Associa Gulf Coast - Sarasota, Florida

Errity Green

Edited 11/20/24 - Annette, the president of this company, contacted me and has worked to resolve and improve this situation and communication. While this doesn't change my review, it is important to note that there are efforts underway to improve, and I really appreciated the contact, communication, and steps to ensure progress from here. Thanks to Annette!

This HOA is by far the most vile and inhumane and unethical HOA there is. I say that with utmost potency and disdain very intentionally because this organization has refused and defied all communication or notice of necessary repairs or fumigations. They have neglected to communicate repairs or fumigation in a timely way or simply not completed them at all. They reschedule repairs or fumigations without any notice to the residents whatsoever who have made preparations to leave and even paid for accommodations to go elsewhere. It's impossible to reach Bob MacDonald specifically. You can almost guarantee you will never hear from him a day in your life. When you try to reach him or anyone at the Associa number or at their office, you will still be unable to receive a response or proper resolution. This is the most irresponsible and negligent HOA I've ever encountered in all of my tenant and rental history over the course of 20 years. They should be embarrassed to operate at all let alone consider themselves a business of any worthwhile reputation. Please do not consider this some kind of internet troll. I'm a real resident and tenant who has been neglected at the hands of this HOA when on most occasions all I needed was communication which was never given.

Katrina Neilen

Our association hired this company back in January I believe maybe it was February but they have done absolutely nothing except take out excess amount of my HOA fees. In March alone, they took out my HOA fees five times. When I called about it, they said they would check into it but I never got a response back. Our contact person Diana has gone MIA and we get absolutely no answers as to what’s going on. Due to hurricane damage we were supposed to get new roofs. The materials were delivered and are sitting on at least 15 homes with no contractor to install them insight. Every time I call I get no response. When I talk to the board members they say that they don’t know but it’s gonna happen the next Monday and it never happens. Now we’re being told it’s going to start on July 15, but that’s a Saturday. I highly doubt they’re going to start putting roofs up on a Saturday, I have texted I have called and I have emailed and I’ve also put it on the Associa app. All the issues I’m having and I get absolutely no response. I know they have read it because I see the checkmark that says it’s been opened. Why is it so hard to get a response? This is not acceptable. I am paying $618 in HOA fees and getting nothing out of it. Not to mention that other areas of my community are getting their roofs done because they don’t have Associa. They have someone who’s responsible. It’s very frustrating not being able to get any answers. Before Associa took over I was supposed to get a new roof, but hurricane came, why is it that two of my board members have gotten new roofs but no one else in my street has?

Brian Craft

Completely unresponsive. Our small but capable board handles everything on its own, without any support from "management." They remain disengaged during meetings and ignore requests submitted through the app they required us to use. Instead, our board steps in to address these queries and concerns, only for management to close the tickets prematurely, before the issues are even resolved. The one thing they excel at is closing unfinished requests—probably just to keep their numbers low.

Mr. Venice (Whitestone)

Terrible experiences in Whitestone Development, Venice Fl. with this HOA management company and our assigned manager (CAM) from Associa. Just read the reviews, and it seems we are not alone with our opinion.
I'm surprised that Associa has not reprimanded him for allowing the unlicensed, not perermited work to be done at our Clubhouse and throughout our HOA.
This definitely seems to me to be incompetence by a CAM, which allowed a potentially hazardous situation to happen. Isn't that in their job description as a CAM?

*Updated *
Thank you for your response
I guess you are not aware of who you actually manage. Associa on Paramount Drive in Sarasota is our HOA management Company.

PATTI N

Horrible Experiences - Our CAM is a nightmare!

(all attachments referenced can be found on the original Google review)

I've lived in my community for 19 years. Our new HOA board in Venice, FL hired Associa Gulf Coast despite all of the bad reviews. What a terrible experience I/we have had in the last year. I was under the impression an HOA Property Management Company does just that. Unfortunately in the last year with Associa Gulf Coast, with Maurice Ringo as our Community Association Manager (CAM), they have continually proven otherwise and have lost the trust and confidence with the majority of our community. Incredibly, when tasked to get critical answers to questions and transparency from our unwilling Board (via the useless TownSquare App) Maurice Ringo closed the request without completing it. When I opened a new request to get the very same answers, Maurice responded with a wildly inappropriate and unprofessional response (attached) advising me that he doesn’t work for me or the homeowners, he works for the board. I am not sure if this is Maurice's interpretation of his job or Associa's policy but it is definitely a strong and telling statement that should be taken into consideration when choosing a property management company.

I guess I was confusing the word Community with something other than just our board members. Apparently Maurice forgot about the quarterly association fees that the homeowners pay to employ Associa Gulf Coast. He claims to be a liason between the board and the members of the Association but has repeatedly proven himself to be ineffective and has no idea of what is actually going on in the community he is supposedly managing. To say he manages anything is comical. Maurice is definitely more a part of the problem than the solution. This has been a pattern for some time.

But don't take my word for it, here is his response to me directly from the Town Square App. Also, the only two positive reviews also mentioning Maurice in the last couple days were posted by one of our board members and the husband of the board president ( I haven't seen any other 5-star reviews he referred to in his snarky response). The timing of the reviews are suspicious and most likely solicited and then posted for damage control since we have had similar interactions in the past he probably saw the writing on the wall.
The one review by Dave Hill appears to be a repost as you can see it says posted 3 days ago but thanked by the owner 9 months ago.

My feelings are shared by many in my community, as reflected in our TownSquare forum. Our HOA has never been so mismanaged and he is definitely not the solution.

I hope this review is read and given the immediate attention it deserves as I feel more homeowners will be sharing their similar experiences if a solution is not rendered in a timely manner.

Mike Marrah

Our HOA had as bad an experience with Associa as you could have. We had 4 different CAMs in as many months and we were forced to terminate their 12 month contract managing our property after only 5 months because they failed to pay bills or provide monthly financial reporting. Post -termination they did great by doing a decent job with the transition and giving us a nearly full refund.

Scott McKay

I only wish it was possible to give less than one star. I am the President of a homeowner's association, and Associa has been our managers. In my personal opinion, the service is worse than awful. The annual meeting has been delayed at least twice now due to Associa related failures. Managers come and go very quickly. Numerous things have fallen through the cracks. I could go on and on about this. Deal with Associa at your own risk.

Emilia Sparconi

We have been with Associa for years. They are prompt, courteous and professional. Not the cheapest company to manage our tower, but definitely the best. My time on the board of directors was highlighted by bringing on Associa and their maintenance company. We no longer pay for a building engineer to sit in an office all day. We contact Dan and he has vendors on call as needed. In the end the savings make other budget items possible. Like having a professional management company with technology and adequate staff.