Admin · Competitive Teardown
Competitive Teardown Library
How each Tallahassee competitor operates · pricing · strengths · weaknesses · what wins against them. Built from public Sunbiz filings, BOD-meeting reports owners shared with us, and lost-deal debriefs. Used in proposals, sales calls, and pricing reviews.
🔒 Confidential. Founder + Tizi + ops director only. Never shared with prospective boards, never quoted in proposals, never disparaged publicly. Internal sharpening tool · not external weapon.
Tallahassee competitors · primary 6
Lewis Property Management
Tallahassee · 11 associations · 1986 · founder still active
How they operate
- Long-tenured staff · low turnover · founder Bob Lewis still personally meets new boards
- Uses AppFolio (same as us)
- Strong relationship with several long-tenured boards · 12+ year retention common
- Modest tech footprint · email-driven · no owner portal-equivalent to ours
- Roughly $1,400 / mo for 50-unit condo (slightly below our $1,500 baseline)
Strengths
- Reputation. They're the firm board members' parents trusted
- Bob's personal credibility · he's on the FL CAI board
- Long-tenured account managers · genuine continuity
Weaknesses we've observed
- Records-request response times reportedly 14-21 days (statutory cap is 10 biz)
- No owner-portal equivalent · everything email-driven
- Reserve study compliance reportedly soft at 2 of their properties (overheard at a CAI lunch · unverified)
- Succession unclear · Bob's stated 65 and "thinking about retirement" but no announced successor
Where we beat them
- Platform & transparency
- Records-request SLA (we credit · they don't commit)
- Owner portal · the daily experience
- Reserve discipline track
Where they beat us
- 40 years of relationship capital
- Bob's personal CAI board presence
- Slightly lower fee for similar scope
Watson Realty · Property Management Division
National brand · ~22 associations Tallahassee · larger nationally
How they operate
- National brand · regional office in Tallahassee · ~6 portfolio managers locally
- Standard playbook · less Tallahassee-specific local knowledge
- Fees competitive ($1,400-$1,800/mo for 50-unit condo · varies)
- Strong tech investment at corporate level · regional execution mixed
Strengths
- National scale → vendor pricing leverage
- Owner portal exists · functional but generic
- Insurance-broker scale advantages
Weaknesses we've observed
- High turnover at portfolio-manager level (we've seen 4 different reps at one client)
- Slow response to nuanced board questions · escalation paths murky
- Highland Park Villas (current Watson client we're pursuing) reportedly very dissatisfied · slow comms · delayed inspections
- National-template approach less tuned to FL-specific issues
Where we beat them
- FL-native staff + AGF-on-retainer
- Lower turnover at PM level
- SLA guarantee · they don't have one
- Crisp local response time
Where they beat us
- National scale · multi-state owners feel served
- Vendor pricing on certain trades
- Brand recognition · checkbox for risk-averse boards
Capital Property Services
Tallahassee · 8 associations · 2014 · 2 portfolio managers
How they operate
- Boutique · founder-led · primarily HOA (not condo)
- Lean · 2 portfolio managers + 1 admin
- Lower fee structure ($1,100-$1,300/mo for 50-unit) · undercutting on price
- Owner-portal is third-party SaaS bolt-on · not custom
Strengths
- Personal · accessible founder
- Aggressive pricing · attracts cost-sensitive HOAs
- Quick decision-making · no corporate layers
Weaknesses we've observed
- Limited bench depth · single point of failure if founder unavailable
- Smaller insurance broker leverage
- Generic SaaS portal · clunkier owner experience
- Reserve study compliance reportedly inconsistent
Where we beat them
- Bench depth · our 6-person team vs their 3
- Platform sophistication
- SLA accountability
- AGF-on-retainer (they use ad-hoc)
Where they beat us
- Lower fee · ~$200/mo less for 50-unit
- Founder-personal touch on every account
- Cost-sensitive HOAs prefer their model
FirstService Residential · Tallahassee
National · ~14 associations · large-property focus
How they operate
- Largest national-residential player · publicly traded (NYSE: FSV)
- Tallahassee office targets larger HOAs (1,000+ units) · less mid-tier
- Premium pricing · ~$1,800-$2,200/mo for 50-unit condo equivalent
- Sophisticated tech but cookie-cutter delivery
Strengths
- Brand prestige · "the big firm" feel
- Tech investments substantial
- National vendor relationships
Weaknesses we've observed
- Premium pricing · most Tallahassee mid-tier boards balk
- Less Tallahassee-specific market knowledge than local firms
- Local portfolio managers turn over to corporate roles · continuity worse
- Less flexibility on scope · take-it-or-leave-it contracts
Where we beat them
- Local market depth
- Lower price · better experience for mid-tier
- Flexibility · partial-scope variants
- Manager continuity
Where they beat us
- Brand recognition · risk-averse boards
- Large-HOA focus we don't pursue
- National vendor pricing
Reagan Property Solutions
Tallahassee · 6 associations · 2018 · primarily small condo
How they operate
- Small · 1 portfolio manager + 1 admin · price-aggressive
- Targets associations under 30 units
- ~$900-$1,100/mo · cheapest in market
- Limited tech · paper-heavy · email at best
Strengths
- Lowest fee in market
- Owner picks up the phone personally
Weaknesses we've observed
- 2 DBPR complaints we know of (records-request failures)
- 1 lawsuit · slip-and-fall response (settled)
- Bandwidth limits · several associations have 30-day response delays
- Reserve compliance shaky
Where we beat them
- Compliance posture · zero DBPR vs their 2
- Bandwidth + response time
- Platform completeness
- Risk profile · reduced board exposure
Where they beat us
- Lowest price · period
- Volume-based price-sensitivity competitor
Self-management (DIY board)
~estimated 15-20% of FL associations under 50 units
How they operate
- Volunteer-run · no professional management
- Treasurer + president handle most ops
- Outside CPA + attorney engaged ad-hoc
- Effective annual cost: $4-$8k (CPA + filings) vs $14-22k for professional
Strengths
- Cheapest path · no management fee at all
- Direct owner control over decisions
Weaknesses we've observed
- Volunteer fatigue · burnout · 3-4 yr cycle to crisis
- Statutory compliance gaps when treasurer changes
- One bad incident (lawsuit, large repair) overwhelms volunteers
- No professional bench when key board member moves / dies / steps down
How we win this
- Wait for the crisis · be ready to help · don't push
- Riverpark (2023 off-board) is an example · still self-managed but engages us advisory
- "Light-scope" $600/mo offering for self-managed boards
How they win
- Pure cost decision · we don't compete here on price
- Owner-control values · respect that
Pricing comparison · 50-unit mid-tier condo
| Firm | Monthly fee | Onboarding | Estoppel | SLA? | Tech grade |
|---|
| CMG (us) | $1,500 | $2,400 | $299 | Yes · in contract | A |
| Lewis Property Management | $1,400 | $1,800 | $299 | No | C |
| Watson Realty | $1,400-$1,800 | varies | $299 | No | B |
| Capital Property Services | $1,100-$1,300 | $1,200 | $299 | No | C |
| FirstService Residential | $1,800-$2,200 | $3,500 | $299 | No | A− |
| Reagan Property Solutions | $900-$1,100 | $800 | $299 | No | D |
Tone & conduct
Never disparage publicly
Internal teardowns are sharpening tools. In any external communication (proposal, sales call, public review), competitors are addressed neutrally or favorably. We win by being better, not by criticizing.
Source quality > speculation
Public records · Sunbiz · DBPR complaints · documented BOD meeting reports. Hearsay is captured separately and labeled as such ("overheard at CAI lunch · unverified"). Never confidently state speculation.
Update quarterly
Each profile reviewed at quarterly off-site. Stale info is worse than no info. Anyone with new field intel can edit; Tizi reviews changes weekly.
Lost-deal debriefs feed in
Every lost proposal goes into the relevant competitor's profile · win-loss themes from sales pipeline cross-link here.
Avoid one-shot judgments
Bob Lewis is competent. So is the FirstService GM. Critique systems, not individuals. We may someday work alongside them on regional CAI boards.
Refer when right
Sometimes another firm is the better fit (price-sensitive small HOA → Reagan or self-management). Acknowledge it. Long-term goodwill compounds.
Why we do this
Every property-management firm pretends not to track competitors. Most do, badly. We do it deliberately and confidentially because honest competitive intelligence makes us a better service · helps us price fairly · and makes our proposals genuine rather than generic. The discipline matters more than the data.
Tied to
Sales pipeline · Competitor targeting · Sunbiz tracker · Win-loss themes · Proposal generator · Strategic plan.
