The Wrong Questions
After 15 years as owner-operators and now as a 3rd party management company, we’ve noticed a pattern: property owners often focus on the wrong questions. They ask about fees, technology platforms, and portfolio size. These matter, but they’re not the questions that reveal whether a management company will actually succeed with your asset. Here’s what you should also ask.
Question 1: What’s Your Training Like?
This is the number one question we recommend, yet it’s rarely asked. Property management is only as good as the people executing on-site. When you ask about training, you want to hear specifics: frequency, topics covered, onboarding processes, and ongoing professional development.
Question 2: What Support Does Your Home Office Provide to Onsite Teams?
This reveals how the management company structures responsibilities. The best companies find the right balance: corporate handles accounting, reporting, vendor negotiations, and strategic planning, while empowering onsite teams to own day-to-day operations.
Question 3: Provide Your Market Research on This Specific Sub-Market
Ask the management company to provide their research on your specific sub-market. Where do they think your property should benchmark from an occupancy, expense ratio, and collections perspective?
Question 4: How Do You Handle Expense Management?
Most property owners focus on revenue-side performance, but that’s only half the NOI equation. Expense management separates owner-operator mindset companies from typical fee-based managers. Ask specifically about:
- Maintenance and repair expense approach
- Contractor vs. in-house maintenance philosophy
- Marketing spend and ILS effectiveness evaluation
- General administrative expense controls
- Vendor relationship and pricing management
Many management companies won’t focus here because their fee structure doesn’t incentivize expense management. They’re paid on collected revenue, so expenses aren’t their primary concern.
Question 5: How Do You Measure Success Beyond Occupancy?
Ask about resident retention rates, collections efficiency, vendor relationship quality, team retention, deferred maintenance trends, and community engagement. The answers reveal whether the company thinks holistically about property performance.
What’s Missing From the Standard Questions
- Portfolio size – Large portfolios don’t guarantee quality
- Technology – The tech stack matters only if properly implemented
- Fees – The cheapest option usually costs more in the long run
Let’s continue the conversation.
Evaluating a property management company requires looking beyond surface-level credentials and focusing on the factors that drive actual results: training, support systems, market knowledge, expense management, and operational philosophy.
Property management is complex, and the best solutions come from shared incentives. Whether you’re exploring new approaches or facing specific challenges, we’re here to talk. Visit us at onewallcommunities.com or call us at (646) 596-7068.