How HOA Boards Choose a Painter
By Lemoon's Painting
The board that chooses well writes the scope first, so every contractor bids on the same work. Then it walks the property with each bidder, checks each license on the CSLB website, and compares the bids line by line: preparation, repairs, products, coats, schedule and who runs the job day to day. The smallest total on its own tells the board very little.
A board choosing a painting contractor is acting for every owner in the community, and it will be judged on the result for years. The decision is rarely made on a single meeting. It is made through a process, and the quality of that process decides the quality of the choice.
Why does the scope come before the bids?
Because a bid is only an answer to a question, and if each contractor hears a different question, the answers cannot be compared. One bidder assumes a power wash and two coats; another prices one coat and says nothing about the chalking on the west elevations. One includes the carport steel and the railings; another leaves them out. The totals look comparable and are not.
A written scope solves this. It does not need to be long, but it does need to be specific:
- Which buildings and which surfaces. Stucco body, wood trim, fascia, doors, garage doors, railings, stairs, carports, walls, mailbox stands, pool fencing.
- The color schedule. Each surface with its color and sheen, taken from the approved palette.
- The preparation expected. Power wash, crack repair, wood repair, rust treatment, spot priming of repairs.
- The number of coats on each surface, or the requirement that bidders state it.
- Working conditions. Hours, parking, access to units and patios, how residents will be notified.
Some boards write this with their manager, some with a consultant. Either way, it becomes the document everyone refers to once the work starts, and it protects the board as much as the contractor.
What should the board learn from the site walk?
Invite each bidder to walk the property, ideally with a board member or the manager. Watch what they look at. A contractor who is going to do the work properly will tap the stucco for hollow spots, look under the fascia, check the base of the railing posts and the bottom edges of doors, and ask about the parts of the property residents complain about.
This is also when the board finds out who it would actually be dealing with. On some jobs the person who bids is not the person who runs the work. Ask directly. Ebenezer manages every project personally: the board deals with the same person at the walk, during the job and at the final inspection.
How does the board check a license?
On the Contractors State License Board website, by license number. Three things to confirm:
- The license is active, not expired or suspended.
- The classification fits the work. C-33 is Painting and Decorating. Repair work that stands on its own may belong to another classification.
- The name matches. The business on the bid should be the business on the license.
Ebenezer’s license is 1120008, classification C-33, issued to Lemoon’s Painting Inc in 2024. He is a journeyman painter, trained through the union apprenticeship of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36, and holds 22 certifications. Among them are OSHA 30 and OSHA 10 Construction, Scaffold Safety, Swing Stage, Fall Protection, First Aid, CPR and AED, which matter on multi-story buildings and anywhere residents walk beneath the work.
How should the bids be compared?
Line by line, against the scope. A table on one page, with each bidder in a column, makes the differences obvious.
| What to compare | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Does the bid name the wash, the crack repair and the rust treatment, or skip them? |
| Repairs | How are wood and stucco repairs found, priced and approved as the work uncovers them? |
| Products | Which manufacturer and which product category for each surface? |
| Coats | How many, on which surfaces? |
| Schedule | Sequence of buildings, working days, weekends if needed, and how weather is handled. |
| Supervision | Who is on site and who answers the manager’s calls? |
| Changes | What happens when the scope needs to change mid-job? |
| Guarantee | What happens if something is not right afterwards? |
The smallest total is not the answer on its own. A bid that leaves out the preparation is smaller because it describes less work, and the community lives with that difference later in peeling trim and a shorter repaint cycle.
What about references?
Ask for them, and ask the right people: managers and boards, not only homeowners. Ask whether the work finished when it was meant to, whether residents were kept informed and whether the contractor came back when something needed attention. The answers to those three questions say more than any brochure.
What does a good contract look like from the painter’s side?
Precise. Scope creep is the main way an HOA project goes wrong, and it hurts the board and the contractor alike. The contract should say what is included, what is not, and how a change is handled. Ebenezer’s rule is to agree the scope clearly at the start and to discuss anything beyond it before it happens, with the steps involved and how it changes the job. His guarantee is plain: if something is not right, he comes back and repairs it.
A note on newer and older communities
Not every property needs the same contractor strengths. In newer master-planned communities like Eastlake and Otay Ranch, the stucco is usually sound and the challenge is coordination and color accuracy across many similar buildings. In older East County complexes, such as those in Santee, years of hard sun mean more chalking, more wood repair and more preparation. A board should choose a contractor who talks about its property, not property in general.
Inviting Ebenezer to bid
If your board is preparing a repaint, Ebenezer will walk the property, ask the questions above about your community, and give a written estimate that follows your scope. Larger community projects run from weeks to months, and he plans the sequence with the manager before the first building is touched. Request a free estimate for your community, or read more about HOA painting and maintenance and the guarantee.
Common questions
How should an HOA check a painting contractor's license?
Look the number up on the Contractors State License Board website. Confirm the license is active, that the classification covers painting (C-33 is Painting and Decorating), and that the business name matches the name on the bid. Ebenezer's license is 1120008, issued to Lemoon's Painting Inc in 2024.
Why write the scope before asking for bids?
Because otherwise each contractor bids on a different job. One includes crack repair and two coats, another assumes one coat over chalky walls. A written scope makes the bids comparable, and it becomes the document everyone refers back to when the work is under way.
Should every bidder walk the property?
Yes. A bid written from photographs or from the reserve study alone cannot account for hollow stucco, soft fascia or rusting railings. A walk with a board member or the manager present also shows the board how each contractor looks at a building.
What happens if the scope changes during the job?
It should be discussed before the extra work is done, with the steps and how it changes the job written down. Ebenezer works this way on every project: anything beyond the agreed scope is raised with the board or manager first, never added quietly.