What would you ask a company you`re hiring to be the Condo Management firm?

[bizaro86]

Hello,



I'm the president of a condo board that needs a new management company for a building here in Calgary. What questions would others consider important that I have addressed? What key factors would swing the decision one way or another for you. I'm going to be talking to a few management companies I've had good experiences with in the past, but would also appreciate any recommendations of companies that are good at managing a small condo complex in Calgary.



Regards,



Michael

 

[RedlineBrett]

Jennifer MacFarlane, Broker


Property Manager


Unit Management Ltd.


Direct: 403-258-2141


Fax: 403-258-1059



This gal manages a 36 unit building in Eau Claire which I own a condo in. Used to be self managed and our old board was a bunch of cheapies so I bet they did their homework before arriving at her company. I have had some run-ins with her and she handled herself like a pro.

 

[brentdavies]

What the condo PM should be asking of the board, based on my experience as a condo manager of about 15 years.



Are you clear on what your expectations are for the manager? What you want and don't want? What has been the problems with other PM in the past?



What is the boards top 5 priorities? Fee collection, bylaw infractions, repair and maintenance, communications with board and condo members, PM not returning calls, after hours issues, accounting issues, etc.



Is your board micro managers or macro managers? Can the PM make a decision or do they have to go to the board all the time? Does your board work well with others? Are they needy or have a few problems to solved first? Does the President of the board have the consent of the other board members to operate the condo board (often not the case)?



Is your reserve fund study and reserve fund plan up to date and do you have the funds on hand? Is there a large special assessment required that the PM has to sell to the condo members?



Are board meeting completed within a 1-12 hour window or are excess of 3 hours?



As a small complex, why do you need monthly board meetings?



In my view, any project under 40 units can operate only quarterly meetings, when you have a good operating board. It tends to be the board members who love to hear their own voice that turns a good condo into a bad condo board.

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I am a strata (condo) manager in Vancouver. Brent did a great job at explaining that you need to set your priorities and expectation before interviewing the prospective candidates.



Some more thoughts:

• How many different plans do they have... full service only, book keeping only, or a combination? Our company offers a variety of service contracts.
• What is the experience of the individual manager they may assign to you? (But condo managers' turn over is very high.)
• How long has the company been in business? What is the owners' experience?
  Do they try to learn what your needs and goals are before making the pitch? If not... I suggest moving on.
  Ask them to explain why you should pick them.
  Are they specifically addressing your concerns in the presentation? No?... move on.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Best to ask neighboring similar buildings' condo board presidents what they like in their current firm or why they switched recently.
Talking to any new firm only is ineffective as they will always answer everything with a positive spin. Best to ask a few current customers, ie other condo boards.

 

[bizaro86]

Thanks to all for the advice. We're a new board for a conversion that went badly, so our priorities for now are the basics. (Fee collection and building maintenance).



[quote user=brentdavies]It tends to be the board members who love to hear their own voice that turns a good condo into a bad condo board.



Hopefully we don't degenerate into the issues you've mentioned above, and I suspect we'll be able to keep it together. The board is all investors, which hopefully will keep the ego/occupant related problems down. I've definitely seen disfunctional boards in operation in the past, (It's not nice when neighbours are suing each other for defamation!) and firmly believe I'll be able to keep this one in check. But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, even though our meetings have so far been a firm 1 hour.



Regards,



Michael