Choosing a condo management company in Pinellas County is a scope and operating-model decision, not a beauty contest between proposals. The board should define the work, verify Florida credentials, understand the assigned team’s capacity, compare total cost, and test how each company handles records, money, vendors, meetings, emergencies, and transitions.
Begin with the community, not the bidders
Prepare a profile: unit count, buildings and stories, age, amenities, staff, annual budget, assessment frequency, meetings, software, open claims, SIRS and milestone status, reserve projects, delinquencies, litigation, owner communication needs, and desired onsite hours. Identify the top five outcomes for the first year.
Without a common scope, one proposal may include weekly inspections and four evening meetings while another includes monthly inspections and charges per meeting. The base fees are not comparable.
Florida licensing and credentials
Section 468.431 defines compensated community association management requiring specialized knowledge. CAM licensure generally applies when the association has more than 10 units or an annual budget above $100,000. Firms responsible for management above statutory thresholds also must be licensed under § 468.432. Verify individual and firm status in DBPR’s license search.
LCAM is the Florida license; industry designations such as CMCA can indicate additional education but do not replace state licensure. Confirm who will actually perform licensed tasks and who supervises assistants.
Condo experience is different from HOA experience
Condominiums often involve building envelopes, elevators, fire systems, shared plumbing, insurance appraisals, milestone inspections, SIRS, restricted-access projects, and detailed official records. Ask for experience with communities similar in physical form and complexity—not only a total door count.
Local Pinellas County context
Pinellas communities vary sharply. Palm Harbor and Safety Harbor associations may have garden-style buildings or mixed assets; Clearwater and Largo include mid- and high-rise operations; Dunedin and Tarpon Springs add historic and waterfront contexts; Clearwater Beach, Belleair, Indian Rocks Beach, Madeira Beach, Treasure Island, and St. Pete Beach can face salt-air, wind, flood, access, evacuation, and post-storm vendor challenges. St. Petersburg and Seminole span dense urban and lower-rise settings.
These are planning prompts, not assumptions about every property. Ask how the company adapts to the association’s flood zone, construction, age, equipment, staffing, and municipality.
Manager workload and team depth
Request the proposed manager’s current portfolio by community count, units, meeting nights, geography, and major projects. Ask what accounting, administrative, compliance, after-hours, and leadership support is centralized. Determine who responds when the manager is sick, on vacation, or managing a hurricane loss.
The title “dedicated manager” may mean assigned but not exclusive. Put onsite hours, inspection frequency, meeting count, and response standards in the scope.
Financial reporting and controls
Ask for a redacted sample monthly package: balance sheet, budget-to-actual, general ledger, bank reconciliations, cash, receivables aging, payables, reserve activity, and variance explanations. Understand approval workflows, signer controls, invoice verification, bank ownership, lockbox, positive pay, fraud escalation, collections coordination, year-end CPA support, and transition reconciliations.
The board should retain appropriate bank visibility and control. Software convenience should not make association data inaccessible.
Meetings, communication, and records
Define who drafts notices and agendas, validates statutory timing, assembles packets, attends meetings, records actions, prepares minutes, and maintains the compliance calendar. Ask how the company distinguishes board direction from individual director requests.
For records, evaluate indexing, retention, redaction, owner requests, 25-unit website/mobile posting requirements, backups, export formats, and ownership of domains and credentials. Test the portal from an owner and director perspective.
Vendor coordination and projects
Request the process from issue intake through scope, bid, license/insurance verification, board approval, scheduling, access, change order, invoice, punch list, warranty, and closeout. Management should coordinate; licensed engineers, architects, contractors, insurance professionals, attorneys, and CPAs retain their professional roles.
Ask how project fees are calculated. Percentage-based, hourly, flat, or included models create different incentives and total costs.
Emergencies
Obtain the written after-hours and hurricane protocol. Identify who answers, what qualifies as an emergency, approval limits, preferred vendors, resident messaging, property securing, damage documentation, insurance notice, expense tracking, and business continuity. Local presence helps only if the system is staffed and tested.
Contracts and total fees
Build a comparison table covering base fee and charges for meetings, mailings, printing, postage, resale documents, collections, inspections, projects, after-hours calls, technology, banking, onboarding, transition, records storage, tax/CPA support, and termination. Review annual escalation, term, renewal, cure, termination, indemnity, insurance, data, records return, and transition assistance with counsel.
20 Questions to Ask a Condo Management Company Before Signing a Contract
- Are the proposed manager and firm actively licensed in Florida?
- Who is our assigned manager, supervisor, accountant, and backup?
- What is the manager’s current workload and travel footprint?
- What comparable condominium experience does the assigned team have?
- What onsite hours and inspection frequency are included?
- What response and escalation standards will be contractual?
- How many board and membership meetings are included?
- When will the monthly financial package arrive, and what is in it?
- What bank controls and board visibility are maintained?
- How are delinquencies, payables, and reserve transfers tracked?
- How are SIRS, milestone, insurance, and compliance deadlines calendared?
- How are official-record requests and protected data handled?
- How will the 25-unit website/mobile requirement be supported?
- What is the complete vendor and project workflow?
- Which project-management charges are additional?
- What happens after hours and during a hurricane?
- Who owns and can export all data, domains, portals, and credentials?
- What does the first 30, 60, and 90 days of transition include?
- What is excluded and what additional charges commonly occur?
- May we speak with boards of comparable current and transitioned communities?
Score evidence, not presentation
Weight categories before interviews: team/capacity, financial controls, operations, governance/records, communication, emergencies, transition, technology, references, contract, and total cost. Require written follow-up for unclear answers. A polished presenter may not be the assigned manager.
Transition quality
A strong plan inventories banking, accounting, owner data, portals, records, vendors, keys, staff, claims, projects, legal matters, inspections, deadlines, and communications. Each item needs a source, destination, format, deadline, and validation. Review the warning signs and pre-termination checklist before issuing notice.
What your board should do next
Approve a written scope and weighted scorecard before requesting proposals. Interview the assigned manager and transition lead, check licenses and references, compare total fees, and have counsel review the finalist contract.
Moderne Association Management is owner-led and focused on organized records, clear communication, financial visibility, vendor coordination, and documented follow-through for Tampa Bay boards. To compare that model with your community’s needs, review condo association management services or request a proposal.
Educational only; not legal, accounting, insurance, employment, or contracting advice.