Board guides
The homework, done for you.
Serving on a board is a volunteer job with professional stakes. These guides answer the questions Minnesota boards actually ask — in plain English, with the statute linked when the statute matters.
Hiring a management company
What management companies actually do, what they cost, and how to switch without chaos.
What does an HOA management company actually do?
An HOA management company executes the board’s decisions: it collects assessments, keeps the books, coordinates maintenance and vendors, handles owner communication, and keeps the association compliant with its governing documents and state law. The board still governs — the manager does the daily work.
What do HOA management companies charge in Minnesota?
In the Twin Cities market, full-service association management is usually priced per unit per month — most proposals land between roughly $12 and $30 per unit, with monthly minimums (often $1,000 or more) for small communities. Financial-only management costs less; add-ons and startup fees vary widely and belong in writing.
How do you change HOA management companies?
To change management companies: check your current contract’s term and termination-notice window, pass a board vote, select the new firm, deliver written notice, and run a 60–90 day transition in which records, funds, keys and vendor relationships transfer. Done in order, owners should barely feel the switch.
Should your HOA self-manage or hire a management company?
Self-management works for small, simple communities with reliable volunteers and low-maintenance property. It starts to fail when the bookkeeping, collections, vendor supervision and legal compliance outgrow spare evenings. The middle path — professional financial management with volunteer site duties — fits many small Minnesota associations best.
The management transition checklist: everything that must change hands
A complete management transition transfers five things: funds (accounts reconciled to a final statement), records (governing documents through owner ledgers), vendor relationships (contracts and insurance certificates), physical access (keys, fobs, codes), and owners themselves (payment setup and clear communication). The incoming company should run the checklist; the board should receive a written transition report.
Running the association
The board’s job, and the Minnesota law that shapes how it must be done.
What laws govern HOAs in Minnesota?
Most Minnesota HOAs, condominiums and townhome associations are governed by the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act (MCIOA, Minn. Stat. ch. 515B), alongside the association’s own declaration and bylaws and, for incorporated associations, the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act (ch. 317A). MCIOA sets duties around meetings, budgets, replacement reserves, fines and resale disclosures.
What are an HOA board member’s responsibilities?
HOA board members are fiduciaries: they must act in good faith, with reasonable care, in the association’s interest — not their own. Practically, the board’s job is to adopt budgets and rules, maintain common property, enforce the documents evenly, protect reserves, and hire and supervise the professionals who do the daily work.
The association’s money
Reserves and budgets — the two documents that decide whether a community stays healthy.
What is an HOA reserve study — and does Minnesota require one?
A reserve study is an inventory of everything the association must eventually replace — roofs, siding, asphalt, mechanicals — with each component’s remaining life and cost, converted into a funding plan. Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-1141) requires budgets to include adequate replacement reserves, held separately and reevaluated at least every three years.
How should an HOA build its annual budget?
A Minnesota association budget is built in the fall: draft in August–September from real spending history and vendor renewals, set the reserve contribution from the funding plan, board adoption in October–November, presentation to owners as MCIOA provides, and new assessments effective January 1. The discipline is budgeting from evidence, not from last year plus 3%.