Read the agreement first
The management agreement sets the notice period, usually 30 to 90 days, whether termination is for convenience or only for cause, any termination fee, and what the firm must hand over. Give notice in writing, by the method the agreement names, on a date that lands the handoff at a month end. Do not stop paying the current firm; the records come faster to a client in good standing.
Choose the replacement before you give notice
Interview two or three firms, or decide to self-manage. Ask each for a references list of associations your size, their fee schedule including pass-through charges, which software owners will use, and their onboarding timeline. A firm that can take the records and be live in 30 days is worth more than a lower fee.
What to request from the outgoing firm
Ask for everything on the day you give notice, in writing, with a date.
The records list
- The general ledger, bank statements, and reconciliations for at least the last three years
- The owner roster with balances, autopay and ACH authorizations, and the delinquency file with every notice sent
- Governing documents, rules, resolutions, minutes, and the insurance policies
- Vendor contracts, W-9s, and the open work orders
- The reserve study, the budget, and the tax returns
- Keys, fobs, gate codes, the website domain, and the community's email and phone numbers
- Open violations with their letters and photos, and any litigation file
The money
Confirm who is on the bank accounts. If the accounts are in the association's name with the firm as signer, remove the firm's signers and add the new ones on the handoff date. If the firm held the money in its own trust account, the balance moves on the handoff date and the board reconciles the final statement. Owners' autopay needs to be re-enrolled with the new firm's system; tell owners early and give them a deadline.
The handoff week
Both firms, or the firm and the board, meet once with the records list. The new firm loads the roster and the ledger, confirms every owner balance against the outgoing ledger, and sends owners the welcome letter with the new portal, the new payment instructions, and the new office contact. The old firm forwards mail and email for 60 days.
The first 60 days
Expect a dip in collections while owners re-enroll in autopay, and a wave of questions. Have the new firm send a second notice at 30 days to anyone who has not signed in or paid. Review the first monthly packet line by line against the last one from the old firm; differences are either errors or things the old firm was not doing.