I recently paid a visit to Las Vistas HOA located in the city of Doral in Miami-Dade County. It is an association that has 28 acres of property, 25 buildings with 969 apartments. Of the total area, 7 acres are dedicated to green areas. They have approximately 300 trees of 13 different species, 480 palms of 15 different species as well as 4,000 linear feet of shrubs.

They contacted me many years ago for advice on how to manage the landscape: how to prune trees, improve weed control and soil fertility, and how to improve the drainage, among other problems.

What caught my attention the most is that this community is managed in-house, that is, they do not have a property management company. They hired full-time General and Maintenance Managers, and a part-time Landscape Supervisor who takes care of the day-to-day operations and are directly supervised by the board. The landscape and general maintenance crew has only six people. This management  approach has its advantages such as cost saving, increased control, and community connection, but it also has disadvantages such as greater time commitment, liability, potential conflict of interest, and limited resources.

I was also impressed by the overall state the community is in: the trees are pruned, the drainage problem was solved with a “French drainage” system, and the weeds are controlled, also they just passed the 40 years building recertification!

Why am I writing this blog? I think Las Vistas is an example to follow! With dedication and the supervision of the board of directors, a lot can be achieved which saves money and resources!

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