HOA Management Cost

Running an HOA requires time, commitment, and expertise. Because most board members have their own jobs, families, and lives to take care of outside of the services they provide for the community, many associations turn to an HOA management company for the help they need to efficiently keep the community running smoothly.

If your community is thinking about hiring a management company but isn’t sure how much to budget for it, this is the article for you.

Decisions, Decisions

Most HOA management companies will have many different services available to you. Sometimes they will allow you to pick and choose which services you want to pay for and leave out the ones you don’t. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to go into the search for a management company by knowing which tasks your board can handle on their own and which tasks they could use a little extra expertise on.

Rule of Thumb

Although prices may vary between locations with varying costs of living, community sizes, or numbers of amenities, as a general rule, communities looking for an HOA management company can plan on spending $10 to $20 per unit every month for the company’s services.

A contract with these companies can last anywhere from one to three years, although it is usually recommended to start with a one-year contract until you are sure that the management company is a good fit for your community.

Read the Fine Print

One of the most important things an HOA board can do when deciding on which management company to use is to read the contract carefully. Some management companies will appear to have lower prices than others, but they might make up that gap in fees hidden within the terms of your contract. Watch out for fees that are charged per event (such as a recurring fee for every meeting your HOA manager attends or every time they perform a collection)! Other companies will already have those covered by the monthly cost, ultimately making those companies, which appear to be more expensive, cheaper in the long run.

Overall, the money you are spending on the management company comes from the homeowners in your community, so make sure that you are choosing a company that will serve the homeowners best. Budget wisely, ask questions, and read the fine print!

Often, in the case of finding a good HOA management company, an investment in the quality of service will outweigh the quantity of dollars spent.

At SpectrumAM, our goal is to make HOA management as efficient, affordable, and productive for our clients as possible. If you’re considering hiring property management services for your HOA, contact us today to learn more about how Spectrum can add value to your community.
Need more tips on how to be a Better HOA Board Member? Click here.