15 Questions to Ask Every HOA Management Company Before Signing a Contract

Why the Questions You Ask Matter

Most HOA management companies will tell you they are responsive, experienced, and the right fit for your community. The goal of a thorough evaluation process is not to take that at face value — it is to ask questions that reveal the truth behind the marketing.

These 15 questions, used across multiple management company evaluations, give boards the information needed to make an objective, well-informed selection. For each question, we explain what a strong answer looks like and what red flags to watch for.

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Question 1: What is your complete fee structure, including all fees beyond the base management fee?

**What you're looking for:** A complete and specific fee schedule covering the base management fee, all additional fees (delinquency referrals, extra meetings, document fees, after-hours calls, etc.), and any technology or platform fees. The management company should be willing to put the complete fee structure in writing.

**Red flags:** Vague answers ("we'll customize based on your needs"), unwillingness to provide a written fee schedule, or answers that reference only the per-unit fee without acknowledging additional charges. A management company that is not transparent about its fee structure at the proposal stage is less likely to be transparent about billing later.

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Question 2: What is included in the base management fee, and what costs extra?

**What you're looking for:** A specific, itemized answer. Full-service management should include financial management, maintenance coordination, board governance support, and owner communications without add-on charges for routine activities. The management company should be able to explain clearly which services are included and which are additional.

**Red flags:** A blanket "everything is included" answer without specifics (no management contract includes literally everything — always ask follow-up questions), or inability to answer specific follow-up questions about whether particular services are included.

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Question 3: Who will be our dedicated community manager, and what is their current client load?

**What you're looking for:** The name of the specific person who will manage your community, their credentials (CMCA, AMS, or similar), their experience level, and an honest answer about how many communities they currently manage. Industry best practice is 30–40 communities per full-service manager; higher ratios can indicate overloaded staff.

**Red flags:** "You'll be assigned a manager based on your location" (suggesting no specific person is assigned), unwillingness to disclose the manager's client load, or a manager who is currently managing 60+ communities (suggesting responsiveness will be limited).

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Question 4: What happens if our assigned manager leaves? What is your staff turnover rate?

**What you're looking for:** A clear succession process — how are communities transitioned when a manager departs? What is the timeline for establishing a new relationship? Honest disclosure of staff turnover, or evidence of a stable team.

**Red flags:** Defensive response, inability to describe a clear succession process, or evidence of high turnover (multiple manager changes in the past two years for communities you contact during reference checks).

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Question 5: What financial reports will we receive, how often, and how will we access them?

**What you're looking for:** A complete list of monthly financial reports (balance sheet, income statement, general ledger, bank reconciliation, AP aging, delinquency report, reserve fund statement), delivered monthly, with access through a board portal for real-time review between meetings.

**Red flags:** Monthly reports provided only as PDF email attachments with no portal access; quarterly reporting instead of monthly; inability to describe what specific reports are included in the monthly package; no real-time financial dashboard access.

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Question 6: Can you show me a sample financial package from a comparable community?

**What you're looking for:** Sample financial statements that are clear, comprehensive, and professionally prepared. The sample should show all the reports described in the prior question. Reviewing a sample reveals the actual quality and format of financial reporting.

**Red flags:** Refusal to provide a sample ("we don't share client financials"), samples that show only a summary with no supporting detail, or samples that look like basic QuickBooks reports without professional formatting or analysis.

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Question 7: How do you handle owner assessment delinquencies, and what does your collection process look like?

**What you're looking for:** A specific description of the delinquency management process — how delinquencies are tracked, what notices are sent and when, at what point collection action escalates, and how the process complies with state law (Michigan Condominium Act procedures, or California Davis-Stirling Act procedures, as applicable). The management company should be familiar with the specific state law requirements for your community.

**Red flags:** Vague answers ("we follow legal procedures"), inability to describe the specific notice sequence, or evidence that the management company outsources all delinquency management to outside counsel without active internal tracking.

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Question 8: What technology platform do you use, and what access does the board have?

**What you're looking for:** A specific platform (not just "we use accounting software"), a description of the homeowner portal, real-time board dashboard access, maintenance request tracking, and document management. Ask to see a demo of the board-facing platform.

**Red flags:** Monthly PDF reports with no portal; homeowner portal that only allows payment but not maintenance requests or communications; no real-time financial dashboard for board members; inability or reluctance to demonstrate the technology.

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Question 9: How do you manage vendors? What is your vendor qualification process?

**What you're looking for:** A vendor qualification process that includes insurance verification (workers' compensation, general liability), license verification, and performance monitoring. Ask specifically: who are your primary vendors for landscaping and snow removal in our area? A management company with genuine local expertise should be able to name specific vendors.

**Red flags:** No formal vendor qualification process; inability to name specific vendors in your area; all vendor coordination managed by the board rather than the management company; no insurance certificate tracking.

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Question 10: What is your after-hours emergency response process?

**What you're looking for:** A specific after-hours response process — dedicated emergency line, on-call protocol, defined response time standards for different emergency types (water intrusion vs. security vs. HVAC failure). Ask for the after-hours number and the specific person who will be on call.

**Red flags:** "Call the emergency line and leave a message"; response times that are undefined or measured in days rather than hours; owners and boards who describe poor after-hours response during reference calls.

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Question 11: How do you handle transitions when taking over management from another company?

**What you're looking for:** A defined transition process with a timeline (typically 30–60 days), a transition coordinator, a specific records request checklist, and a board onboarding process. The management company should be experienced with transitions and able to describe what they do.

**Red flags:** Vague answers about "working through the transition together"; no defined timeline or process; inability to describe how they handle situations where outgoing managers are uncooperative with records transfer.

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Question 12: Can you provide three references from communities similar to ours in size, type, and location? And can we contact them?

**What you're looking for:** Three verifiable references from communities of similar size, type (condominium, planned development), and location. Management companies confident in their work welcome reference checks. Ask for phone contacts, not just email — phone conversations reveal far more.

**Red flags:** References from communities that are very different from yours (size, type, geography); references that are clearly selected for their relationship with the management company's principals rather than their similarity to your community; reluctance to provide references until later in the process.

When you contact references, ask: How responsive is the manager? Are financial reports accurate and timely? Have there been financial errors or discrepancies? What was a difficult situation and how did the management company handle it? Would you recommend them? Why or why not?

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Question 13: What are your contract terms, and what is the process if we need to terminate?

**What you're looking for:** Clear contract terms: contract duration (typically 1–3 years), notice period for termination (30–90 days is standard), any early termination fees, and automatic renewal provisions. A management company with confidence in its service welcomes a short notice period — it means clients stay because they choose to, not because they are locked in.

**Red flags:** Long contracts (3+ years) with large early termination fees (more than one to two months of management fees); automatic renewal clauses that require unreasonably early termination notice; refusal to negotiate contract terms.

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Question 14: How do you stay current with changes in state HOA law?

**What you're looking for:** Evidence of ongoing education and compliance updates — memberships in state and national community association organizations (CAI, CACM for California, MHOA for Michigan), participation in legislative monitoring, internal training programs, and specific examples of how the company has adapted procedures to comply with statutory changes.

**Red flags:** Vague answers; no specific state association memberships; managers who are not credentialed; inability to identify specific state law changes that have affected their compliance procedures in the past year.

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Question 15: What distinguishes your company from competitors, and what should we know that other management companies would not tell us?

**What you're looking for:** A thoughtful answer that goes beyond marketing language — specific capabilities, specific differentiators, and honest acknowledgment of the management company's focus or limitations. This question often surfaces the most useful information of the evaluation.

**Red flags:** Generic marketing language with no specifics; inability to name a genuine differentiator; or conversely, a response that attacks competitors by name without substantive support.

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Putting the Answers Together

After completing evaluations with multiple management companies, use a scoring matrix to compare answers consistently. Suggested weighting:

• Financial reporting quality and board visibility (20%)
• Service scope and competency (20%)
• References (20%)
• Technology platform (15%)
• Total cost (15%)
• State law expertise (10%)

Resist the temptation to weight cost first. A management company that charges $2/unit/month less but delivers inadequate service is not a bargain.

Request a Proposal From APM

APM Management welcomes competitive evaluation. We answer these 15 questions directly, provide complete sample financial packages, offer board portal demonstrations, and give references from communities comparable to yours.

[Request a proposal](/contact#proposal) — we typically respond within one business day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many management companies should we get proposals from?

Best practice is three to five proposals. Fewer than three limits meaningful comparison; more than five creates evaluation burden without proportional benefit.

How long does the management company selection process typically take?

A thorough process — RFP issuance, proposal review, interviews, reference checks, board vote — typically runs four to eight weeks. Rushing the process increases the risk of selecting the wrong company.

Should we use a management company search consultant?

Management company search consultants exist but are more common for large communities (500+ units). For most communities, a structured RFP process handled by the board with support from the association's attorney is adequate.

What is the biggest mistake boards make when selecting a management company?

Selecting based primarily on price. The management fee is 15–25% of a community's operating budget. Saving $2/unit/month on management while receiving inadequate service creates far greater costs in the form of uncollected delinquencies, poor vendor management, compliance failures, and board time consumed managing the management company.