Condo Media - November 2019 - v2 - 4

The Management Relationship
A less experienced manager may charge less, but you
won't see much of a savings if your legal and accounting
bills skyrocket because the manager calls the association
attorney and accountant repeatedly for assistance
handling routine matters a more experienced company
may be able to handle on its own.
community will likely have different
management needs and require a
different management style than
a community composed largely of
first-time owners and young families.
A vacation-home community can't be
managed like a community in which
residents live full-time.
l The age and stage of the community. An older property will want a
manager with experience overseeing
major renovations and repairs; for a
new development, experience managing the transition to owner control
and other start-up issues will be more
important.
l The composition of the board.
A board that is inclined to micromanage will not do well with managers who resist micro-management.
A key question for the board: Do you
want a manager who takes orders or
do you want one who provides guidance and leadership?

THE MANAGEMENT
FEE IS IMPORTANT-
BUT NOT ALLIMPORTANT. You get what you pay for
and, equally important, you don't get
what you don't pay for. If one company
quotes a significantly lower fee than
another, you want to know why. Are
the two companies providing the same
services? Are they providing the same
quality of service (a different question
entirely)? Do they have comparable

2019/2020 // GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT SERVICES

staffing and back-office support? Will
the managers spend the same amount
of time focusing on your property?
A company whose portfolio managers
are responsible for 10 properties will
have less time for you-and probably
charge less-than the company whose
managers handle fewer properties.
Do the managers have comparable
experience? A less experienced
manager may charge less, but you won't
see much of a savings if your legal and
accounting bills skyrocket because
the manager calls the association
attorney and accountant repeatedly for
assistance handling routine matters
a more experienced company may be
able to handle on its own. The more
experienced manager may be able to
recommend cost-saving strategies and
solutions that will more than off-set the
higher management fee. You don't want
to pay for services and expertise you
don't need, but you want to be sure that
the management company you select
is able to provide the services and the
service quality that you expect.

SIZE ISN'T THE
DETERMINING ISSUE.
Large companies and
small ones have potential advantages
that may be more or less important
to different communities. Larger
companies with multiple association
clients may be able to use their leverage
to negotiate better deals with outside
vendors, while small companies may
offer more personalized service.

The key question is not whether a
company is big or small, but whether
its size and structure match your
association's needs. A company's
reputation, experience, philosophy and
management style, far more than its
size, should guide your selection.

A CONTRACT IS
ESSENTIAL. Most
disputes between
managers and boards result from
uncertainty about what the board
expects and what the manager has
agreed to do. The contract should leave
no room for those questions. It should
state clearly, with as much detail as
possible, the services the company will
provide and how it will be compensated
for them. Association attorneys suggest
attaching the RFP the company
submitted during the bidding process.
They also suggest including a
termination clause specifying the
conditions under which a contract can
be terminated if things don't work out.
n NENA GROSKIND IS PRESIDENT
OF ECONTENTPLUS, PROVIDING
EDITORIAL CONTENT FOR
WEBSITES, PRINT AND ELECTRONIC
NEWSLETTERS AND MAGAZINES.

Condo Media - November 2019 - v2

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