winter 2015 Issue #12 | Page 9

VALUE or PRICE – That is the Question

by Moquey Marquross

B

oard’s evaluating bids for projects and ongoing services
have the very difficult challenge of deciding which
vendor will provide the best value for their community. As
many people have learned in recent years, the best value
is not necessarily the lowest price. This can be illustrated
by the sub-standard workmanship and materials that have
plagued so many HOAs built in the mid-2000’s, which have
been, or are currently going through, construction defect
litigation to correct these issues.
The toughest part is evaluating multiple proposals - which
is often like comparing an avocado to a pear; both fruits
are green and have a similar shape, but other than that
they have little in common.
As a business owner/manager, I face these same challenges
when we select products, vendors and services. It is fairly
easy when purchasing a vehicle, or a piece of office
equipment; you decide on the one you want and then
go ‘price shopping’. It gets much more difficult, however,
when there is a service component included in the offering.
After all, how do you compare ‘service’ when all you have
available to compare is the marketing propaganda and
proposal written by the companies themselves?
Here are a few measures that can help you select the best
vendor for your needs:
1) Evaluate your entire experience with the prospective
vendor from the very first interaction through to the
proposal submission phase, along with:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Materials Provided
Reply Times
Answers to your Questions
Etcetera

This is the ‘courtship’ phase of your business and can
predict how the ongoing relationship will be. We have
found that having to ‘chase’ vendors through multiple
requests, calls and e-mails, just to get a response or a
proposal, usually means they do not want your business,
and it does not get better after the contract is signed.
2) Create a short-list. If you have more than three
proposals, do yourself a favor and get rid of all but
the best three before you start the next phase of
evaluation. This will save you time, allowing you to
focus on comparing the top three and selecting the
best one.
3) Ask each company for references, but pick something
to ask for that will get you a random sample of clients,
not just their best and happiest ones. Some examples:
a.
b.
c.
d.

two newest and oldest clients
nearest clients
biggest clients
or whatever is most similar to you

As an HOA, I would also recommend asking for both a
Board Member and a Manager reference for each client.
4) Before calling the references you should make a list
and ask each reference the same exact questions. This
will help eliminate the ‘personality factor’, where the
facts might be positive or negative, but you do or don’t
get along wit