HOA Project Costs are Like an Iceberg with Significant Hidden Costs Below the Surface


Carl Brown, AWS Consultants Inc.


Regrettably, many HOA boards seem fixated on the bidder’s price when selecting a service provider. Cheaper is better for the association’s finances. Right?


While soliciting competitive bids for major services from multiple qualified contractors is commendable, does a community manager or anyone on a board of directors have the qualifications to write an appropriate scope of work for the solicitation? And, once bidders respond to the solicitation, is the community manager or the board of directors qualified to analyze and assess the responses to determine the best value for contractor selection?


Too often, the HOA project process starts with a request for proposal (RFP), skipping a critical requirements development step, which includes an urgency of need statement affecting cost, schedule, and available bidders. When a bidder receives an RFP, they translate it into what they believe is required to complete the proposed work. The RFP results in “bids” that vary from apples to oranges to tomatoes and everything in between. How can an HOA board compare these proposals with limited knowledge of the trades or technologies involved? And no, you can’t just Google it or watch a YouTube video. That leaves them with only one way to compare and select vendors, and that is by price. Unfortunately, boards commonly believe that, for example, all roofs and all roof contractors are equal; they are absolutely not.


Is there a better way to solicit vendors for projects and provide competent, qualified requirements, resulting in better responses?


One such proven best business practice process for obtaining better responses to solicitations is to use a RFP process. All vendors are provided with the requirements-based specifications describing what the HOA wants to purchase or work to be completed, including work to be accomplished, time constraints if any, and constraints such as permits, homeowner notification, access, etc. This process requires the board to select the services and products they determine best for the property in advance. That process can be completed with the assistance of subject matter experts, independent engineers


32 May | June 2026


or consultants, or project management companies specializing in the end-to-end project lifecycle. These important steps (the ones previously skipped) are completed well in advance of a major project like roofing, siding, decking, or painting.


What is the benefit of bringing in subject matter experts to craft the requirements, goals, and objectives of the work? If the team helping develop requirements were to inform the community of a solution that bidders twice the service life for 50% more cost, would that be of value to the community? Every community will have a different answer, but the information needs to be discussed as part of the requirements due diligence process.


Using a RFP process with validated requirements helps the HOA benefit from competitive bidding procedures to accomplish their goals and objectives. They can ensure that modern technology and evolving capabilities uncovered in the RFP development process through independent consultants, engineers, and suppliers are leveraged for the betterment of the community for many years to come.


Once the responses from bidders are received, the same independent experts that helped develop the solicitation to industry can assist the board in understanding and evaluating the responses. This ensures that the proposed work is a true apples-to-apples comparison across all responses to the RFP. This helps boards make a best value award that is not always the lowest cost but is the best technical solution to meet requirements.


Once the board makes its decision, the final step prior to award notification is contract review or preparation by association legal counsel.


For help finding HOA-focused, independent project management experts, consultants, and engineers, you can turn to the Orange County Chapter’s Directory of Members and Services, or call the Chapter office for help.


—Carl Brown, RCI, RRO is the Senior Vice President of AWS Consultants Inc.


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