What self-managed means
The board, or a committee, does the manager's work: collects assessments, pays the bills, keeps the books, sends the notices, handles the requests, inspects, and prepares the meetings. Some self-managed boards hire a bookkeeper or an accountant for the financial statements and keep the rest. The legal duties do not change; the labor moves from a paid firm to volunteers.
The savings
Management fees for small and mid-size associations run roughly $10 to $25 per home per month, plus pass-through charges for mailings, late notices, and resale documents. A 60-home community pays $7,000 to $18,000 a year. Self-managed with good software, the same community spends under $1,000 a year on the tools and nothing on the labor, which is the point and the problem.
The costs
Hours. A treasurer who reconciles the bank, posts payments, and chases delinquencies spends several hours a month; a president who answers owners spends more. Turnover: when the volunteer who knew everything moves, the knowledge moves with them unless it lived in a system. Consistency: notices sent when someone gets to them, instead of on day 30, are the first thing a lawyer looks at. Conflict: enforcing rules against neighbors is harder than enforcing them through a manager.
Where it works
Communities under about 150 homes with simple common areas, a board with at least one member comfortable with money, no major litigation, and software that does the repetitive work: the ledger, the statements, the reminders, the notices, the resale documents. Communities with a high-rise, a gated entry with staff, or a large amenity set usually need a manager or an on-site employee.
The jobs, by month
Collections and the bank reconciliation every month. Statements on the community's day. The violation walk every two to six weeks. The budget in the fall, the annual meeting and the election on their dates, the insurance renewal, the tax return, and the reserve study update on its cycle. Resale certificates whenever a home sells, inside the state's deadline.
The point where a manager pays for itself
When the board cannot fill the treasurer seat, when delinquencies pass 10 percent of homes, when a capital project or a lawsuit arrives, or when the community grows past the size the volunteers can walk. Many associations use a hybrid: self-managed with an accounting firm for the books, or a manager for financial services only.