How do we write an HOA request for proposal and compare contractor bids?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 23, 2026

How an HOA board writes a scope of work and RFP for landscaping, snow, pool, or painting, compares bids side by side, checks references, and records the choice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

Write the scope before you call anyone

Most bad bid comparisons start with a phone call that says something like 'can you give us a price on the landscaping.' Each vendor then prices a different job, and the board ends up comparing a weekly mow against a full-service contract. Write down what the association needs first. The scope should say where the work happens, what gets done, how often, to what standard, and what is excluded. Pull the details from the current contract, the reserve study, the maintenance responsibility chart, and complaints from the last season. If the governing documents or state law set a bidding rule, follow it. Nevada, for example, requires associations to solicit at least three bids whenever reasonably possible for projects above a share of the annual budget, and to open them at a board meeting. Whether your association is required to get bids at all is a separate question with its own guide. This one is about doing the work well once you have decided to.

Examples of scope lines that vendors can price

Vague words like 'maintain,' 'as needed,' and 'regular' let every bidder assume something different. Replace them with numbers. For landscaping, name the turf areas on a map, the mowing frequency by month, the mowing height, the number of seasonal flower beds and how often they change, leaf removal dates, and whether irrigation checks and repairs are included or billed separately. For snow, give the trigger depth, such as plowing starts at 2 inches, the order of priority, such as main entrance first and then mailbox areas and sidewalks, whether ice melt is included and which type, and how the vendor bills: per push, per inch, per event, or a flat seasonal fee. For a pool, list opening and closing dates, chemical checks per week, who keeps the logs the health department may ask to see, and who inspects drain covers. For painting, specify the buildings, surface preparation, caulking, primer on bare wood, number of finish coats, the product line or an equal, the color schedule, and the warranty period in years.

What the RFP packet should contain

Keep the packet short enough that a small local contractor will read it. A workable RFP has a one-page cover letter with the association's name, a contact person, and the deadline. It has the scope of work with a site map and photos. It lists the contract terms the association expects, such as the term length, termination notice, and payment schedule. It states the insurance requirements, with the coverage types and limits the association wants and a request to name the association as an additional insured. It asks for the vendor's license number where the trade is licensed, three references from similar properties, and a proposed schedule. Finish with a bid form. A bid form is a table the vendor fills in, with one price per line item and a line for unit prices on extra work, such as the hourly rate for storm cleanup or the price per extra tree removed. Ask every bidder to use the form. Vendors can attach their own proposal too, but the form is what you compare.

Hold one site walk and answer questions in writing

For any job bigger than routine service, schedule a site walk and invite every bidder to the same one. Walk the property with the scope in hand and point out the problems you know about: the drainage swale that floods, the courtyard a plow truck cannot reach, the siding that is rotted behind the gutters. After the walk, collect questions by a stated date and send every answer to every bidder at once. If one vendor asks whether the entrance fountain is in the scope and you only tell that vendor, the bids stop being comparable. Keep a copy of the questions and answers in the project file. It becomes useful later if the winning vendor claims something was never part of the job.

Build a bid sheet that compares the same things

Put the bids in a spreadsheet with one column per vendor and one row per scope line. Add rows for exclusions, unit prices, payment terms, contract length, warranty, insurance limits, license status, and proposed start date. Fill in the blanks by calling the vendor rather than guessing. If one landscaper left out leaf removal, the low price may just be a partial job. The FTC's consumer guidance on hiring contractors makes the same point for homeowners: do not pick the lowest bid automatically, and investigate large differences between quotes. A price far below the others often means the vendor misread the scope, plans to make it up in change orders, or skipped something. A price far above the others may reflect a risk the others missed. Either way, ask.

Check references and credentials before the vote

Call at least two references for the vendor you are leaning toward, and ask for references that match the job, such as another HOA or a similar commercial property. The FTC suggests asking whether the work finished on time, whether there were surprise costs, and whether the crew showed up and cleaned up. Add questions an HOA cares about: how the vendor handled complaints from residents, who the day-to-day contact was, and whether invoices matched the contract. Look up the license on the state or local licensing board's website if the trade is licensed where you are. Get a current certificate of insurance and read it against your requirements; there is a separate guide on how to do that. Search court records and the Secretary of State's business lookup to confirm the company exists under the name on the bid.

Decide, record the reason, and tell the others

Put the bid sheet in the board packet and decide at a properly noticed meeting unless your documents allow another method. The minutes should name the vendor, the price, the term, and a one-sentence reason. For example: 'Selected Green Acres at $38,400 per year; second-lowest bid, only bidder including irrigation repair, strongest references.' That line protects the board if an owner later asks why it did not take the cheapest bid. Any director with a relationship to a bidder should disclose it and step out of the vote as your conflict-of-interest rules require. After the contract is signed, send a short thank-you to the vendors who were not chosen. You will want them to bid again next time. Keep the RFP, all bids, the bid sheet, the reference notes, and the signed contract together in the association's records, and put the contract's renewal date on the board calendar.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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