Property management companies are not charities.
They are businesses built on volume – managing as many buildings as possible, with as few headaches as possible.
In this model, “headaches” are… us – the owners who ask questions, request records, and challenge decisions.
The less we challenge them, the more buildings they can assign to each property manager – and the more profit they make.
đź“Š The Industry Business Model
For most management companies, profitability comes from scaling:
- Fewer hours per building = more buildings assigned per manager
- Lower labour costs = higher margins
- Less owner involvement = fewer disruptions
This means property managers are often incentivized to discourage owner questions and keep information limited. Every record request, budget challenge, or contract inquiry eats into their time – time they’d rather spend onboarding the next building.
⚠️ What Happens When Owners Stay Silent
When owners don’t ask questions:
- One manager might oversee 8, 10, even 15 buildings.
- Less time is spent on our property’s issues.
- Decisions get rushed or delegated to preferred vendors.
- We pay invoices we never saw, for projects we never approved.
In short: our building becomes just another account – a number on their portfolio list, not a community they serve.
🧩 Conflicts of Interest Are Built In
Management companies benefit when owners:
- Don’t demand transparency → No need to explain spending
- Don’t request records → Less administrative work
- Don’t question vendors → Easier to reuse the same contractors
- Don’t challenge budgets → Faster approval = faster billing
The less time a manager spends on our building, the more buildings they can handle – and the more profitable we are to them, not for us.
🔑 Why This Matters for Owners
We pay the fees.
We fund the projects.
We carry the financial risks.
But the property management company profits regardless – whether our building is run well or not. That’s why our involvement matters:
- When we ask questions, we demand focus on our property.
- When we request records, we ensure our money is managed responsibly.
- When we challenge budgets, we prevent rushed approvals that serve them, not us.
🗳️ Take Control Back
Our corporation isn’t just one more file on a management company’s desk.
It’s our home and our investment.
The more we stay silent, the more our property becomes their business instead of our community.
The louder we are, the more they’re forced to prioritize our building, our interests, and our money.
