Warning: Document Everything Before HOA Vendor Work
HMS (Homeowner Management Services, Inc.) is the management company for my community's HOA.
I'm writing this review not about covenant enforcement (which HOA managers are typically unpopular for), but about a different and more concerning issue: how Homeowner Management Services, Inc. handles damage claims caused by their contracted vendors.
What happened:
In May 2026, HMS hired a pressure washing contractor to work on our community. Within hours of the work being completed on my property, an exterior light fixture that had been in perfect working order stopped functioning. I reported the issue immediately.
HMS sent the same pressure washing contractor back to "inspect" the damage. Predictably, they reported "no water damage" despite the fixture being non-functional. When I hired a licensed electrician who diagnosed water intrusion as the cause of failure, HMS is refusing (on behalf of the HOA) to reimburse the $349 repair cost.
Their reasons for denial:
1) I should have waited for their electrician (despite never being told one would be sent or given any timeline)
2) They "didn't get a chance to inspect" (even though their contractor already had)
3) There's "no way to determine" if the damage was caused by pressure washing (even though there was no other intervening event to cause water damage)
4) No other homeowners reported damage (irrelevant to whether damage occurred to my property)
The lesson for other homeowners:
If HMS is managing your community, document the working condition of everything before any vendor work is performed. Take photos. Take videos with timestamps. Because if something breaks during or immediately after their contractor's work, you will be met with procedural obstacles, deflection, and denial—even when causation is clear and timeline is documented.
HOA managers are often unpopular because they enforce rules. That's understandable. But this is a different kind of warning: this company is unwilling to take responsibility when their contractors cause damage to homeowner property, even when the evidence is clear. They will use process arguments to avoid accountability.
What I would recommend:
1) Photograph/video your property before any scheduled HOA vendor work
2) Report damage immediately in writing
3) Don't expect the HOA to act in good faith on damage claims
4) Be prepared to go to small claims court if necessary
It's disappointing that a property management company would rather fight a $349 claim and risk litigation than simply stand behind the work of contractors they hired and sent onto homeowner property.