Compare strata management proposals in BC: scope first

Two strata management proposals can quote different prices for different jobs. Before your BC council chooses a firm, put both replies against the same service list. This worksheet helps you separate included work, extra charges, and unanswered questions. It also gives you a record of what still needs confirmation before you sign.

Compare the work each firm has agreed to do before comparing its fee.

Start with one scope for your building

Scope of services means the work you are asking the management company to perform. A label such as full service leaves room for different interpretations. Write down the work itself.

Start with your building type, municipality, unit count, and the services the council wants to retain. Add the building features that affect the work: an elevator, shared facilities, separate sections, or a planned repair project. Include only information you know. Put an unknown beside a missing fact instead of estimating it for the firms.

Ask each firm to respond to that same description. Keep the date and version of your request on the comparison sheet. If you change the scope after an interview, send the change to every firm you are still considering.

BCFSA’s guidance on working with a strata management company says the management contract should identify the services the company will perform and the duties the strata corporation will retain. Use that distinction throughout your comparison.

Separate included work from council work

For each service, ask whether it is included in the base fee, charged separately, or left to the council. Keep a fourth state for anything the proposal does not explain: unanswered.

Start with financial reporting, fee collection, meeting preparation, meeting attendance, owner correspondence, maintenance coordination, and emergency handling. These are comparison prompts. They are not a claim that every management package includes them.

For meeting attendance, record the number of meetings, their length, and any charge for additional time. For correspondence, ask who monitors the inbox and what the proposed response commitment covers. An emergency telephone number needs an explanation of who answers and what happens next.

Put the firm’s answer beside the relevant proposal page. A useful entry is specific: meeting attendance included up to the stated limit, with the extra rate recorded. An entry that says good communication gives the council little to compare later.

BCFSA’s consumer guide to service agreements identifies services, payment circumstances, agreement dates, and termination provisions among the matters a strata management agreement must address. Ask for the proposed agreement and fee schedules alongside the sales proposal.

Compare fee schedules on the same assumptions

Base management fee means the recurring charge described in that particular proposal. It does not establish what other work is included. Record the billing frequency and whether a minimum charge applies.

Then list the extra charges relevant to your building. These may concern additional meetings, document preparation, special projects, or work outside the agreed scope. Ask the firm to identify the trigger for each charge and how it is calculated. A blank fee cell means you need an answer.

Do not force every possible extra into a single forecast. Separate recurring costs you can calculate from optional work and unresolved charges. Record whether quoted amounts include tax. If the firms price different work, ask for clarification before treating the totals as comparable.

For example, suppose one fictional proposal includes a council meeting and another prices meeting attendance separately. The base fees alone cannot answer which proposal costs less for your intended service. Put the same meeting assumption beside each reply. This example contains no market prices or cost estimate.

Ask about payments or benefits linked to recommended contractors and other service providers. BCFSA’s disclosure guidance explains disclosure requirements for remuneration and benefits received in connection with management services. Record the firm’s written disclosure and refer unresolved contract questions for professional review.

Check the proposed brokerage and manager

A brand name, local office, and brokerage are different details. Record the exact brokerage named in the proposed agreement and the person proposed to manage your strata. Ask the firm to explain any difference between its marketing name and the contracting entity.

Use BCFSA’s Find a Professional to research the relevant brokerage and individual. Record what you checked and when. A directory listing, association membership, or website claim should not be entered as a completed licence check.

BCFSA’s questions for prospective management companies cover the proposed manager’s experience, workload, administrative support, and references. Ask separately how the firm covers a manager’s vacation or absence. Keep a promised assignment separate from the firm’s general portfolio.

Comparable-building reference means a reference you can assess against your own building’s needs. Similar unit counts alone may miss a material difference, such as shared facilities or extensive repair work. Ask why the reference is relevant and obtain permission before contacting it.

Also ask whether the firm is accepting a building with your location and scope. A nearby office does not answer that question. Record availability as unconfirmed until the firm answers your actual request.

Resolve unknowns before choosing

Use a short written clarification list. Ask the same factual question of each firm when its response affects the comparison. Preserve the original proposal and attach the reply rather than rewriting the proposal from memory.

Keep four answer states on the sheet: included, extra charge, council responsibility, and unanswered. Record an exclusion explicitly when the firm declines a service. These states describe its reply; they are not a score for quality.

You can set council priorities before evaluating the responses. State why each priority matters to your building. This worksheet does not prescribe weights or a universal winning score. Price, service scope, and unresolved evidence remain separate columns.

Bring the proposed agreement, all schedules, and the clarification replies to the final review. Check that commitments you relied on appear in the agreement you are considering. For a separate contract-reading checklist, use the strata management contract guide.

The receipt: a proposal comparison sheet

Copy this table into your council’s working document. Add one column per firm and keep an evidence reference beside each answer.

The repeated unanswered entries are deliberate. Replace them with evidence from the firms you are considering. Keep the unanswered state wherever that evidence is missing.

Use the existing proposal worksheet alongside your replies, or browse management firms to research a send list. Your council can also request its management matches. A ranked list gives you candidates to investigate; confirm scope and availability with each firm.

Sources

Checked against the sources below on October 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

• BCFSA, working with a strata management company
• BCFSA, consumer guide to service agreements
• BCFSA, disclosure guidance
• BCFSA, Find a Professional