Condo Media - November 2015 - 24

PERFECT MATCH
"When management companies
encounter problems with association
clients, it is often because they weren't
a good match to begin with," says Karla
Kelley, vice president of Client Services
for American Properties Team Inc.
When replacing a management company
after a relationship has soured, she says
she frequently wonders, "What was the
board thinking when it hired this company, and what was the company thinking
when it accepted the assignment?"
FINDING THE FIT
Four key factors will dictate the management fit a community needs:
n The age and stage of the community.

An older community facing major
capital construction and repair projects needs a manager with extensive
project management experience. "We
would not assign a green manager to
that property," says William DiSchino,
president of Barkan Management
Company Inc.
n The configuration of the property.
The manager of a townhome development spread over 200 acres in the
suburbs needs to know a lot more
about grounds maintenance and landscaping and much less about facilities
management than the manager of a
downtown high-rise, with three elevators, a complex HVAC system, and
luxury-style concierge services.
n The make-up of the association's
board. Highly assertive, detailoriented board members inclined
toward micromanagement may prefer

a "push-button" manager who carries
out orders but doesn't initiate much.
A less involved board may be happier
with (and require) a more active, takecharge manager.
n The demographics of the community.
One dominated by retirees with time
on their hands will make different demands on a manager than a community
populated largely by residents working
full time with young kids, who won't pay
much attention to management issues
until serious problems arise-or the
board announces a large assessment.
SOUL-SEARCHING FIRST
Before boards begin to search for a management company, they should do some
soul-searching to analyze the community's personality and its needs, DiSchino
suggests. If they're replacing an existing
manager, they should look carefully at
what went wrong with that relationship
and give the manager a chance to address the problems board members have
identified. "A lot of time and effort goes
into establishing a relationship with a
manager," he says. "You don't want to
[sever those ties] unnecessarily."
The soul-searching DiSchino recommends should help the board identify
the community's needs, priorities, and
requirements for a manager, all of
which should be described clearly in
the request for proposals (RFP) from
management companies. In addition
to describing the scope of the work, the
RFP should specify the benchmarks
boards will use to evaluate the manager's performance. If managers don't

Before boards begin
to search for a
management company,
they should do some
soul-searching to analyze
the community's
personality and its needs.
24

CONDOMEDIA

know what the community expects, they
can't determine whether they will be a
good match, Kelley says.
On that point, DiSchino thinks boards
should send a request for qualifications
specifying their baseline requirements
for management companies before
requesting proposals from them. If the
board will consider only companies with
experience managing very large or very
small communities, they should make
that clear at the outset. This will streamline the selection process for boards,
DiSchino says, and prevent management companies from spending the time
required to develop proposals the board
isn't going to consider.
He also thinks board shouldn't send
RFPs unless they're serious about hiring a management company. "If you
just want to make sure you're paying a
competitive rate, call a few management
companies and ask what a reasonable
price range would be for a community
like yours," he says. "We'd tell you."
INTERVIEW THE MANAGER
The most important part of the selection process, after the RFP, is the interview. The president of the management
company or another top executive will
usually make the pitch to the board,
describing the company's history, experience, and management philosophy.
But the board should also interview the
manager who will be assigned to the
account. This is the person who will be
sitting across from you at meetings, providing advice, answering questions, and
dealing with owners' complaints.
"You need to feel comfortable with the
manager, and the manager needs to feel
comfortable with you," Kelley says.
ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
There are no stupid questions, other
than those you fail to ask. But here are
the ones industry executives think are
most important for board members to
ask prospective managers:
n How long have you been an association

manager? What kinds of properties
have you managed? What specific

Condo Media - November 2015

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