Do not choose a property manager from a service list alone. Ask each candidate to show how work is assigned, documented, approved, reported, and closed. A consistent comparison uses the same questions and evidence requests for every company.
This is an operating selection framework, not legal advice or an interpretation of a management agreement.
Define the outcome first
Before the interview, write down the property facts, the problems that need attention, the decisions the owner wants to retain, and what a successful first 90 days should produce. Keep commercial and multifamily requirements separate. A strong answer for a 40-unit apartment property may not address lease administration, tenant-business operations, or capital planning for a commercial asset.
Twelve questions that reveal the operating system
- What property types and operating situations fit your current team? Ask for the actual staffing and process that will support your property.
- Who is accountable for the property, and who covers that person? Request names by role, escalation paths, and response ownership.
- What happens during the first 30, 60, and 90 days? Ask for a transition plan with dependencies, owners, and completion evidence.
- What does the monthly owner report include? Request a redacted sample showing exceptions, decisions, financial context, maintenance, leasing, and open items.
- How are maintenance requests authorized and closed? Ask to see the work-order path from intake through photos, invoices, follow-up, and repeat-issue review.
- Which decisions can the manager make without owner approval? Compare the answer with the proposed management agreement and operating plan.
- How are leasing activity and upcoming expirations reported? Require stage, next action, owner, deadline, and material decisions.
- How are receivables and unresolved balances reviewed? Ask for status definitions, documented next steps, and escalation boundaries without requesting legal conclusions.
- How are vendors selected, insured, authorized, and evaluated? Request the control process, not confidential vendor information.
- What is included in the fee, and what is billed separately? Compare expected annual dollars using the same assumptions for every proposal.
- How will you handle open work, records, funds, keys, access, and tenant or resident communication during a transition? Ask for a written transition checklist.
- What evidence will prove that the plan is working? Require defined reports, update timing, exception thresholds, and a decision log.
Score the answers
Use the following rubric for each question.
| Score | Evidence standard |
|---|---|
| 0 | The question is not answered, or the answer conflicts with the proposal. |
| 1 | The answer describes a benefit but gives no process, owner, or evidence. |
| 2 | A process is described, but ownership, timing, or proof is unclear. |
| 3 | The answer names the process, accountable role, timing, and sample evidence. |
| 4 | The answer also explains exceptions, decision rights, limitations, and closure proof. |
Do not total the scores mechanically and ignore a critical zero. A missing control for funds, legal documents, safety, access, data, or owner authority requires resolution even when the other answers are strong.
Evidence to request
Ask for redacted or synthetic versions when real records are confidential:
- a monthly owner report.
- a first-90-day transition plan.
- a work-order closeout.
- a leasing pipeline report.
- a decision and approval log.
- an inspection report.
- the fee schedule and included-versus-extra matrix.
- the proposed communication and escalation path.
The purpose is not to collect polished documents. It is to confirm that the stated operating process exists and that an owner can use its outputs.
Red flags
Pause the selection when the manager cannot identify who owns the next action, gives a different answer than the agreement, relies on verbal assurances for material controls, will not provide a sample report, or promises a result without explaining dependencies and limits.
Compare proposals on the same basis
Normalize the fee assumptions, included services, approval limits, reporting cadence, property scope, and transition work before comparing companies. Record each unresolved point beside the proposal instead of assuming that it is included.
Next step
Use the question set during each interview and keep the completed scorecard with the proposals. Resolve unanswered scope, reporting, fee, transition, and decision-right questions in writing before selection.
