Interviewing Property Managers? The Questions Every NYC Co-op and Condo Board Should Ask Before You Hire

Four co-op board members sit around a conference table interviewing a property management firm representative, with New York City brownstones and rooftop water towers visible through the windows.

This is a very common question from co-op and condo board members.

Your property manager touches almost everything in your building. They pay your bills. They hold your cash. They bring you vendors and carry out the board's decisions. They track your deadlines. They are the first call when something breaks. And ultimately, they affect the value of your home and investment. That's a big responsibility.

So when your board sits down to interview management firms, it's natural to want to get it right. On the other hand, if you've ever sat through a few management presentations, you know how hard it can be to tell the firms apart.

We've worked with hundreds of co-op and condo boards across New York City, and we've seen both situations. Some boards chose a firm that guided their building through major capital projects, financial challenges, and regulatory changes with confidence. Others chose the firm with the smoothest pitch and regretted it within a year.

That leads to an important question.

What should your board actually ask?

Like many governance questions, the answer depends on your building.

Why Most Interviews Fall Short

Most firms arrive with a polished presentation.

They talk about their size, their history, and their technology. It all sounds good. And it often sounds the same from one firm to the next.

Most boards then compare management fees, because it's the easy number to put in a spreadsheet. But the fee is one line. The decisions made around it affect almost every other line in your budget.

A strong manager gives your volunteers their evenings back.

A weak one quietly turns your board into the management company.

You don't need to be a property management expert to interview one. You just need better questions.

Property Manager or Managing Agent?

The two terms are often used interchangeably.

The board hires a property management firm. That firm assigns a property manager to your building to act as your agent, often called the managing agent, who is your day-to-day point person. 

The Areas That Matter Most

Financial controls come first.

Your building's cash belongs to your owners. Treat the interview that way.

Will all building funds sit in accounts under your building's name, never mixed with other buildings or the firm's money? Commingling funds is rare today, but it used to happen, and it's a serious red flag. Who can approve and sign payments, and what dollar amounts need board approval? 

Notice how the answers come. A clear, specific answer is a good sign. A long pause is information too.

Compliance is another big one.

NYC buildings run on deadlines. Facade inspections (FISP / Local Law 11), gas piping inspections, Local Law 97 emissions reports, boiler and elevator filings. Miss one, and the cost lands on your owners.

How far ahead of your next facade filing does the firm start planning and budgeting? Who prepares your Local Law 97 report? How do they make sure violations actually get closed out? Can you see their compliance calendar?

If a firm can't walk you through how they track these, you will end up tracking them yourselves.

Then there are vendors and bidding.

How does the firm bring vendor options to the board? At what dollar amount do they get multiple written bids, and how do they present them so the board can compare and vote? 

And finally, the management agreement.

This is the document that decides what happens if the relationship stops working.

Can the board end the agreement without cause, and with how much notice? Beyond the base fee, what other fees can the firm charge, and will they list every one in writing? If you leave, who owns the building's records, and how fast will they be handed over? Always have your own attorney review the agreement before anyone signs.

Boards spend weeks on the monthly fee and minutes on these questions. Flip that.

What This Means for Your Building

Your board. A good manager brings you recommendations, systems, and processes. A weak one brings you problems.

Your wallet. Fees, missed deadlines, and unnoticed errors all end up in your maintenance or common charges.

Safety. Inspections and filings protect the people who live and work in your building. Someone has to own them.

Long-term value. Buyers and lenders notice a well-run building. They notice the other kind too.

Red Flags to Watch For

Answers that are vague or come back late.

Reluctance to put policies in writing.

Extra fees that can't be listed.

Defensiveness when you ask about money.

None of these prove a firm is wrong for you. All of them deserve a follow-up question.

The Bigger Question Is Consistency

After working with boards throughout New York City for more than a decade, we've come to believe that most boards don't need more questions.

They need the same questions.

You don't need to ask all 100. Please don't.

Pick the 20 to 30 that matter most for your building.

Ask every firm the same ones.

Get the answers in writing, so you can compare them side by side.

Share the work, so no one person carries the whole load.

And listen to how a firm answers, not just what it says.

Questions Every Board Should Ask Itself First

Before you interview a single firm, consider asking these questions inside your board.

What is working with our current management, and what isn't?

What are our building's biggest projects and deadlines over the next few years?

Who on the board has time to take part in the interviews?

Are new board members properly onboarded? If not, share our on-demand onboarding course, The Folson Board Academy, with them.

How will we compare the firms once the interviews are done?

If you can't answer several of those questions, the interviews probably won't give you the clarity you need.

To make this easier, we created our free checklist, 100 Questions to Ask a Property Manager (100 Questions to Ask). It's organized by topic, so your board can pick the questions that fit your building.

Our Perspective

When we organized a coup at our own co-op, the new board fired the property manager. It felt like the big win.

It wasn't. The $340,000 we saved over three years didn't come from the firing. It came from discipline. We questioned every contract, every line item, and every vendor, the way an owner would run any other business.

A new manager only helps if your board keeps asking good questions.