Market rate is what you determine it to be, the market in this case is your Coop. Your Board needs to decide what you can afford, what services are included in that fee/cost what are a la carte. What other's pay is not relevant as it is still about what you can afford. Do not fall for the every job, mortgage etc. has a % price tag attached to it. Set fees for services either an hourly rate, or a flat fee for a service. Set a monthly management fee that includes all basic services, filings, monthly accounting, bill paying etc. set an authorization limit scaled to your coop that sets a limit on what the cost ceiling is before needing Board approval, any capital system repairs should require Board notification. require monthly management reports with all receivables and payables accounted for, photocopies of every invoice paid, and a spreadsheet page that shows monthly receivables and payables from the perspective of the month, the year to date, the over/under, and the budget annualized so you can see if you are over/under/ahead/behind each month you can adjust mentally for the seasonal differentials: landscaping, snow removal, fuel etc. make sure all bank accounts are properly labeled as to operations, reserves, taxes and that you make them line item operations and reserves interest collections and crediting separately. Many management companies pay various accounts out of one large slush operations account of all their properties. Not good. IF a property is behind in collections, or financially unsound they are, in effect, paying their bills with your money. You will never recover that money in a default, they will skip, and so will your Manager. Insist on a minimal monetary presence in that account and all surplus funds have to be swept to your reserves each month. IF you have a large Coop, then your Bank should/can do a nightly sweep of your accounts for interest/overnight money-making. However, make sure you have an agreement with them that your payables and receivables can not cross in the night or you will be hit with bounce charges, or show a deficit on your balance sheet. Remember, you are the client, you dictate terms, negotiate terms etc. If they think they can hold you hostage to high fees, replace them. You can say no.

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Market rate is what you determine it to be, the market in this case is your Coop. Your Board needs to decide what you can afford, what services are included in that fee/cost what are a la carte. What other's pay is not relevant as it is still about what you can afford. Do not fall for the every job, mortgage etc. has a % price tag attached to it. Set fees for services either an hourly rate, or a flat fee for a service. Set a monthly management fee that includes all basic services, filings, monthly accounting, bill paying etc. set an authorization limit scaled to your coop that sets a limit on what the cost ceiling is before needing Board approval, any capital system repairs should require Board notification. require monthly management reports with all receivables and payables accounted for, photocopies of every invoice paid, and a spreadsheet page that shows monthly receivables and payables from the perspective of the month, the year to date, the over/under, and the budget annualized so you can see if you are over/under/ahead/behind each month you can adjust mentally for the seasonal differentials: landscaping, snow removal, fuel etc. make sure all bank accounts are properly labeled as to operations, reserves, taxes and that you make them line item operations and reserves interest collections and crediting separately. Many management companies pay various accounts out of one large slush operations account of all their properties. Not good. IF a property is behind in collections, or financially unsound they are, in effect, paying their bills with your money. You will never recover that money in a default, they will skip, and so will your Manager. Insist on a minimal monetary presence in that account and all surplus funds have to be swept to your reserves each month. IF you have a large Coop, then your Bank should/can do a nightly sweep of your accounts for interest/overnight money-making. However, make sure you have an agreement with them that your payables and receivables can not cross in the night or you will be hit with bounce charges, or show a deficit on your balance sheet. Remember, you are the client, you dictate terms, negotiate terms etc. If they think they can hold you hostage to high fees, replace them. You can say no.

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