# How much to management agents charge management companies?



## Paper Clip (26 Jan 2011)

Hi All,
I am a member of a management company and we want a management agent to take over the day to day running for us. How much do they usually charge for this service? It's a development of 16 apartments.
Many thanks.


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## ontour (26 Jan 2011)

For the day to day running most professional management agents would have a floor price below which it is not worth their while to get involved.  This will differ from agent to agent.  There may be an agent who has other developments in close proximity who would see it as very little hassle to add 16 more units to their area.  I would expect that you would be looking at between €250-€500 per unit for such a small development but this will depend on lots of factors including location, condition of development and services required.

You should consider whether it is worth paying one of the members to perform the service if there is a person that can be trusted and agreed upon by all members.  Even with an agent the management company has to make a lot of decisions and monitor the agent.


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## Yorrick (26 Jan 2011)

If one of the owners is willing to take on the role of agent and has the necessary skills to do so then that it is good option. There should be some supervisory presence around the apartment complex whenever cleaners etc are on site of for example when maintenance have to visit. He/she should also inspect the complex weekly and ensure any small maintenance jobs are done befor they become big jobs,

A full time agent would cost at least 300 euro per apartment in a small complex such as the one above even though maybe five hours per week would cover the work


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## Paper Clip (26 Jan 2011)

Hi,
Thanks for the replies. I might talk to the others members to see if anybody wants to take on the task themselves. I spoke to an agent today and this is what they have come back to me with:
Mgt Fee €3,200pa
Ground Maintenance €5,000pa
Common Area Cleaning €4,000pa

They will inspect the property on a weekly basis and report any problems.
They have to come back to me with a price for bin collection. 

They are also offering an management package for the tenants (for all 16 apartments) at 8% of the monthly rent of each apartment when occupied.
This all seems ok but we might take another look at one of us taking on the role. What do you think of the rates that they quoted me?
Thanks again for the reply.


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## ontour (26 Jan 2011)

Ask what the management fee includes and excludes.  Are you charged for postage/ printing?  Does it include preparation for AGM?  Do they evaluate your sinking fund requirements?  Do the deal with transfers of ownership of apartments?  What is the service level, 24/7 or office hours?  Do they pursue overdue accounts?  Doe the management fee include the management of period ic work such as painting, replacing carpets etc.?

€3,200 may be great value or you may be paying for someone to visit once a week and send you a list of problems for the directors to deal with.

Most importantly check out the references of the agent before investing too much time in the discussion with them


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## purpeller (27 Jan 2011)

Excellent advice from Ontour.

Also, you want to find out if they are willing to attend directors' meetings and if they have any affiliation to the companies they will contract for cleaning/bins, etc.  We get our agents to get several quotes for everything before we award a contract.


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## Paper Clip (27 Jan 2011)

Again thanks for your help with this matter. I spoke to the agent again and they have offered another package for monthly fee of €200 to do the following only. We are still in charge of the service charge etc we just need somebody for the day to day running. Let me know what you think of this.


This monthly fee covers:
Weekly visits by agent to the development to check development both internal and external.
Obtain quotes and set up and management of internal maintenance ie. cleaning of the common areas. 
Obtain quotes and set up and management of external maintenance ie. Gardens and Carparks.
Report any maintenance required and set up same repairs.
Supervision of all work carried out where possible.
Set up and management of waste disposal.
Arrange annual window and gutter cleaning if required.
Update the management company. 
Deal with all queries from the management company.
Attend all general meetings of the Company and meetings of the Board of Directors, if required.
Read metres for incoming and outgoing tenants.


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## purpeller (28 Jan 2011)

That's €200 per unit?
Sounds like good value to me but make sure you get references.


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## Sunny (28 Jan 2011)

purpeller said:


> That's €200 per unit?
> Sounds like good value to me but make sure you get references.


 
Presume it €200 per month between all apartments. It's just the price of the agent that the OP is asking about.


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## Paper Clip (28 Jan 2011)

Hi, yes Sunny is right its €200 per month for all apartments.  I think this sound like a good deal.  The agent will invoice the management company on a monthly basis.


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## purpeller (28 Jan 2011)

Sunny said:


> Presume it €200 per month between all apartments. It's just the price of the agent that the OP is asking about.



I actually meant that the agent would charge €200 per unit to manage - I've seen quotes like that before.


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## Sunny (28 Jan 2011)

purpeller said:


> I actually meant that the agent would charge €200 per unit to manage - I've seen quotes like that before.



Per month? That's €2400 a year just to manage and doesn't include the actual cost of carrying out the actual services so the management frees must have been over 4k. Must of been some development. It's not the typical cost and certainly isnt readonable. The OP was looking for the cost for an agent to basically co-ordinate everything. The service charge to carry out repairs etc was separate.

OP, we pay about €10 a month per unit for management agent fees but we are bigger development. Seems reasonable as long as they do what they say!


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