Cohousing-L Mailing List: Property or Community Management Hire

[Christine Johnson (christine-johnson]

> Diane Carroll wrote:

> I'd love to hear about this too.  We here at Mosaic Commons are also 
> considering hiring a property manager.

I am recently retired from community association management in Tucson, AZ.  In 
2004 we bought into Stone Curves Cohousing and have been self-managed for the 
14 years.

The quality of the management service you get from an association manager or 
property manager (two different animals), depends not on what you pay but on 
the 1)knowledge and professional care of the manager and 2) the support from 
his/her company provides their managers.   

Both association management and property management are low-bar businesses to 
get into and there are a LOT of bad actors in both who do not serve their 
clientele adequately and run their managers ragged, requiring that they carry a 
heavy portfolio of accounts.  

Suggest you learn about the businesses, then interview a good number of 
managers, before choosing. Undoing the work of a poor manager is horribly 
demoralizing and time consuming.

Check out Community Association Institute for more information on “how to hire” 
a community association manager.  www.cau.org
There is a national org as well for property management.

Christine Johnson, PCAM (Professional Community Association Manager, a 
designation offered by Community Association Institute)