05 Oct How to Choose an Apartment Management Company in St. Louis: 12 Questions to Ask

Most owners pick an apartment management company the way most sellers pick an agent: one meeting, a confident pitch, and a signature. Then the statements start arriving — or don’t — and you learn what you actually hired. These are the twelve questions we’d want answered before handing anyone a building, along with what a good answer sounds like. Bring them to every company you interview, including us.

The Money Questions

1. What’s your average vacancy rate — and how fast do you turn a unit?

On a multi-family building, vacancy is the biggest number on the page. A month of one vacant $900 unit costs more than most fee differences for the whole building. A good answer is specific: average days from move-out to move-in, how make-ready work gets scheduled, and what happens when a unit sits.

2. What do your fees actually include?

Management fees are a percentage of collected rent, but the list of what’s inside that percentage varies wildly: leasing fees, renewal fees, make-ready coordination, inspections, after-hours calls. A good answer is a written schedule of every fee you could ever be charged — before you sign, not inside the statement later.

3. Will I see the actual vendor invoices?

This is the single fastest way to judge a company’s honesty. Maintenance is where management relationships go bad, and opacity is how it happens. A good answer is yes — every maintenance line on your statement tied to its work order, with the vendor’s actual invoice attached.

4. Who reviews your books?

You’re trusting this company to collect, hold, and move your money through a trust account. A good answer describes real accounting discipline: itemized monthly statements, reconciliation, and review that goes beyond their own walls. (Our books are reviewed by an independent CPA firm — ask every company you interview what their equivalent is.)

The Attention Questions

5. How many doors does each manager handle?

Not how many doors the company manages — how many *your manager* will. There’s no magic number, but a portfolio manager covering a thousand doors is doing triage, not management. A good answer names the actual human assigned to your property and how thin they’re spread.

6. Who do I call — and who calls me back?

The most common complaint owners bring us about their current manager isn’t fees. It’s silence. A good answer is a named contact with a direct line, plus the rhythm: when you’ll hear from them without having to ask.

7. When did your team last walk a property like mine?

Software can track work orders; it can’t notice the downspout dumping water at the foundation. A good answer treats regular, documented site visits as part of the job — with photos you can see, not a checkbox you take on faith.

8. What’s your experience with buildings like mine?

A company built on single-family rentals thinks in houses. Multi-family is different: shared systems, common areas, tenant mix, occupancy permits, and the compounding cost of letting units sit. A good answer includes real multi-family, commercial, or mixed-use work — ask for specifics, not a brochure.

The Exit Questions

9. What would it take to leave you?

Ask it bluntly, in the first meeting. Contract length, notice period, cancellation fees, and — critically — how your leases, deposits, and records transfer out. A good answer is short and unbothered. Companies that are hard to leave know why owners stay.

10. What happens to tenant deposits and lease files if we part ways?

Switching managers is routine; losing track of deposits during a switch is a lawsuit. A good answer walks you through the handoff mechanics without being defensive about the question.

11. Can you take over a building that’s struggling?

Some companies maintain; fewer can turn a building around. If your property has real vacancy, ask for the plan — not reassurance. A good answer sounds like steps and sequencing: evaluate with you, budget the repairs, fix the first units, fill them aggressively, and fund the next round from the new rent. (That’s our plan, written out: how we turn around apartment complexes in St. Louis.)

12. Why should I believe any of this?

Every company you interview will say yes to most of these questions. The tell is *how*: specifics or slogans, documents or promises, a named person or a department. A good answer survives being written into the contract.

Interview Us

We publish this list for the same reason we publish our realtor-interview questions: because we’d rather earn a building with honest answers than win it with a pitch. Hermann London is a boutique St. Louis brokerage that has managed residential, commercial, and industrial property across the metro since 2008 — mom-and-pop attention, big-company systems.

If you own an apartment building or multi-family property in the St. Louis area, start where our plan starts: we’ll walk the property with you — no forms, no fee schedule, no commitment. Let’s talk, or call or text Adam directly at 314-210-5115.