D.G. from New York writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I saw you speak at a recent CAI Long Island chapter meeting. We are looking into a property Management company. What specific and important questions should we include in our Request for Proposal. Also, can you offer some suggestions on important questions to ask Property Manager company during the interview. Thank you for your assistance.
Mister Condo replies:
D.G., thank you for your question and I hoped you enjoyed my presentation. It was my pleasure to address the membership of the CAI Long Island Chapter. I hope to be invited to come back and speak with your group again. I have a new page on the website describing the program if you care to take a look – https://askmistercondo.com/mister-condo-live/
On to your questions. I am happy to learn you are seeking some advice BEFORE hiring a Property Management company. It is not like buying a T-Shirt, where One Size Fits All. There are many different types of Property Management companies and even Property Managers within the company. Obviously, reputation within the industry is important. You should certainly speak with other CAI Chapter members who have hired Property Managers and ask them how pleased they are with their choice. Referrals and reputation play a strong role in Property Manager selection.
Your request for Proposal should include all of the services you want the Property Manager to perform. Will they simply handle your bookkeeping needs? Will they perform on-site inspections? Will they provide Property Maintenance services like landscaping and snow removal? Will they need to provide on-site personnel? For smaller associations, the management needs can be fairly simple. For larger associations, the needs can be quite significant. You should work with your Board to answer the questions before you prepare your Request for Proposal (RFP). Additionally, I know of many community association attorneys who like to be hands-on in the RFP process as they would prefer to help in a pre-emptive manner rather than having to deal with a potential problem that could have been avoided. Something to think about.
During the interview, one of the questions I like to ask is if the Property Manager can describe a recent challenge and how they helped the community overcome it. While this may not be the same challenge your community will face, it may give you an idea of how this manager operates. If you are facing a current challenge, you might want to ask how they would solve the challenge. Again, this will give you an insight as to what to expect once you hire them. Of course, I am a big fan of hiring Property Managers that are active in CAI. That signal me that they are industry professionals and are keeping current on their training. As you know, laws change, technology changes, and the overall methodology changes as well. CAI Member Property Managers tend to be “in the know”, which is a tremendous benefit to their clients. Hope that helps. All the best!