HOA Snow Removal: A Board's Guide to Choosing a Contractor

Snow is the one line item in an HOA budget that generates phone calls at 5 a.m. Residents don't see the contract; they see whether the street is plowed before they leave for work. Here's how a board can choose a contractor that keeps the community open and the board out of the middle.

Start With the Site Map

A community has streets, common walkways, clubhouse and pool parking, mail kiosks, guest lots, and frontage sidewalks, and the association is responsible for all of them. Ask every bidder to walk the community and produce a site map showing what's covered, in what order, and where snow will be stacked. If they can't, they're guessing.

Define the Scope in Writing

The contract should specify trigger depths, service windows (overnight, before the morning commute), which walking surfaces are included, ice control, and how hauling is handled when stacking zones fill. Every one of those is a future resident complaint if it's left vague.

Ask Who the Board Actually Talks To

Boards get asked "was it done?" constantly, and the answer is only as good as the contractor's account management. One named point of contact who walked the property and wrote the scope can answer a homeowner question directly; a dispatch line staffed by whoever picks up cannot. Ask who that person is before you sign, not after the first storm.

Insist on One Point of Contact

Residents should route requests through the board or manager, not call the contractor directly. That keeps the association in control of communication and creates a single record of requests and responses.

Verify Insurance

Require a certificate of insurance naming the association. Licensed, bonded, and insured is the floor.

Understand the Contract Model

Seasonal contracts put your community on a route with a crew assigned before the season. Per-storm arrangements mean you're served when a truck is available, which, in a major Spokane storm, is never. For a community that has to be open every morning, seasonal is the only model that works.

Plan for Spring

Ask how the contractor handles the end of the season: sweeping residual de-icer, repairing turf or curb damage from winter operations, and reviewing the year with the board.

PNW Snow Services contracts with HOAs and community managers across the Spokane area. We're happy to walk your community and provide a proposal the board can review.