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Why changing Property Manager won’t resolve your file any faster
An ongoing file at your Owners Association that keeps dragging on. An insurance matter that just won't get resolved. Communication that is slower than you would like. As a co-owner, that is frustrating, and that frustration is completely understandable. In such a situation, you often hear the same reflex: "we'll change Property Manager, then we'll solve it." Unfortunately, it is rarely that simple.
Not everything is in the hands of your Property Manager
Some files simply take time. Insurance companies work with their own procedures and deadlines, legal disputes involve statutory waiting periods, and contractors or opposing parties have their own schedules. A Property Manager can follow up on files, insist on progress, and apply pressure, but cannot simply accelerate the pace of external parties.
That does not mean that as a co-owner you should lose your patience or keep your questions to yourself. It mainly means that the duration of a file does not always reflect the commitment of your Property Manager.
What happens if you switch Property Manager during an ongoing file
There is an important and often underestimated disadvantage here. When an Owners Association decides to change Property Manager while a file is still ongoing, it practically means a full transfer: all documents, communication, history, and current agreements must be handed over to the new Property Manager.
This new Property Manager does not start from the point where the file currently stands, but must first review everything again, re-establish contacts, and familiarize themselves with a case they did not follow up on themselves. That takes time, and that time is added to the time the file already required.
It is therefore not a matter of "a new broom sweeps clean." A new Property Manager does not have a magic wand to suddenly accelerate a dragging file. On the contrary: switching during an ongoing procedure usually makes the matter more difficult for the Owners Association, not simpler.
Why a Property Manager insists on persevering
When a Property Manager asks not to change Property Manager immediately during an ongoing file, it is rarely out of self-interest. A Property Manager gains nothing from keeping a dissatisfied Owners Association as a client: a difficult relationship costs as much energy as it yields.
The reason is more practical. A Property Manager who already knows the file, understands the history, and has already built up the contacts can continue working faster and more purposefully than anyone who has to start from scratch. Persevering with your current Property Manager during an ongoing file is therefore often literally the fastest route to a solution, even if it might feel different at the time.
What you can do if things are really not going well
Patience does not mean you should just accept everything. If you feel that your file manager is falling short, communication is lacking, or agreements are not being met, the right step is not to wait in silence, but to enter into a dialogue.
In that case, request a meeting with the office manager. Explain specifically where you think things are going wrong: which questions remained unanswered, which agreements were not met, which deadlines were exceeded. A good Property Manager is open to that conversation and can make adjustments, follow up internally, or adapt the approach to the file based on it.
That conversation is much more valuable than switching to a new Property Manager during an ongoing procedure. It keeps the knowledge of the file where it belongs, and it gives you as an Owners Association a direct, fast way to adjust without having to start from scratch again.
In summary
Dragging files are frustrating, but that is not automatically equivalent to poor service. Changing Property Manager during an ongoing file rarely solves the problem and can actually delay the settlement, because all knowledge and history must be built up again. If things are really going wrong, talk to the office manager. That will move your file forward faster than a switch that puts you right back at square one.
A new Property Manager inherits the file, not the solution.
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