Elevate Community Management

Hiring a management company

What do HOA management companies charge in Minnesota?

Reviewed August 2026 · Elevate Community Management

The short answer

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 management fees are structured

Nearly every proposal you will receive prices the base contract per unit, per month, billed to the association (not to individual owners). The base fee covers the recurring core: bookkeeping, assessment collection, a dedicated manager, board meeting attendance up to a stated number, owner communication, and routine inspections.

Two other numbers matter as much as the rate. The monthly minimum is what actually binds small communities — a 16-unit association quoted "$25 per door" with a $1,200 minimum is really paying $75 per door. And the startup or transition fee (commonly a few hundred to a few thousand dollars) covers records intake, bank account setup and owner onboarding when you switch.

What do the typical ranges look like?

Treat published numbers as orientation, not quotes — scope differences make naive comparisons meaningless. That said, boards comparing Twin Cities proposals generally see:

  • Full-service, townhome/single-family HOA. Roughly $12–$25 per unit per month for communities of 50+ units; smaller communities pay more per door because of minimums.
  • Full-service, condominium. Usually higher — roughly $18–$30+ per unit per month — because shared building systems, insurance complexity and maintenance intake are heavier.
  • Financial-only management. Often $8–$15 per unit per month: professional books, collections and financial statements while the board self-manages the physical property.
  • Small-community minimums. Most firms will not run a full-service account below $1,000–$1,500 per month, whatever the per-door math says.

The add-on charges to ask about before signing

The base fee is rarely where budgets get hurt. Ask every bidder to put these in writing:

  • Extra meetings beyond the contracted number, and after-hours meeting rates.
  • Mailings — per-piece charges for printed notices, ballots, coupon books.
  • Collections work — late-account processing, lien filings, attorney coordination.
  • Project management — many firms charge a percentage (often 5–10%) of large capital projects. Ask when it applies and what supervision it buys. Our take on this is in property maintenance.
  • Resale disclosure certificates — usually charged to the selling owner, but confirm who sets and keeps the fee.
  • Vendor markups or referral fees. This is the one to press on. A manager who is paid by your vendors is not negotiating for you. We take none — bids reach the board as they arrived.

Why the cheapest proposal is often the expensive one

A lowball base fee has to be recovered somewhere: thin staffing (one manager spread across forty associations), aggressive à-la-carte charges, or vendor arrangements you never see. The pattern shows up a year later as slow financials, unanswered owners, and a board doing the follow-up work it thought it had hired out.

Evaluate the fee against the two failure costs it insures you against: special assessments born from deferred maintenance, and volunteer burnout that leaves the association rudderless. A well-run reserve plan and a clean annual budget are worth far more than the spread between bids.

When you are ready to compare real numbers for your community, request a proposal — it costs nothing and you will get a fee schedule with every add-on stated, not discovered.

Questions boards ask

Are HOA management fees paid by owners or by the association?

By the association, as a line item in the annual budget funded by everyone’s regular assessments. Owners don’t pay the management company directly, though certain owner-specific services — like a resale disclosure certificate when selling — are typically charged to that owner.

Do management fees include vendor costs like landscaping and snow removal?

No. The management fee covers the company’s services. Landscaping, snow, insurance, utilities and repairs are separate budget lines paid by the association to those vendors — the manager’s job is to bid, coordinate and supervise that work.

What is a fair management fee for a small association?

Below roughly 30 units, expect the monthly minimum to govern. If full-service minimums strain the budget, financial-only management gets you professional books and collections at a lower price while volunteers keep site duties.

Can the board negotiate the management contract?

Yes, and it should — meeting counts, included mailings, project-management percentages, termination notice and transition assistance are all routinely negotiated. Get every add-on rate in the contract itself, not in a side conversation.