By the time finalists are in front of the board, the bids have been normalized line-by-line and the prices are within shouting distance of each other. What is left to learn is operational: who actually shows up, how problems get handled, and whether the paperwork protects the association. Ask every finalist the same questions in the same order, and write the answers down — the answers become contract language later. Here is the checklist, grouped the way the interview should run.
Crew and operations
- Will the same crew service our property every week, and who leads it? A good answer names a structure: a dedicated crew with a named lead and a named account contact. "Whoever is routed that day" is how properties get learned from scratch every month.
- What day will we be serviced, and what happens when weather pushes it? You want a fixed service day and a stated make-up rule (next business day, not next week).
- Which parts of the scope do you subcontract? Mowing subbed out is a red flag; specialty work like large tree removal subbed to an insured specialist is normal. Either way, their insurance flows through the answer.
- How do you staff the April–October growing season? SWFL turf doubles its demands in summer. Ask how crew hours flex and whether spring hiring is already done.
- Who do residents and the manager actually contact, and how fast is the documented response? The answer should be a person and a window — within one business day is the standard we write into our own HOA agreements.
Scope and billing
- Exactly how many visits per year are in this price, in writing? The bid should already say it; the interview confirms nobody flinches at the number.
- What is NOT included? A confident vendor answers immediately — every scope has edges. A vendor who says "everything's included" has not read their own exclusions page.
- What is your hourly rate for out-of-scope work, and your markup on materials? Compare against posted book rates (ours: $65/hr maintenance, $80/hr install labor).
- How are extras approved? The only right answer: quoted in writing, approved by the board or manager in writing, before work happens. No verbal change orders.
- Is there an annual escalator or auto-renewal? If yes, get the cap and the renewal mechanics on the table now, not at year two's budget meeting.
Documentation and reporting
- Show us an actual service report from a current property. Not a brochure sample — a real one (community name redacted is fine). Photo-backed, timestamped visit reports are the difference between answering a resident complaint with evidence and answering it with an argument.
- What does the monthly board-packet summary include? Completion rates, issues flagged with photos, and recommendations with pricing. If the vendor has never produced one, your manager will be building it for them all year — a burden property managers know well.
- How do you document property condition before day one? Baseline photos protect both sides — especially on turf and plant material a prior vendor left declining.
Irrigation
- Is a monthly wet check of every zone included in the base price? Running every zone and watching it is the only way stuck valves and dead heads get found before the turf shows it — it is the backbone of a real irrigation management program.
- How are repairs flagged and priced? Photo plus written price before repair is the standard; discover-and-bill is how irrigation budgets end up 40% over.
- Will you document our zones and controllers? If the map lives in one technician's head, you re-buy it every time the vendor changes.
- Do you verify the rain shutoff device? Florida law requires a functioning rain sensor or shutoff on automatic irrigation systems — a vendor who shrugs at that is telling you how they treat the rest of the rules.
Trees, palms, and storm season
- What is your palm-pruning standard? The correct answer references removing dead and dying fronds — not "hurricane cuts" that strip green fronds and weaken the palm. UF/IFAS guidance is explicit that over-trimming green fronds harms palm health, and it is the standard our tree and palm care program prunes to.
- When is hurricane hardening completed? "By early June" is the answer. August hardening competes with the entire county — our hurricane prep checklist covers what the pre-June work includes.
- What are your written storm-response terms — trigger, window, priority order, and emergency rates? If the answer is "we'll take care of you," hand them our storm-response SLA guide and ask them to respond to it in writing.
- Who confirms permit requirements before a tree removal? Unpermitted removals become the association's problem too.
Compliance paperwork
- Certificate of insurance — general liability, auto, and workers' compensation for the actual crew — delivered before day one, naming the association.
- W-9 and Florida business registration that match the name on the contract.
- If fertilizing: FDACS licensing, Green Industries BMP training, and a written calendar that respects the Lee County June 1 – September 30 fertilizer blackout.
- References from three communities of comparable size in Lee, Collier, or Charlotte County — and permission to actually call them.
Scoring the interviews
Keep it simple: one page per vendor, the questions down the left, and a note of every answer that was specific versus every answer that was a reassurance. Specific answers — numbers, names, windows, standards — are what you can hold a vendor to in month nine. Reassurances are what you argue about. When the interview notes go next to the normalized bid sheet, the right choice is usually obvious to the whole board at once.
BCQ will sit for this interview any day of the week — the specific answers are already published across our HOA program pages and service scopes. Request a quote below, or call or text (239) 799-5594 and ask us anything on this list.