What should we expect, as a residential community, from an onsite Property Manager (PM) for whom we fund?
- A Job Description of the Property Manager’s duties to understand the responsibilities the PM has to the community for what can and cannot be expected from the PM, which is available to the Residents for review and revision, if needed.
- Ongoing evaluations of the PM to determine that the PM is successfully fulfilling PM responsibilities.
- Allotted times for Residents to engage the PM for concerns that may emerge in the community.
- As a professional, the PM should at all times maintain an arm’s length and business type relationship with both the Residents and the Board of Directors. Developing circles of friends within the community, including the Board of Directors, cannot foster an atmosphere of impartial decision making.
- The PM should always take the high road and not antagonize or banter with the Residents, or become defensive.
- Being a service provider should be the focus of the PM.
- If the PM suspects or recognizes any social or cultural alienating division emerging in the community, then the PM should not take sides, but should seek advice and direction from the primary Property Managing Company with whom the PM is associated.
- The communication that the PM provides and shares with the community should be a mixture of being instructional and informative.
- Consistent procedures should be in place and documented for all events in the community. These procedures should be available and applicable to all Residents to be able to follow.
- The PM should spend as much time in the community as in the office. The community is fluid with many moving parts that need monitoring to ensure a viable entity within to comfortably live.
Does our Property Manager perform in the manner just described? We should expect at least this listed performance– it is the basic and expected property management for which we are paying.
Merry Christmas!