Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: DIY Accounting vs Management Company

[Tom Smyth (tom]

Hmm, I'm curious what your management company is managing? And what would
the online condo management software do?


On Thu, Oct 29, 2015 at 4:29 PM, Sharon Villines <sharon [at] 
sharonvillines.com>
wrote:

>
> We have hired management companies since we moved in. Some have been
> horrible — losing all our records and not paying bills — and some have been
> good but also have not paid bills or noticed that when we switched credit
> card accounts there was a lapse in transferring payments so other things
> were cut off. No perceptible difference in the cost of purchases and
> services which they promise — we have clout.
>
> My personal opinion is that we have them because it gives some people
> confidence but they aren’t worth the money. We spend as much time
> communicating problems as we would just doing the job ourselves. With all
> the online property management services or Freshbooks for accounting,
> invoicing, tracking condo fees, etc. it is much easier now that it ever has
> been.
>
> It seems like a no brainer to me since we have many more professional
> managers, including budget analysis experts, in house than we have
> carpenters and cleaners. I think we are paying the wrong people. The fees
> with everything included are approaching $20,000 an year— an average of
> $465 per unit. I think we can save $15,000 by using online condo management
> software or Freshbooks.
>
> My question is for those who do it in house. How much time does it take?
> How many people are involved? How many units do you have? Does it create
> tensions?
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Tom Smyth

Worker-Owner, Sassafras Tech Collective
Specializing in innovative, usable tech for social change
sassafras.coop *·* @sassafrastech

Resident, Touchstone Cohousing
touchstonecohousing.org