How to get on a condo or HOA approved vendor list

An approved vendor list is the roster of businesses an association will call or invite to bid. A vendor gets on it by passing a document check: licence, insurance, tax form and references. When a sprinkler line breaks or a budget line comes up for bid, the manager starts with the list.

The list is a risk control as much as a convenience. The board has a fiduciary duty to the owners, and an uninsured or unlicensed contractor on association property is a liability the board answers for. That is why the paperwork comes first and price comes later.

Common Elements has 363,000+ community associations on record nationally. Most of them are run day to day by a management company, and the management company usually keeps one vendor list for its whole portfolio. 838 management firms in the directory manage three or more associations each, out of 4,000+ management companies on record. One approval with a large firm can open work at many communities.

Self-managed associations keep their own list, usually with the board treasurer or a facilities committee. Some management companies hand vendor paperwork to a third-party compliance service that collects and tracks certificates; some of those services charge the vendor a yearly fee. Ask before you pay, and ask whether the fee is required to be considered at all.

Browse management companies by associations managed or find the associations in your area.

1. Put your licence and insurance in order

   Confirm your trade licence is active and in the right class, and that your general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto policies meet what associations ask for. Most lists start at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate general liability.

2. Build one vendor packet

   Keep a single file ready to send: W-9, certificate of insurance, licence or business tax receipt, workers' compensation proof or exemption, three references from other associations, and a one-page summary of your services and service area.

3. Find who manages the associations you want to serve

   Most associations are run day to day by a management company, and one company's list can cover dozens of communities. Look up the associations in your area and the firms that manage them before you call anyone.

4. Introduce yourself to the manager, not the board

   Send the packet to the community association manager or the firm's vendor coordinator with a short note on what you do and where. Boards rely on their manager to bring qualified vendors; going around the manager rarely works.

5. Ask to be invited to the next bid

   Being approved means you can be asked. Ask the manager which projects are coming up in the budget cycle and to be included in the next request for proposals in your trade.

6. Keep your file current

   Send renewed certificates of insurance before the old ones expire and update your licence when it renews. Lapsed paperwork is the most common reason a vendor is dropped from a list.

The certificate of insurance causes more delays than anything else in the packet. Three details to get right the first time:

• Name the association, by its legal name, as additional insured on the general liability policy. Many managers also want the management company named.
• Make the certificate holder the association in care of the management company at the management company’s address, unless told otherwise.
• Send a new certificate before each policy renews. Most lists suspend a vendor automatically when a certificate expires.

Association names on official records are often longer than the name on the entrance sign. Look the association up in the directory to get the filed name before you order the certificate.

• An expired certificate of insurance or licence.
• Change orders that were not approved in writing before the work.
• Invoices that do not match the approved proposal, or arrive without the documentation the manager needs to pay them.
• Going around the manager to a single board member. One director cannot bind the association.
• Gifts to a manager or director. In Florida, accepting a kickback is a felony for the officer, director or manager (see Florida contractor requirements).

Boards and managers use Common Elements to look up vendors and to post requests for proposals. A claimed business profile keeps your licence, service area and services in one place a manager can check, and opportunity alerts tell you when an association posts work in your trade and area. Claiming is free. Licensed businesses in Florida, Washington and Arizona are already listed from the state licence rolls, so check for your listing before you create a new one.