Which South Florida Condo Management Services Fit Your Board?

Last Updated: November 4, 2026

Table of Contents

• How South Florida Condo Management Services Differ
• Onsite vs. Portfolio Condo Management: Which Model Fits Your Community
• Small Condo Association Management: Options for Communities Under 100 Units
• Transparent Pricing and Fee Structures to Compare
  • What actually drives the fee
  • How to read a proposal line by line
  • Sample comparison scenarios
  • What to ask before you sign
• Florida Condominium Compliance and Hurricane Preparedness Requirements
  • The compliance calendar a manager should own
  • Hurricane and emergency preparedness: what a real plan contains
  • How to score compliance and emergency readiness
• Questions to Ask a Condo Management Company Before You Sign
• Condo Management Company Comparison Checklist for Your Board
• Scheduling a Management Consultation for Your Association
• Frequently Asked Questions

How South Florida Condo Management Services Differ

Choosing a condo management company in South Florida is one of the most consequential decisions a board makes when selecting condo management services for its community.

Management companies in the region generally fall into a few broad models.

We recommend starting with a clear picture of your community. A 300-unit high-rise with an onsite staff has very different needs from a 60-unit townhome community with a volunteer board.

Onsite vs. Portfolio Condo Management: Which Model Fits Your Community

The two most common delivery models are onsite and portfolio management. An onsite manager works at your property, usually during set hours, and handles day-to-day issues in person. A portfolio manager oversees several communities at once and visits each one on a scheduled basis.

Onsite management suits large buildings where residents expect a physical presence and where daily issues such as deliveries, move-ins, and maintenance requests arise often. Explore the full range of onsite, portfolio, and management-only services to see which fits your community.

The right fit depends on how often your community needs hands-on attention.

Small Condo Association Management: Options for Communities Under 100 Units

Smaller associations often ask whether management firms will take them on. The answer depends on the company, but many firms serve communities of all sizes.

This approach keeps costs predictable and gives smaller boards access to professional expertise.

When you speak with a provider, ask directly whether they serve communities your size and how many associations of comparable scale they currently manage.

Transparent Pricing and Fee Structures to Compare

Management fees are the single most misunderstood line in a condo association budget, and most providers publish nothing about how they are built. Boards that understand the mechanics of a management proposal negotiate better and avoid the surprise line items that appear six months into a contract. The goal is not to find the cheapest headline number; it is to compare proposals on an apples-to-apples basis.

What actually drives the fee

A management fee is a function of four variables, and every provider weighs them differently:

• Unit count and building type. A 40-unit garden-style association and a 300-unit high-rise with a parking garage and pool deck require different staffing, insurance, and accounting intensity. Fees are usually quoted per unit per month, so the per-unit figure is the number to compare, not the total contract value.
• Service model. Onsite management, portfolio management, management-only, and Virtual CAM arrangements carry different cost structures. Onsite staffing is typically the largest single driver because it includes salary, benefits, payroll taxes, and coverage for vacations and sick days.
• Scope of accounting. Full-service bookkeeping, monthly financial packages, reserve tracking, assessment billing, collections, and annual budget preparation may be bundled or itemized. A proposal that bundles accounting can look higher on the base fee but cost less than one that bills those services separately.

How to read a proposal line by line

Request that every provider submit a proposal in the same format so the board can compare columns rather than narratives. At minimum, require these line items:

1. Base management fee, stated per unit per month and as an annual total
2. Onsite staff charges, if any, including whether the association reimburses payroll or pays a flat staffing fee
3. Accounting and financial reporting, including whether the fee covers monthly statements, annual budget preparation, and audit or review support
4. Assessment billing, collections, and delinquency follow-up, including any per-letter or per-file charges
5. After-hours and emergency response rates
6. Additional meeting fees and the definition of a standard meeting
7. Project management fees for capital and special projects
8. Onboarding and transition fees, if any
9. Termination terms, notice period, and any early-exit charges
10. Insurance and bonding carried by the manager, with certificates provided

A common pattern is for a low base fee to be offset by per-item charges for statements, letters, and meetings. When the board adds those up against the prior year's actual activity, the true annual cost often lands close to the higher bundled proposal, but with more administrative friction.

Sample comparison scenarios

Because published fee schedules are rare, the most useful exercise is to model two or three scenarios against each proposal using the association's own history:

• Baseline year. Use last year's actual counts: number of board and committee meetings, number of delinquency letters, number of after-hours calls, and number of capital projects. Apply each provider's rate card to those counts.
• Heavy-compliance year. Add a milestone inspection, a reserve study update, or a special assessment. Ask how each provider bills the extra project management and owner communication.
• Transition year. Add onboarding, records transfer, vendor re-papering, and bank account changes. Transition costs are frequently omitted from the headline fee and can be material.

Watch out: a proposal that will not itemize its rate card in writing is not a pricing problem, it is a transparency problem, and it usually predicts how the provider will handle budget variances later.

What to ask before you sign

Ask each finalist to state, in writing, which services are included, which are billed separately, and what triggers an extra charge. Ask whether the fee escalates annually and on what basis, and whether the association or the manager bears the cost of software, postage, and bank fees.

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The table below summarises the fee line items a board should request in writing so proposals can be compared side by side.

Line item	What to request	Why it matters
Base management fee	Per unit per month and annual total	Compares true cost across proposals
Onsite staff charges	Payroll reimbursement or flat staffing fee	Often the largest single cost driver
Accounting and reporting	Monthly statements, budget prep, audit support	Bundled or billed separately?
Assessment billing	Collections and delinquency follow-up fees	Per-letter or per-file charges add up
After-hours response	Emergency response rates	Common add-on charge
Additional meetings	Definition of a standard meeting and extra-meeting fee	Board meeting count varies by year
Project management	Fees for capital and special projects	Billed on top of base fee
Termination terms	Notice period and early-exit charges	Affects cost of changing providers

Florida Condominium Compliance and Hurricane Preparedness Requirements

Compliance is where a management company earns or loses its value to a board. Learn the notice, fine, and hearing steps that protect your association when enforcing community rules. The association, not the manager, bears legal responsibility for most filings and governance obligations, but a competent manager runs the calendar, prepares the records, and flags deadlines before they become violations.

The compliance calendar a manager should own

Florida condominium associations operate under Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, and the related obligations fall into a predictable annual rhythm. A provider should be able to describe, without prompting, how it supports the board on each of the following:

• Annual meeting and board organization. Notice requirements, proof of notice, election procedures, and the organizational meeting that follows.
• Budget adoption and notice. The annual budget, the required notice to owners, and the timeline for adoption ahead of the fiscal year.
• Reserve funding and disclosure. Reserve accounts, the annual reserve funding disclosure, and the board's obligation to provide owners the opportunity to vote on reserve funding or waivers.

Statutory requirements change, sometimes annually. The right posture for a board is to treat the manager as the calendar-keeper and records-preparer, and the association attorney as the interpreter of current law. Ask each finalist to show a sample compliance calendar and a sample board-meeting package. A provider that cannot produce both is describing compliance in the abstract.

Hurricane and emergency preparedness: what a real plan contains

South Florida's storm and flood exposure makes emergency planning a core management function rather than an appendix to the contract. A written plan should be specific to the property and reviewed before each season. Ask for the plan in writing and walk through it section by section:

1. Roles and contact tree. Who declares the emergency, who communicates with owners, who coordinates vendors, and how the board reaches the manager after hours.
2. Pre-season checklist. Generator testing and fuel contracts, roof and drainage inspections, shutter and impact-glass verification, elevator and life-safety system checks, landscape and balcony item removal, and documentation of pre-storm condition.
3. Owner communication templates. Pre-storm notices, evacuation and re-entry guidance, elevator shutdown notices, and post-storm status updates, with the platform used to send them and the process for owners who have not registered.
4. Vendor standby list. Contracted tree, roofing, water-mitigation, elevator, and generator vendors, with response commitments and after-hours numbers.
5. Post-storm protocol. Damage assessment, documentation for insurance claims, water intrusion response, restoration sequencing, and the process for re-entry and amenity reopening.
6. Insurance claim support. How the manager documents losses, preserves evidence, and coordinates with the association's adjuster and carrier.
7. After-action review. A written debrief with the board after each event and updates to the plan before the next season.

Watch out: a plan that lives only in a binder and has never been tested is not a plan. Ask when the provider last ran a tabletop exercise or a live communication drill with an association of similar size, and ask to see the after-action notes.

How to score compliance and emergency readiness

Use a simple three-column score for each finalist: documented (the provider produced the calendar, plan, or sample package), described (the provider explained the process but produced nothing), and absent. Weight documented items heavily. Compliance and storm response are the two areas where a board cannot afford to discover a gap during an actual deadline or an actual storm.

Questions to Ask a Condo Management Company Before You Sign

Use these questions to evaluate any provider:

1. How many communities of our size and type do you currently manage?
2. Who is our primary contact, and how quickly do they respond to residents and board members?
3. What does your financial reporting package include, and how often is it delivered?
4. How do you handle vendor selection, bidding, and contract review?
5. What emergency and hurricane protocols do you maintain, and can you share them?
6. What is your transition process if we change management companies?
7. Are any services billed outside the base management fee?

Strong providers answer these questions clearly and provide documentation. Vague answers are a warning sign.

Condo Management Company Comparison Checklist for Your Board

Use this checklist when comparing providers side by side:

• Experience managing communities similar in size and building type
• Written proposal with itemized fees
• Onsite, portfolio, or management-only options matched to your needs

Score each provider against these items and discuss the results with your full board before a vote.

Scheduling a Management Consultation for Your Association

If your board is ready to explore options, the next step is a consultation. Harshman Community Management serves HOAs, condominiums, and high-rise communities across Palm Beach and South Florida, and offers onsite, portfolio, Virtual CAM, and management-only support. Pricing depends on your community's size, scope, and service model, so request a written proposal from Harshman Community Management for current figures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What services does a condo management company provide?

A condo management company typically handles day-to-day operations, including accounting and budgeting, owner and resident communication, board meeting support, vendor coordination, routine and preventive maintenance oversight, and rule enforcement. Some South Florida firms also offer onsite staffing, while others work from an office and visit the property as needed. Ask each provider to list exactly which services are included in its base fee and which are billed separately, such as special assessment work, reserve study coordination, or after-hours emergency response. A clear written scope of services makes it far easier to compare providers fairly and hold the company accountable once the contract begins.

How do condo associations choose a management company?

Most boards start by collecting proposals from three to five firms, then compare them on fee structure, staffing model, experience with communities of similar size and type, and how they handle communication and reporting. Check whether the company is licensed and whether its managers hold relevant credentials. Request references from associations of similar size, and ask how the firm responds to emergencies such as hurricanes. A structured comparison checklist keeps the evaluation consistent, so the board can explain its choice to owners and document why one provider was selected over the others.

Can a small condo association hire a part-time or virtual manager?

Yes. Smaller associations, including communities of roughly 80 units, often find that a part-time onsite arrangement or a virtual community association manager meets their needs at a lower cost than a full-time onsite manager. Virtual management relies on remote staff for accounting, communication, and vendor coordination, with site visits scheduled as needed. Confirm how quickly the firm responds to urgent issues, who answers phones after hours, and how often a manager attends board meetings. Ask for specifics rather than general assurances, and get the service level written into the contract.

What should a condo board ask a management company before hiring?

Boards should ask about the firm's experience with associations of their size and type, the staff assigned to their account, and how the company handles financial reporting, budget variance explanations, and reserve funding questions. Ask how work orders are tracked and how long response times typically run, and request examples of past emergency protocols. Clarify contract length, termination terms, and what happens during a transition from a prior manager. Put every answer in writing so the board can compare providers on the same terms and hold the chosen firm to its commitments.

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Harshman Community Management is ready to talk through your community's needs. Contact us to schedule a consultation and receive a proposal tailored to your association.