Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck

My experience has been that board members approve bids based on price only.  Making decisions in this manner shows how little respect they have for the other owners. Value has yet to be considered in the discussion process when determining how board members vote.  Questions usually asked to determine value like; the company's reputation, designations earned, experience, warranty, maintenance requirements, or even cost of maintenance are never asked!  It's really very shocking to say the least.

  It's just basically reading the bids aloud then a vote.  Do they manage their own money this way or just the association funds?  Determining if something is a good value can be different for everyone and situation.  Some may think that versatility to ease of changing with the trends cheaply is more valuable than something elaborate that costs less.  Versatility equals lower maintenance costs, and thus costs less in the long run.  Where as something elaborate may cost less upon install will cost more over the long run, but both items should be build to last regardless of which is chosen.  For the HOA value has to include; versatility, total costs over the life of the item, warranty, company's reputation, quality, etc.  All of these characteristics at the very least must be considered to determine value, but more often than not are not considered.