The services of Vanguard Property Management are not recommended.\r
Our association finally dumped Vanguard after many issues and shortcommings.\r
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Several common threads contributed in part to problems encountered by our Association. \r
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1) Lack of adequate communication (both proactive and reactive)\r
2) Absence of initiative to translate a request into action\r
3) A perceived lack of desire to get to the inner workings of our building.\r
4) Partial disregard of our Condominium By-Laws.\r
5) Failure to manage proactively.\r
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The lack of service of this corporation (from top to bottom) bordered on near criminal incompetence.\r
Minor issues were constant, and when a boardmember brought notification of these issues to our property manager, nothing was done. Issues with our budget were incorrect for years. \r
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Each event could have been solved in a timely manner with a communicative and proactive property manager. Instead, these situations mushroomed into angry situations creating a large number of emails, complaints, and frustration (translation ? additional work) from all parties. Follow up was needed after large capital improvement projects. None was offered. \r
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If you are an association managed by Vanguard presently, here is a bit of research I suggest you do.\r
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1) Inquire about Associa - the insurance conglomerate partnering / owning Vanguard. Because your association's policy is held by a group of underwriters vs. one company - you are likely paying several thousand dollars more than you should be vs the policy purchased on the open market. I'm trying to determine if this is even legal in the State of Illinois.\r
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2) Check the insured on the document. Ours was incorrect (for years). This could be a ploy for the underwriter / management co to not pay a claim in the event one is needed. I really hope this wasn't intentional on their part.\r
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3) Change companies. You can do no worse!\r
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Cons: Too many to list.
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