Key Takeaways:
- Buttonwood has over 14 years of experience and a near-perfect eviction record: just 6 across thousands of leases.
- Our simple 6% fee structure includes full-service management with no hidden costs.
- Proprietary tenant screening ensures consistent rent payments and long-term client satisfaction.
- Property owners receive 24/7 emergency support, transparent invoicing, and a secure digital owner portal.
- We manage commercial and residential properties across the GTA, from condos to mixed-use buildings.
- Buttonwood prioritizes long-term investment goals and not just transactions while remaining focused on the GTA market.
One of the most important decisions a real estate investor in the GTA can make is choosing the right property management company to partner with. We act as a bridge between you, your tenants, your property, and ultimately, your long-term return on investment. In order to ask the right questions that every property owner should be asking a management company before they hire, the team at Buttonwood Property Management compiled answers to the 10 questions we believe every investor needs to ask.
1. What Has Inspired The Start Of Your Property Management Company and How Does It Shape The Way Your Properties Are Managed Today?
It’s important for you to know and understand the company’s motivations. Are they in it for the long run, or only interested in transactional profits?
Toronto is one of North America’s fastest-growing cities and is incredibly transient with 50% of people living in Toronto who were not born in the city. We saw a clear gap in the Toronto market: a need for full-service property management to include deep expertise and ethical and affordable services.
Buttonwood was launched over 14 years ago with a relationship-based mindset. We’re here to foster lifetime relationships and establish peace of mind for our clients, not just facilitate transactions. This mindset of being in it for the long haul as a trusted partner has been one of our key drivers for growth.
2. What Makes You Different From Other Property Managers In The Greater Toronto Area?
Most companies claim to have the best reputation, care, and investment in their clients, but is that the actual truth?
Our own track record simply speaks for itself, with only 6 evictions for non-payment in the past 14+ years of business and thousands of leases. This is unheard of in the industry, and we have proprietary tenant screening processes and procedures. Our contracts are simple: 6% of the rent collected, no fine print, and no hidden fees. Other contracts typically have anywhere between 20 to 30 ancillary services. When you add those additional costs over time they impact your bottom line as an investor.
We always encourage clients (both property owners and tenants) to carefully read the online reviews as they are very revealing. Our clients are our biggest asset, and over 70% of our business growth comes from referrals!
3. How Do You Handle Tenant Placement and Ensure Consistent Rent Payments?
Having a troublesome tenant in your investment property costs time and money, which is why thorough screening matters more than most.
We’re proud of our low eviction rate because this reflects the time and care we have taken on our end before the keys are exchanged. Buttonwood’s deep expertise in tenant screening and the results we deliver to investors are uncommon in the rental industry.
4. What Would Happen When Something Goes Wrong at a Property Of Yours Like an Emergency in The Middle Of The Night?
Investors need managers who can respond quickly to emergencies and take initiative, not someone who passively passes on the responsibility.
Buttonwood operates through a 24/7 emergency response system and a vetted network of trusted tradespeople. Our property owners are kept updated and provided with transparent invoicing that’s stored on your online owner portal for reference and tax purposes. We take the stress out of issue resolution. You’ll never have to manage a crisis again, we will do that for you.
5. How Do You Keep Owners Informed Without Overwhelming Them?
Clear, structured communication is crucial for owners and prevents them from second-guessing their investment.
We balance transparency with efficiency. Our owners get detailed monthly reports, near real-time alerts when something urgent happens, and year-end summaries for tax purposes. Everything is accessible through a secure online portal.
6. What Types Of Properties Do You Specialize In, and Is Your Approach Different for Each?
Investors often carry different types of real estate assets in their portfolios. Sometimes this is residential, like condo units, single-family homes, or duplexes. Other times, it is a commercial or mixed-use building, and they want a one-stop service provider.
We manage both residential and commercial properties across the GTA. Our coverage area is from Burlington to Oshawa and from Lake Ontario to Newmarket and everything in between. We manage condo units, condo townhomes, freehold townhomes, single-family semi-detached, single-family detached, duplexes, and even triplexes up to 9 units per property.
We also manage commercial properties, including office, retail, and mixed-use buildings.
7. Do You Have Any Awards, Recognition, or Third-Party Validation?
Investors value social proof and acknowledgment, especially if they’re managing remotely. Buttonwood has received multiple awards from top brokerages, including the President’s Award (iPro Realty), Platinum Award, and 100% Club Award (Kingsway).
More importantly, our online reviews and referral rate show that our clients trust us to manage their assets like they’re our own.
8. What Advice Would You Give a First-Time Investor Looking to Hire a Property Manager?
This question usually reveals how well the company understands owners’ needs.
We think it’s important to always ask them about their eviction rate, their communication process, and how they screen tenants. That’s where 90% of property stress comes from. Also, make sure the property manager understands your goals, not just for the building but rather what you want from it in the long run.
9. Where Do You See Your Company in Five Years?
Investors want to align with partners who are stable and growth-oriented. Buttonwood Property Management is just getting started. Even though we are fast-growing, we treat every property like it’s our one and only priority. Our goal is to become the GTA’s gold standard for ethical, full-service management. Not necessarily the biggest, just the best.
We are not interested in growing outside of the GTA, although we get asked to do so pretty much every day. We want to be hyper-focused on the GTA and continue to provide exemplary service to our clients.
10. What’s the Biggest Compliment a Client Has Ever Given You?
This tells you what the company’s real value is, not just what they say, but how other clients view them. Our biggest compliments we receive for Buttonwood is the positive feedback we hear clients tell others when our team is not present, as well as the trust put into us when clients return for business.
It means we’re not just providing a service, we’re giving people peace of mind, which is what real estate investment should be about. A stable brick-and-mortar investment that appreciates over time while Buttonwood manages all the day-to-day activities.
The Buttonwood Commitment
Asking the right questions is the first step for real estate owners serious about maximizing their returns on investment in the Greater Toronto Area. Buttonwood Property Management offers you much more than regular day-to-day operations, we provide long-term partnership and trust and a track record of success.
