Colorado Property Management Group Lynda Riefman (President, Property Manager), Jim Williamson (CFO) Avoid CPMG: unprofessional, unreliable, incompetent. Aurora, Colorado

We had Colorado Property Management Group (CPMG) as our property management company for about 6 years (since the building was completed).  During that time the residents had experienced poor communications and service from CPMG.  Also from an HOA standpoint, CPMG had faulty bookkeeping and accounting practices.  There were constant errors, lost documents and a total lack of reliability and professionalism, which CMPG failed to take responsibility and accountability.

Other issues with CPMG:

- phone calls were rarely returned on a timely manner, often never returned.  They do not have a receptionist so talking to a live person there is difficult.  This was a major problem with most of the homeowners in my building.

- they are highly understaffed given the number of housing developments they manage (most of them are suburban developments in Aurora).

- they are not up to current times and do not embrace current technology (they are not email friendly nor use their cell phones properly).  CPMG insist on using paper, photocopies and postage as their communication, which is costly (and they overcharge on their office expenses) and environmentally irresponsible.  Our property manager doesn't even use email!!!

- because CPMG was not responsive and not very knowledgeable, the HOA Board would often

- they heavily rely on 3rd party vendors and contractors whom they seem to have a long standing relationship from.  These vendors are not very good, are expensive and there are questions whether they provide some kickbacks to CPMG.

- the property manager often take issues personally rather than professionally, and they overstep their role by trying to play the part of a HOA member rather than the property manager.  This results in the property manager manipulating the Board and making decisions that they shouldn't have any business in.  When notice was given that they were being replaced by a new property management company, CPMG became extremely bitter and failed to provide proper service even while

- their fees are rather high given their marginal service and lack of responsiveness.

- a property manager of a mid-rise condo building who is afraid of heights and refuse to step out on a balcony is totally unacceptable.

- they have very little experience and do not have the proper resources in managing a higher-end condos or developments and urban properties.

- the handyman they use on their properties is rather not very well skilled nor knowledgeable in building codes.  The workmanship is very poor (very DIY-like) and expensive at the same time.

- our property manager was not very presentable in appearance, which did not make a good impression to our homeowners and vendors during HOA meetings.

Summary:

Ever since switching to a new professional and reputable property management company, we never had a problem and service was fast and responsive and we even reduced HOA fees for all our homeowners.  Unfortunately CPMG was extremely bitter and unprofessional regarding our change (they seem to take it personally), and we had very little cooperation or responsiveness with the transition.  I would never recommend CPMG to any HOA, they are just way too unorganized, behind the times, unprofessional and not worth what they charge -- definitely not the kind of management company suited for an upscale condo.

The Better Business Bureau gave CPMG their worst rating, an 'F' -- another reason to stay away.