How many units should one HOA property manager oversee?

There's no universal cap, but a manager juggling 15 to 20 associations — especially a mix of small and large buildings — often can't give a small building the responsiveness it needs. Ask about total caseload and available administrative support behind the manager, not just headline account counts.

What percentage do HOA management companies typically charge for project oversight?

Project or construction-management fees for overseeing contractors on a major repair typically run 5% to 15% of the total project cost, on top of the standard monthly management fee. Always confirm this rate in writing before a capital project begins.

Does the Davis-Stirling Act apply to small HOAs with only a few units?

Yes. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act applies to qualifying California common interest developments regardless of size, so a 10-unit building has the same monthly financial review, reserve study, and (where applicable) elevated-structure inspection obligations as a large high-rise.

How often does California law require a reserve study visual inspection?

Under Civil Code §5550, boards must arrange a diligent visual inspection of major common-area components at least once every three years. This is separate from the exterior elevated-element inspection required under Civil Code §5551 (SB 326), which runs on a nine-year cycle.

Can an HOA management company hold association funds in its own bank account?

No. Operating and reserve funds must be held in accounts titled in the association's own name under its EIN, separate from the management company's operating funds and from any other association's funds, to prevent commingling and protect against mismanagement.

6 Questions Every Small Building Should Ask Before Hiring an HOA Management Company

Sep 12

6 min read

Quick answer: Before hiring an HOA management company for a small building (10 to 25 units), ask about a-la-carte fees, your manager's total caseload, their Davis-Stirling Act compliance process, their vendor network for older buildings, their 2 a.m. emergency protocol, and where your association's money is actually held. A firm that can't answer all six clearly and specifically is likely to treat a small building as an afterthought.

If you manage or sit on the board of a small association — a 12-unit Edwardian conversion in Pacific Heights, an 18-unit building in the Mission, or a mid-sized association anywhere in San Francisco and the Bay Area — hiring a management company is a very different exercise than it is for a 200-unit high-rise. Small buildings get the same legal obligations under California's Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act as massive developments, but a fraction of the assessment income to absorb mistakes, hidden fees, or a manager who's stretched too thin to answer the phone.

The goal of an interview isn't to find the cheapest bid. It's to uncover whether the company has the infrastructure to support a small association efficiently — not as a rounding error in a much larger portfolio. Here are the six questions that reveal the answer.

1. Fee Structure & Hidden Costs

Ask directly: "What exact services are excluded from the base monthly fee, and what do they cost?"

Small building budgets get derailed fast by a-la-carte charges that never show up in the glossy proposal. Push for a written pricing schedule covering:

Meeting attendance: Does the contract include all annual board meetings, or do per-meeting fees kick in after the first two? A company billing $150–$300 per "extra" meeting can quietly add thousands to your annual budget if your board meets quarterly or more.
Project management: If the building needs a major repair — a roof replacement, a facade repaint, a plumbing riser upgrade — does the manager charge a percentage to oversee contractors? Industry cost breakdowns typically put this construction-management surcharge between 5% and 15% of the total project cost, which on a $150,000 capital project is $7,500 to $22,500 on top of the base management fee.
Administrative tasks: What does the company charge for resale/demand packages required during a unit sale, escrow transfer coordination, and mailing physical compliance or violation notices? These "small" per-item fees are often where firms recover margin they didn't build into the base contract, as several HOA fee-structure breakdowns note.

Get the entire fee schedule in writing before signing — not verbally referenced "somewhere in the contract."

2. Workload & Prioritization

Ask directly: "How many associations and total units will our dedicated property manager oversee?"

Small HOAs are routinely handed to junior managers juggling 15 to 20 other properties. If your assigned manager's larger, higher-revenue buildings demand constant attention, your building's day-to-day needs get quietly deprioritized. As one property-management caseload analysis puts it, the raw number of associations matters less than the administrative, accounting, and supervisory backup the company provides behind that manager — a manager with strong support staff can handle more accounts responsively than an unsupported one juggling fewer.

Ask for specifics, not reassurance:

What is the manager's total portfolio (associations and units)?
What is the guaranteed response time for routine board emails?
What is the guaranteed response time for resident maintenance requests?
Is the manager a Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) through the California Association of Community Managers, or otherwise credentialed?

If the company won't commit to response times in writing, treat that as your answer.

3. California Legal Compliance

Ask directly: "What is your process for keeping the board compliant with the Davis-Stirling Act?"

California HOA law is exceptionally rigid, and the management company needs a bulletproof system to keep your volunteer board out of legal jeopardy. Confirm how they handle three specific, dated obligations:

Monthly financial reviews. Under California Civil Code §5500, the board must review operating and reserve account reconciliations, actual revenues and expenses against budget, the check register, the monthly general ledger, and delinquent-assessment reports every single month. Ask exactly how — and how quickly after month-end — these documents are packaged for board review.
Reserve studies. Under Civil Code §5550, the board must arrange a reasonably competent, diligent visual inspection of major common-area components at least once every three years. Does the management company proactively schedule and coordinate this, or does it fall on volunteer board members to remember? The Community Associations Institute's reserve funding policy reinforces why skipping or delaying this study is a real financial-liability risk, not just a paperwork formality.
Elevated structures. If your building has balconies, decks, stairways, or other wood-framed load-bearing elevated elements, Civil Code §5551 (SB 326) requires a licensed structural engineer or architect to visually inspect a statistically significant sample of those elements at least once every nine years, with the first cycle due by January 1, 2025. Ask how the company tracks and documents this specific inspection separately from the general §5550 reserve study — the two are often confused, but they're distinct legal requirements with different inspectors and different cycles.

A management company that can't cite these code sections by number, unprompted, likely isn't tracking them systematically for your building.

4. Local Vendor Networks

Ask directly: "Can you provide examples of local vendors you use for older buildings, and how do you vet them?"

Managing a 10- to 25-unit Victorian or Edwardian building in San Francisco and the Bay Area requires a very different skill set than managing a new concrete high-rise. Knob-and-tube wiring, cast-iron plumbing stacks, and century-old foundations demand vendors who are actually willing to take on small-scale jobs — not just book the largest contracts on their calendar. Ask for:

Named plumbers, electricians, and roofers the company has actually deployed on comparable older buildings in the last 12 months
How licensing and insurance are verified and re-verified over time
Whether the same vendors will show up for a 12-unit building or whether small jobs get routed to whoever's available last.

5. Emergency Protocols

Ask directly: "If a pipe bursts at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday, exactly what happens when a resident calls your emergency line?"

Walk through the full chain of escalation, not the marketing summary. Determine whether the company uses a third-party after-hours call center, and — critically — whether that call center has the authority to directly dispatch a specialized emergency vendor, or whether it simply logs a message and leaves a voicemail for a property manager who's asleep. A management company that can't describe this process in specific, step-by-step detail almost certainly hasn't tested it.

6. Financial Security

Ask directly: "How do you handle invoice approvals, and where are our funds held?"

To prevent mismanagement or commingling, your association's operating and reserve funds must be held in separate bank accounts titled in the HOA's own name — never pooled with the management company's operating funds or with other associations' money. This is a foundational protection outlined for California owners in the Department of Real Estate's consumer guide to living in a common interest development. Also establish the exact dollar threshold below which the manager can approve and pay a vendor invoice unilaterally, and above which explicit board sign-off is required before any check goes out.

Quick Reference: The Interview Checklist

Category	Key Question	Red Flag Answer
Fees	What's excluded from the base fee?	Vague or "we'll cover it in the contract"
Workload	How many units per manager?	No specific number, no response-time commitment
Compliance	How do you handle §5500, §5550, §5551?	Can't name the code sections
Vendors	Which vendors handle small, older buildings?	No named vendors, generic "we have a list"
Emergencies	What happens at 2 a.m.?	Call center just takes a message
Financial security	Where are our funds held?	Commingled or pooled accounts

Frequently Asked Questions

How many units should one HOA property manager oversee? There's no universal cap, but a manager juggling 15 to 20 associations — especially a mix of small and large buildings — often can't give a small building the responsiveness it needs. Ask about total caseload and available administrative support behind the manager, not just headline account counts.
What percentage do HOA management companies typically charge for project oversight? Project or construction-management fees for overseeing contractors on a major repair typically run 5% to 15% of the total project cost, on top of the standard monthly management fee. Always confirm this rate in writing before a capital project begins.
Does the Davis-Stirling Act apply to small HOAs with only a few units? Yes. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act applies to qualifying California common interest developments regardless of size, so a 10-unit building has the same monthly financial review, reserve study, and (where applicable) elevated-structure inspection obligations as a large high-rise.
How often does California law require a reserve study visual inspection? Under Civil Code §5550, boards must arrange a diligent visual inspection of major common-area components at least once every three years. This is separate from the exterior elevated-element inspection required under Civil Code §5551 (SB 326), which runs on a nine-year cycle.
Can an HOA management company hold association funds in its own bank account? No. Operating and reserve funds must be held in accounts titled in the association's own name under its EIN, separate from the management company's operating funds and from any other association's funds, to prevent commingling and protect against mismanagement.

Ready to Interview a Management Company That Won't Treat Your Building as an Afterthought?

Small buildings deserve the same rigor, responsiveness, and legal diligence as any high-rise — just without the runaround. If you're evaluating HOA management companies for a small building in San Francisco and the Bay Area, get in touch with SNS Management to see how a boutique-sized caseload changes the answers to every question above.

SNS Management | Sausalito, CA | Sept 12th, 2026