Associa CEO John Carona joined the Building Texas Show to discuss the origins of the company, the role of homeowners associations, and the company's expansion into Europe. The episode, recorded at Associa's Richardson headquarters, features Carona's insights on the company's 49-year journey from a two-person startup to a global leader with 24,000 employees.
Carona, who started the business shortly after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, emphasized the company's organic growth. 'We started out with just two employees, myself and one rather elderly assistant who I loved dearly,' he told host Justin McKenzie. 'And from that we built this twenty-four thousand employee operation.' The growth came 'one client at a time,' organically at first, and increasingly through acquisition. Associa has now acquired more than 200 companies and adds 25 to 30 management firms annually.
Much of the episode aimed to clarify the role of HOAs, which often face criticism. Carona argued that HOAs preserve property values by enforcing reasonable rules and regulations. 'The most important thing homeowners associations do is they preserve the value for the owners themselves by adding some degree of conformity,' he said, noting that property values in communities with mandatory HOAs have been shown to grow faster than those without. He addressed the friction directly, citing surveys indicating that over 95% of residents appreciate their community associations. 'Now, four to five percent out there feel otherwise. And it's our job as a management company to try to address the issues that those four to five percent bring up.' Associa now surveys every board of directors it represents three times a year to catch problems early.
Carona highlighted technology and training as key differentiators. 'We live in the Amazon age. People want more for less, and there's nothing wrong with that,' he said. 'That same technological application applies with community associations, and we have to be able to do a better job, a more timely job, and do it for lower dollars.' Associa operates 340 branch offices across the United States, serving 44 states, and has been voted a national best place to work for nine consecutive years. 'Nothing makes me prouder than that,' Carona said.
Associa recently acquired the number two operator in Spain, its first large international purchase, and expects to be the number one operator in that market by the end of December. Carona described this as the opening move in a three-to-five-year rollout across Europe, with the UK, France, and Italy next. 'Whatever they call them, the procedure and the type of service is more or less the same,' he said, referring to different terms for community associations in various countries.
For homeowners in Texas's booming triangle, Carona advised scrutinizing transportation, location, and build quality, as Texas does not license builders. 'From time to time, bad actors can come on the scene,' he warned. The full episode is available now on the Building Texas Show wherever podcasts are heard.
