Letter template: asking your property manager for quotes (and getting an answer)

Asking the manager for quotes sounds simple. Getting comparable quotes, in time to be useful, is much less so. Here is the letter and the method.

"We asked the manager for quotes." Said in a board meeting, that sentence usually covers a verbal request, made two months ago, with no deadline and no defined scope. The result: a single quote arrives three days before the meeting, impossible to compare with anything.

Yet requesting quotes is one of the few concrete levers a board has. Framed well, it produces comparable offers in useful time. Framed badly, it produces delay and one offer — from the manager usual contractor.

What the board can ask for

The board assists the property manager and reviews their management. It is involved in competitive bidding above thresholds set by the general meeting, and it gives its opinion on the choice of contractors.

In practice you can ask for: several firms to be consulted, the specification to be sent to you before it goes out, the quotes received to be passed on in full, and the selection criteria to be spelled out. What you cannot do is sign in the manager place or commit the association.

The five things that make a request succeed

1. A written scope: describe precisely what is expected. "Quote for renewing the waterproofing of building B terrace, approx. 120 sqm", not "waterproofing quote".
2. A number of firms: explicitly ask for three quotes. Without a number, you will get one.
3. A deadline: set a date compatible with sending out the meeting notice, generally six weeks ahead.
4. Identical comparison bases: same materials, same warranties, same duration. Otherwise the quotes are not comparable and you can conclude nothing.
5. Full disclosure: ask for the complete quotes, not a summary table written by the manager.

The template letter

Send by email with read receipt, or by registered post if earlier follow-ups went unanswered. Replace the bracketed items.

1. Subject: request for competitive bidding — [nature of works] — condo association [name], [address].
2. Dear Sir or Madam, as [chair / member] of the condo board of [name], I am writing as part of the board duty to assist and review management.
3. Scope of the intended works: [precise description, location, area or quantity, known constraints].
4. We ask that at least three firms be consulted on the basis of an identical specification, stating: [expected materials, warranties required, target completion time, access arrangements].
5. Please send us the specification before it goes out to the firms, so that the board can comment on it.
6. The quotes received should be passed to us in full, by [date] at the latest, so they can be examined before the meeting notice is sent.
7. Please also state any existing relationship between your firm and the contractors consulted.
8. Yours faithfully, [Name], [role], [date].

Following up, and when to send registered post

With no answer after two weeks, follow up in writing, quoting the date of your original request. That phrase — "my request of 12 March, still unanswered" — is what gives the follow-up weight and what becomes your record.

If a second follow-up gets nowhere, switch to registered post and inform the whole board. Those dated exchanges belong in your annual report, in the section on the relationship with the manager.

A request with no deadline is not a request, it is a wish.

Once the quotes arrive

Compare them line by line, not on the bottom line. A cheaper quote that excludes stripping out the existing work is not cheaper. Our article on comparing works quotes sets out the grid to use, and the works tracking table takes over once the vote is carried.

Remember to explain your approach to co-owners: a bidding process run seriously is a strong argument at the meeting, provided it is told. See how to communicate better with co-owners.

Keep a trace of everything

Requests, follow-ups, quotes received, manager replies: none of it counts unless you can find it again. With CoproHarmony you file quotes and exchanges in one place, dated, available to every board member — including those who come after you. Create your space for free.