How do you know when it’s time to change property managers?

Your coop or condo board has a fiduciary responsibility to the community that it serves that includes ensuring that your building is being properly managed. Here are some signs that it’s time to re-evaluate your property management firm:

Residents are complaining

When your co-op or condo board gets complaints from residents that your individual property manager is rude or won’t return phone calls, they need to act. This doesn’t mean that it’s necessary to switch firms; the solution could be as easy as replacing the building’s representative.

Bills aren't being paid on time

Is your board getting late fees for not paying vendors on time, or getting calls from vendors who haven’t been paid? Buildings need their service providers to run the building and its systems to provide a safe environment for their residents. Jeopardizing the relationship with the building’s service providers due to non-payment is not an option for boards, which may be a sign that it’s time to reevaluate the property management firm.

Collections aren't being invoiced properly

Collections can be anything from commercial leases or rents, charges for all auxiliary services like parking spots, storage bins, bike storage, to gym membership for those who have a fitness center in their building. If your property manager fails to invoice the lessees for those amenities, this is a sign that it is time to reevaluate the situation as your building depends on that income and everyone should be treated equally. 

Your building is racking up constant violations

This can be a sign of either poor oversight or miscommunication. Missing deadlines for sending out the annual fire safety notices or filing the annual benchmarking report are signs of poor oversight. Residents calling 311 to report problems in the building is a sign of poor communication. Preventing a shareholder from reporting that their apartment is too cold by letting residents know that this should be reported to the resident manager or superintendent can save the board and property manager both time and money trying to resolve the violation.