Why some condo management companies charge low fees and deliver poor service?
Top 10 Ways It Pays To Hire An Effective Condo Management Company
10 Ways Condo Associations Can Save On The Front End And Lose On The Back End
As a community association business owner over the last 13 years, I have heard countless stories on how condo association boards hired low cost management companies to save money. But the question that really needs to be asked is “Does that really save associations money overall?”. I will attempt to address this very important question by posing the following 10 questions:
- Doesn’t an association budget have dozens of expense line items with the management expense being just 1 of them?
- I thought the age old adage is “You get what you pay for”?
- How can the management company make money and yet charge such little amount of money?
- Shouldn’t the board care about whether or not the management company is making money on its management fees? (PS. I don’t care how they make money is probably not a good response to this question FYI.)
- In order for a management company to offer a comprehensive management plan that includes “unlimited” support and deliver consistently great customer service, shouldn’t the fee substantiate this service offering? Isn’t that in the end what board of directors are looking for?
- Isn’t it the management company’s job to monitor and cut costs in our overall budget?
- If the management company is not charging a lot for its management services, then how is it making money?
- Aren’t capital repairs and replacement projects the biggest costs for an association and exceed the cost of management? Is our management company acting in our best interests especially around high cost projects?
- What if the management company is actually making money in ways that we are not even aware of?
- OMG. The management company IS making money in ways we are not even aware of and WE (the association) are paying for it!
About the Author:
Salvatore J. Sciacca aka “Condoboss” is one of the nation’s leading experts in the community property management industry. He is also the President and Founder of Chicago Property Services, Chicago’s #1 community property management company specializing in management and operations of condos/townhomes/HOA’s of 100 units and under. Salvatore is also the founder of managmycommunity.com (MMC), which is a state-of-the-art online support portal for community associations.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Salvatore is recognized for his extensive knowledge of capital planning, preventative maintenance, cost-saving measures and community building techniques. He holds industry stature as a Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), the designation of Association Management Specialist (AMS) and is fully licensed as a manager (License #: 261.001386) through the State of IL.
Salvatore’s contact information is:
312-455-0107 x102
ssciacca@chicagopropertyservices.com
www.chicagopropertyservices.com
