How to Hire a Part-Time Superintendent for Your Small Co-op / Condo Building

Managers do it by advertising on Craigslist, or by asking supers they already employ if they know of a good super who can handle the extra work, or if they can do it themselves. This is all done with the knowledge and approval of the super's primary building.

But why should a building OK a super moonlighting at another building on its dime? Is that right? "They approve it when we're talking about a really good super," said David Goodman, a management executive at Tudor Realty. "This would be a guy who brings extra value to the job: he's good at plumbing or electrical work, and he works extra hours to make up the difference."

What happens if there is a crisis in both buildings that he is handling? "His primary building gets priority; that's understood," said Goodman. "But he generally has back-up staff at one building that can assist in a crisis."

Union OK with It? Yep

Goodman added that Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union has no problem with such arrangements, as long as the super does his job at the primary building. "It's all aboveboard; he gets regular paychecks from both buildings, and he won't take on the job unless the board approves. I tell them up front what is going on."

As for salary and duties, that can vary from building to building, and the part-time supers work that out with their respective buildings, Goodman noted. "It depends on their budget and how valuable he is to them."

"Look," Gerard J. Picaso, principal in the management firm Gerard J. Picaso Inc., said to me when I asked about salaries and part-timers, "you're talking about $250 to $300 a week for a guy to clean the halls and lobby, take out the garbage, maintain the building systems and be there for emergencies. That's a pretty fair price. Of course, anything else is extra."

Picaso continued: "One of the perks for a full-time super is that he gets the apartment for free; if he doesn't get that, it's a much less attractive job. You're talking about a glorified porter/handyman."

And, he pointed out, if the part-time super has plumbing and electrical skills, that can be a plus: Even though he charges you for such work as extra duty, his fees should generally be lower than what an outside contractor would charge.

Don Levy, a vice president at Brown Harris Stevens, agreed with this assessment, adding: "It's really no different than someone working in a larger building, except it's on a smaller scale: making sure that all systems are working, that repairs are being taken care of, and taking care of the cleaning. Beyond that, it's extra."

Snow Use

My next call confirmed all of this. "I expect him to be there on emergencies, to deal with snow or any other problem," said Ellen Kornfeld, a vice president at The Lovett Group, who handles a number of small buildings with part-time supers. "I have a super in a rental building who does the garbage and does minor repairs; I wouldn't call him the most experienced guy. He's more of a porter/super." She added: "You don't want your super doing plumbing unless he knows plumbing. He can do minor stuff, like changing a washer or changing a shower head. He should maintain the boiler, but he should also know when to leave it alone for a service company."

After pulling some facts together, I diligently wrote up for my co-op board that the average salary for a part-time super was $250 to $300 a week, and for that, you had someone to collect the garbage, clean the public areas, maintain the heating plant and be there for emergencies. If we wanted a new super, we could advertise on Craigslist.

As for squeezing more work out of a good part-time super, I wouldn't recommend it. At my own co-op, I am happy to shell out extra pay for extra work because our super is worth it.

In the end, I don't think you should push for something you can't get. Or, as that wise poet Harry Callahan once put it: "A man's got to know his limitations."

For more, see our Site Map or join our Archive >>