Tonto Forest Estates

My Experience with Mike Arrington of Associa Arizona

In my experience, Mike Arrington’s management has been marked by repeated errors, false claims, needless conflict, poor judgment, and contempt for homeowners who question him.

The problem is not simply that Mike makes mistakes. In my experience, he responds to correction with defensiveness, hostility, excuses, and self-promotion rather than accuracy, accountability, and results.

Repeated Errors and Retractions

  • Issued numerous violation notices that showed, in my view, that he had not read or understood our governing documents, then retracted them after I identified the errors.
  • Signed documents that required the signatures of Board officers.
  • Issued a vague violation notice that did not comply with our CC&Rs and claimed an Associa representative witnessed the conduct, then admitted no Associa employee had seen anything.

False and Shifting Claims

  • Claimed he could not access the Association’s own check register despite serving as the manager responsible for its financial administration.
  • Gave shifting explanations about a reimbursement, including the impossible claim that it had been paid by ACH without Associa ever obtaining our banking information.
  • Claimed to provide the “full exchange” in the name of “full transparency,” while silently editing his own emails to correct poor grammar without disclosing that he had altered the record.

Hostility Toward Homeowners

  • Called reasonable homeowner questions “harassment” and refused to answer them.
  • Yelled at and belittled members during open Board meetings when they expressed frustration over Board waste.
  • Turned off members’ microphones when they tried to speak.
  • Repeatedly substituted self-promotion, claimed seniority, and condescension for direct answers.

Needless Cost and Conflict

  • Participated in what I believe was the Board’s unlawful secret hiring process, which installed Associa and Arrington himself as management, and later participated in additional open-meeting violations.
  • Pushed the Board toward attorneys and litigation rather than practical, inexpensive solutions.
  • Charged me for 45 pages of duplicate and triplicate invoices, blank pages, and other records I never requested, then refused to refund the $6.75 overcharge.
“I’ve been doing it for 35 years.”

Yet my experience includes retracted violation notices, false claims, unanswered questions, billing errors, shifting explanations, and repeated failures to understand the Association’s governing documents.

“I only do what the Board tells me.”

That is his fallback when asked to use his claimed experience to solve problems, reduce conflict, or improve the community.

Associa’s slogan—pasted on every Arrington email—is: “To bring positive impact and meaningful value to every community.” My experience with Mike Arrington has been nearly the opposite: more conflict, more expense, more delay, more confusion, and less accountability.

In my experience, Arrington repeatedly substitutes self-promotion, claimed seniority, and condescension for accuracy, accountability, and results.

His treatment of questioning homeowners has often been dismissive, belittling, and openly hostile. Rather than answer legitimate concerns, he has tried to characterize the people raising them as the problem.

My verdict: Associa promises “positive impact and meaningful value.” My experience with Mike Arrington has delivered the opposite. The record is not one isolated mistake; it is a pattern of needless conflict, poor judgment, false or shifting claims, weak understanding of governing documents, and hostility toward homeowners who expect answers.

Public Information

Mike Arrington maintains a public LinkedIn profile. Associa Arizona describes its community-management services on its official website.