Which "cost" are we talking about?
Published July 13, 2026 · Updated July 13, 2026
Three neighbouring questions carry three different costs. Buying a plex — the purchase price, the down payment, the mortgage — belongs to your broker and your lender. Owning a plex — taxes, insurance, upkeep — is an ownership budget, outside this guide. Having a plex managed — delegating day-to-day operation to a manager — is the only cost this guide covers.
Delegated management covers the monthly cycle: tenants, maintenance requests, suppliers, follow-ups, reporting. Its price is negotiated in a written mandate — which is exactly why it compares poorly as a single line.
Pricing structures in Québec
Management proposals may use four broad structures: percentage of rents, monthly flat fee, hybrid pricing or per-event charges. Each allocates services and fees differently. None is inherently preferable; compare the written scope, exclusions and complete fee schedule.
What an advertised rate may not include — the items to verify
Before comparing two proposals, ask these questions of each:
- Is mandate setup or transition billed?
- Does administrative lease-up coordination have its own scope and fee?
- Is after-hours availability included?
- Is administrative coordination following an incident flat or per-event?
- Is administrative tracking of major projects separate?
- Does termination or file-transfer work cost anything?
Obtain the written list of answers before any comparison.
Administrative lease-up coordination may have a separate scope and fee. Leasing brokerage is no longer an activity reserved exclusively for real-estate brokers in Québec. When a separate mandate requires regulated real-estate representation, Casaforta assigns it to an appropriate licence holder. See the complete-management guide for the full distinction.
The size effect: duplex, triplex, multiplex
When a quotation includes fixed administrative costs, a smaller building spreads them across fewer units. The actual per-door effect still depends on the pricing structure, scope and included services.
For a duplex or triplex owner, the real question is therefore not "what is the rate?" but "what does it cover, and what is my time worth?": the threshold where delegated management earns its keep depends on your availability, your proximity to the building and the documentary discipline you are prepared to maintain yourself. Read the Self-Management vs Professional Management guide to decide.
Compare at equal scope
The only useful comparison is line by line: written scope against written scope, exclusions against exclusions, the complete fee schedule — monthly, per-event, setup, end of mandate. Comparing two naked percentages is comparing two unknowns.
The five questions of the complete-management guide form the evaluation grid; this guide adds the price dimension. For due diligence on the provider itself, read the Choosing a Manager guide.
Getting a defensible quotation
A serious quotation starts with what you provide: the unit count, the current leases, the building's general condition, the existing records and your service expectations. It comes back to you in writing with the scope, the authorization threshold, the exclusions, the per-event charges and the end-of-mandate terms.
Casaforta management is priced by quotation after qualification. The published "from $950" amount applies to the Owner Clarity Diagnostic™, a separate initial deliverable; it is not the monthly management fee. For complete-management mandates, the Diagnostic is the usual starting point and may be partially credited under the proposal's written terms. See the method in the Sample Diagnostic.