Never do not give them nothing, they are supposed to advise you and help you threw the woods. Thats why yu pay them for their management.

Zero dollars to the mgmt agent.

Glad to hear your MA is earning its fee!

Show your appreciation by renewing the contract.

Any other line is blurry.

The managing agent can negotiate a good deal for you, or a better one, depending on how the relationship with the building is.
Do you go out to eat and not tip the waiter if the service was good? Or if they went the extra mole and performed tasks not in the regular line of duty? God no, they may spit in your food next time!
Well, contract negotiation is not in the typical management contract and the manager did do work he was not paid to do, and if he/she negotiated a favorable contract, then, yes, I believe a gratuity is in order.
That small gratuity can save you hundreds of times that in the future when other oportunites are now brought your way...or not!

Best
~AR

As a managing agent myself, I would refuse this offer. My relationship with a client is based on trust and even if the client feels we deserve it, it is the building's money. I would rather go out to lunch, dinner or a drink than accept a gratuity.

I recently negotiated a deal with a rooftop vendor who was going to pay us a months commission on a new lease beginning at 1600 per month with 5% escalations every 3 years...

After going back and forth with them for 2 months, in addition to doing additional investigative work to find out how badly they needed my specific location, I negotiated a starting rent of 2500, two months commission, and 4% escalation every year.

At this, the board decided to offer me the additional month that I negotiated... I graciously accepted.

Now, I always pride myself on my integrity and honor and I see no wrong with accepting this. It maintained the desire to go over and above on a continuous basis and cost the building nothing.

The familiar entitlement thinking I see on this tread is the same mentality that withholds paying a super, handyman or some other employee extra money for doing something well... next time, he will not go out of the way for you... It's as much the money as it is the knowing that what your doing is appreciated and not expected; and while a drink or dinner is nice, at the end of the day, it does not pay the bills.

You will always lose good assets (in any business) that way. Unless that is your motive, or your MA is a real pri@K, or you are overpaying to begin with, I never see any reason to treat any worker unfairly.

~AR

AR

Congratulations on an outstanding job for your client - really, really well done.

And I have no quarrel with bonuses; I believe in them firmly, myself.

Here's the blurry line I mentioned in my previous post, and since it's been misconstrued, let me clarify:

No bonus for the particular project savings. None.
A bonus, instead, at the end of the year, for a job exceedingly well done/contract more than fulfilled... presuming the quality of the entire year was of the same caliber (and in your case, I have no doubt it is).

In this way, there's absolutely no question about kickbacks tied to particular vendors/services - which is where the problem began so many years ago, and mushroomed into ruined reputations and lives.

Absolutely agree with RLM. You can't serve two masters. If there's the possibility of the MA promoting one vendor over another because one will give him/her a bigger commission, then that's a conflict of interest.

Yes, offering bonuses at the end of the year for a job well done is a typical goodwill gesture for retaining good employees.

But a project-by-project commission just invites the same sort of kickback corruption that HISTORY shows will ALWAYS creep in -- maybe not with this or that particular managing agent, but endemic to the industry.

And let's face it, particularly in this economy, no employee is indispensable. All of us have to go the extra mile to keep our jobs. What makes an MA any different from the rest of us? Talk about an entitlement mindset. If this MA doesn't feel like negotiating the best deal for his client without the incentive of a commission, then someone else young and hungry wiil.

My reason for the post is that in this particular case, there is no bidding, no alternate vendors, no room for preferential treatment to a particular vendor, etc...

RLM.. Notwithstanding my previous postings, I understand and do agree with your principle 110%...

Very well put ......"You can't serve two masters. If there's the possibility of the MA promoting one vendor over another because one will give him/her a bigger commission, then that's a conflict of interest...."

~AR

AR, the original poster said, "The board president wants to give HALF the money to the managing company." This is hardly a "small gratuity," to use your phrase. I don't know about you, but I've never given a waiter a 50% tip in my life. (Or maybe that should be a 100% tip, which would give the waiter and the restaurant the same amount of money.)

More importantly, it's the building's resources that Verizon is paying for. The original poster is asking about an equitable division of the payment for those resources. Are you seriously claiming that it's fair to give half the payment to a person who has no ownership interest in those resources, while all the actual owners COMBINED receive the same amount? Just imagine the uproar if a board member tried to pull such a stunt: "I negotiated the contract, so I get half the money while the rest of the shareholders get the other half."

On a more general note, waiters and cab drivers derive a significant portion of their income from tips, and everyone knows this. Tipping on a per-transaction basis is quite reasonable: the interaction is complete at the end of the transaction and you may never see the person again. With regular employees, however, an annual bonus makes a lot more sense to me.

Its not any percent of the income.
The ONLY monies we are talking about are not the rent or lease payments (that would be wrong), but monies that are specified and allocated solely for the commission I am speaking about.. the checks come specifically labeled "Signing Bonus" ... so to split this with the person who got it in the first place, where is the issue?

~AR

The original poster said, "Verizon gives a co-op building a $$ bonus for allowing access to install FIOS in the building." Assuming this is correct, it's a one-time payment made to the building as part a business arrangement. Why would *any* negotiator expect to receive a whopping 50% of this payment? That's not a "gratuity" by any stretch of the imagination. To reiterate: if a board member had negotiated the contract and claimed personal entitlement to half the money, there would be a justifiable uproar.

Another example: Our attorney came up with an excellent financial argument that helped us get more money when we sold our air rights. This financial issue went beyond the legal advice and consultation for which he was being paid. So by your reasoning, we should have tipped our lawyer $2,000,000 when we sold our air rights for $4,000,000. What is wrong with this picture?

I am certain your lawyer charged you his $250-$400 per hour for the consultation, so no additional remuneration would be expected.
The way you are seeing it and describing it, I would agree with your view ... however,
"Verizon gives a co-op building a $$ bonus for allowing access to install FIOS in the building."
Although that's what was written in the original post, the money is not for allowing access, nor is it standard, it is a signing bonus and labeled as such... therefore, I see it differently than you…
Tomato or TOMATO... everyone is entitled to a diverse opinions, that's why this board exists......

Best
~AR

Half the money seems extremely high for a FIOS project. However, it all depends on the hours of involvement that the manager dedicated to this that you might think the person may be meritorious of some bonus, even a larger oner at the end of the year for his/her efforts if you were to offer one.

If you read the contract that you have with the management company, it may stipulate that the manager may have to be compensated for overseeing a capital improvement project. FIOS is a project whose installation may run into thousands for a property. In some cases, there is special drilling in basements, ensuring that all the holes are completely patched and the wire mold is appropriately placed and covered. If the installation work is done smoothly and well, it may be thanks to the coordination of the manager and the superintendent.

Many boards feel that these improvement projects do not take time to oversee, but they may consume time. Otherwise, Board members should be highly involved to ensure that the installation met your standards and to avoid further compensation to the manager.
AdC

this manging company leaves potholes in ped walk area in the garage, even after they have been reported to them by shareholders90 days latter and the trip and fall arwe still there.
simple preco patch/portland cement would fix it is hours

the same management company sent out a bulletin around the dec Holidays, stating it was customary to tip the ma, and the percentage that the board should tip him es also listed

You seem to have reasons not consider it necessary. I am answering a posting that could be very real and where performance of management is not in question or controversial. So, the answer is given for those who question whether management should get a tip for the efforts.

AdC

Splitting money with the management company or managing agent is for the birds! "For letting Verizon install Fios in the building" What if the Superintendent/Resident Manager were to "Get a commission every-time a contractor works in the building", you would be looking to can his ass and throw him out the door!

No one should be getting any bonus or kick backs because it is wrong!

Half the money seems extremely high for a FIOS project. However, it all depends on the hours of involvement that the manager dedicated to this that you might think the person may be meritorious of some bonus, even a larger oner at the end of the year for his/her efforts if you were to offer one.

If you read the contract that you have with the management company, it may stipulate that the manager may have to be compensated for overseeing a capital improvement project. FIOS is a project whose installation may run into thousands for a property. In some cases, there is drilling in basements and you wish to ensure that all the holes are completely patched with fire-rated caulking; also, you wish to have wire mold appropriately placed and covered; finally, there is liability in the event the workers are not careful in laying the cables on the floor without regard for residents. If the installation work is done smoothly and well, it may be thanks to the coordination of the manager and the superintendent.

Many boards feel that these improvement projects do not take time to oversee, but they may consume time. Otherwise, Board members should be highly involved to ensure that the installation met your standards and to avoid further compensation to the manager.
AdC

As a Managing Agent I feel this idea goes against the Code of Ethics as published by NYARM. The MA works for the building and as such should see that any money earned for the Coop/Condo should go to the coop/condo.