Academy/Community Management Companies
Selecting a management company
A board-built checklist for comparing proposals, not just prices.
Write your own scope of work first, then compare every proposal against it. Check the firm's AAMC accreditation, interview the specific manager you would be assigned, call their current clients, and price the whole contract, not just the base fee. Extras add up fast.
Start with your scope of work, not their pitch
Before you call a single vendor, write down what your association actually needs: how many units, what amenities, what the board wants handled monthly versus annually. Send that list to every firm you're considering and score their responses against it, not against each other's marketing.
"Draft your own statement of work (SOW) and distribute it to your management candidates."
Source: Tips for Evaluating a Management Proposal, Keystone Property Management
A firm that sends back a generic brochure without engaging your list is a warning sign. One that asks your board follow-up questions about your community is doing the work you actually hired it to do.
Check what the credentials actually mean
CAI's AAMC mark is a company-level accreditation, not an individual manager's credential. It signals the firm as a whole, not just one employee, has met CAI's requirements.
"The AAMC accreditation demonstrates a company's commitment to providing the unique and diverse services community associations need."
Source: AAMC Accreditation, CAI Keystone Chapter
A CMCA credential, by contrast, belongs to an individual manager. A firm can employ credentialed managers without itself being AAMC accredited, and vice versa; ask which claim you're actually being sold. Only a handful of states require managers to hold a state license at all; confirm whether yours is one of them before assuming a license is even relevant to your search.
You're hiring the firm, but interview the assigned manager
The proposal names a company, but the person answering your phone calls is one individual. Ask about that person's account load and experience, and confirm they're actually the manager you'd be assigned, not a name used to win the pitch.
"You are hiring the property management company, not that particular manager."
Source: Tips for Evaluating a Management Proposal, Keystone Property Management
That cuts both ways: a great individual manager can leave or get reassigned, so the firm behind them still matters. Call the company's current clients before you sign, not after.
Price the whole contract, not the headline fee
Management fees come in a few common shapes: per door, flat monthly, a percentage of budget, tiered packages, or a low base fee plus a la carte add-ons.
"Per door/per unit: A flat monthly rate for each home in the community (the most common model)."
Source: HOA Management Fees: Cost, Inclusions and Extra Charges, RowCal
The lowest base number can still be the more expensive contract once you add printing and mailing, per-violation enforcement charges, resale document fees, after-hours calls, and technology fees. Ask every firm for the same itemized extras list and compare totals, not headlines. See management fees and extra charges for what to itemize.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Two firms respond to your board's request. One builds its proposal around your list of services and asks about your amenities. The other sends a generic brochure. What does the second firm's response signal?
Company A holds CAI's AAMC accreditation. Company B's owner personally holds a CMCA credential, but the company itself is not accredited. What is the accurate way to describe this difference?
A proposal quotes a base management fee 20 percent below every competitor's. Before signing, what should the board do?
Sources
- Tips for Evaluating a Management Proposal, Keystone Property Management
- AAMC Accreditation, CAI Keystone Chapter
- HOA Management Fees: Cost, Inclusions and Extra Charges, RowCal
- 2025 Legislative Report for Community Association Manager Licensing Regulations, CAI Advocacy
Community Management Companies
Ready to build the request itself? Start with management RFPs.
Whether a management firm or its individual managers must hold a state license, and what your own governing documents require before the board can delegate management duties, both vary by state and by your association's documents.