Hiring a Manager Is Like Getting Married. Choose Wisely.

Hiring a new management company has been likened to getting married. So co-op and condo boards need to take a long hard look before they leap. A good first step, Brick Underground reports, is asking around the neighborhood and finding buildings that are well run. From this intel, a board can begin to create a list of potential new managers. 

"Usually you can get recommendations from people who live in other buildings who are happy with their management companies," says Deanna Kory, a broker with Corcoran. "As an agent, I’ve been asked by owners and shareholders who I would recommend, based on my experience of how well the building is run and the service provided." 

Once your board has a list, members should speak to a representative from each management company, proceeding much in the way they would with any job interview to find the right match for your particular building's needs. 

"In interviewing the management companies, the board members should ask the management representatives about their management philosophy, services offered, and for a copy of a sample monthly management report," says attorney Jeffrey Reich, a partner at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas. Since the board-manager relationship is based on the meshing of personalities, he adds, “it is not enough to meet with the owner or marketing executive. A board should insist on interviewing the individual agent who will be assigned to the building." 

"Boards should also be aware of the transfer department, which is responsible for any transfer of ownership," Kory adds. "The person or people in the transfer department handle many buildings at one time, so a common complaint is that they are hard to reach." 

As with any job search, references matter. "As important as conducting a thorough interview process is for the board members to ask each management firm for several board client references, and to actually check up on the references," Reich says.