Condo association board members and homeowners are constantly pondering this question. And the converse of the question is equally as important to address: Does it pay to hire a more costly condo management company? I will address the first question in the following blog and answer the second question in a subsequent blog posting.
Why Condo Boards Hire Condo Management Companies
Before addressing the value of a “BUDGET” condo association management company, it’s important to understand why condo boards hire management companies. The main reasons are typically as follows:
- Professional advice (do things the “right” way and/or the best way)
- Save time (do things quicker than it would have taken the board to do it)
- Save money (do it more cost effectively than the board)
Can Budget Condo Management Companies Deliver The Goods?
I think it really boils down to expectations of the board of directors. If the board has little to no expectations from the low cost condo management company then it might be the perfect fit. If the board is okay with waiting a week for a call back or if the board is okay getting low quality bids for a project, then the board should go right ahead and “save money” by hiring a low cost condo management company.
The board cannot honestly expect to get a lot of value from a condo management company that is charging very low fees. Here are a few other issues that will probably come up by hiring a low cost management company:
- requests falling through the cracks
- reminding the management company several times to complete a requested task
- overpaying for a project or service
- high turnover of the assigned property manager
- wrong advice or unhelpful advice since assigned property manager will probably have little to no experience with condo association management
Bottom line:
Hiring a budget condo management company is MOST likely not going to provide condo association board members what they are looking for which is typically expert advice, time saving support, and cost savings measures. In fact, it probably will cause more harm than good. So if that is the case, then why hire a BUDGET condo management company? It will probably be cheaper and cause less headaches to do it yourself and stay self-managed.
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