Find the right person for your properties.

An owner or asset manager sets the property plan: hold it, sell it, push rents or protect occupancy. The site manager must translate that plan into work the team can do. Association managers also need to work through board decisions. We establish the actual reporting line rather than assuming these assignments are interchangeable.

When we take a search, we ask who holds authority over budget, hiring, vendors and rent decisions. In some companies the site manager signs for repairs up to a set amount. In others every invoice goes up the chain. A person used to full control will struggle in a tightly managed structure, and the reverse is also true. We write this down before we call anyone.

We also ask the owner what has gone wrong before. If the last manager lost the team, we look for someone who has held a team together. If the last one let collections slip, we look for someone with real numbers on delinquency.

Maintenance supervisors, chief engineers and on-site managers are often on call. A burst pipe or a failed elevator does not wait for morning. Before we present anyone, we confirm that the person knows what the on-call schedule looks like, whether it is paid, and how often they would be called.

The schedule can change whether a move makes sense. If a candidate has never worked nights and weekends, you should hear that from us early. If an owner expects a manager to live on the property, we say so in the first conversation, so nobody is surprised at the offer.

A portfolio sale, a change of manager or a longer commute can prompt someone to consider a move. Another person may want more responsibility or stronger support. We ask rather than assume that pay is the deciding factor.

So we start by asking what they would want in a next job. A manager with a long tenure at one company may care most about stability. A regional manager may want a bigger territory or a seat closer to ownership. We pass that along to you honestly, together with what they would need to say yes.

We keep contacting people respectfully until we get a real answer. A no is useful. A not now is useful too, because it tells us whom to call when your next role opens.