If you serve on a condo or HOA board in Broward County, there is a good chance you have already had the conversation: Should we hire a management company? Should we switch? Are we paying too much? It is one of the most consequential financial decisions a board can make — and one of the least transparent.
Broward has approximately 4,000 registered condominium associations with the Florida DBPR, representing roughly 199,000 individual condo units, plus tens of thousands of single-family HOAs across Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Sunrise, and Weston. Nationally, about 70% of community associations use professional management. In a market like Broward — with aging coastal high-rises, a heavy 55+ community concentration, and the same insurance and SIRS pressures driving Miami-Dade — the percentage is likely higher.
Broward's defining feature is its split geography. The coastal belt from Hallandale Beach to Pompano Beach is dominated by 1970s and 1980s high-rise condo towers now hitting their milestone-inspection deadlines. The inland belt — Coral Springs, Plantation, Pembroke Pines, Weston — is dominated by master-planned HOA communities and 55+ developments operating under Chapter 720 rather than Chapter 718. Those two worlds buy management services very differently. This guide covers both.
What management companies actually do
A community association management company acts as the operational arm of your board. The board sets policy; the management company executes it. In Florida, any individual who receives compensation for managing an association with more than 10 units or an annual budget exceeding $100,000 must hold a Community Association Manager (CAM) license from the DBPR. Both individual CAMs and the firms that employ them are licensed separately.
The core services typically bundled into a Broward management contract include:
Financial management
- Collecting assessments and dues
- Paying vendors and invoices
- Preparing monthly financial statements
- Annual budget preparation
- Coordinating audits and tax filings
- Managing delinquency and lien processes
Administrative and compliance
- Board meeting preparation and attendance
- Recording and distributing minutes
- Maintaining official records
- Sending notices and communications
- Processing architectural review requests
- Managing insurance renewals
Maintenance and vendors
- Coordinating routine and emergency repairs
- Soliciting bids from contractors
- Supervising on-site staff
- Conducting property inspections
- Managing capital improvement projects
Resident relations
- Handling resident inquiries and complaints
- Enforcing rules and issuing violations
- Processing estoppel letters for sales
- Managing move-in/move-out logistics
- Running owner portals and communications
Not all of these services are included in every base contract. Many companies charge separately for after-hours emergency calls, special-assessment processing, extra board meetings, and project management on capital improvements. Always request an itemized fee schedule before signing.
How they're actually structured
Understanding how a management company operates day-to-day matters before you sign — because the staffing model determines how much you actually pay, how much control you retain, and how hard it is to leave.
There are two layers to every management relationship:
The portfolio manager (off-site)
Every community is assigned a portfolio manager — a CAM-licensed employee of the management company who works from the company's office. This is the person who handles your financials, attends board meetings, coordinates vendors, and fields complaints. But they are not dedicated to your community. A typical portfolio manager is assigned 6-15 communities simultaneously, spending roughly 8-10 hours per week on each. This is the person who changes every 12-18 months when they burn out or get reassigned — and each time, your community's institutional knowledge walks out the door.
The on-site team (for larger Broward buildings)
For mid-rise and high-rise condos along the Broward coast, the management company typically places on-site staff — building manager, front desk attendants, concierge, maintenance workers, and janitorial crews. This is where it gets important: who actually employs those people?
Model A: Management company employees
The on-site staff are W2 employees of the management company. The company handles payroll, HR, benefits, workers' comp, hiring, and firing. Your association pays the management company a fee that covers these salaries plus a markup of 15-25%. This is the model used by most large firms — it is why Castle Group has 2,700+ employees and FirstService has thousands more. Those are not all corporate office workers; they are overwhelmingly on-site staff placed at communities.
Model B: Association employees
The association hires its own on-site staff directly. They are W2 employees of the HOA or condo association. The management company provides the portfolio manager and back-office support, but does not employ the on-site team. If you fire the management company, your staff stays. This model gives you more control and avoids the payroll markup — but your board takes on HR responsibility.
- Under Model A, if your association fires the management company, all on-site staff leave with them — including the building manager who has been there for years and knows every pipe, elevator, and vendor relationship
- This is one of the most powerful lock-in mechanisms in the industry, and many Broward boards do not realize it until they try to switch
- Before signing any contract, ask explicitly: "Are the on-site staff employees of your company or employees of the association?" Get the answer in writing
The three Broward-headquartered giants
Few people outside the industry realize this, but three of the largest community-association management firms in Florida are headquartered within 15 miles of each other in Broward County. If you serve on a Broward board, the three firms below collectively touch a substantial percentage of your neighbors. Each takes a different approach to ownership, scale, and specialty.
| Company | Broward HQ | Founded | Ownership | Florida scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Group | Plantation | 1996 (FL) | Privately held, founder-controlled | 500+ communities, 2,700+ employees |
| Campbell Property Management | Deerfield Beach | 1953 | 100% locally owned | 300+ associations, 75,000+ homeowners |
| FirstService Residential | Dania Beach | 1990 (FL via Continental Group) | Public — parent FSV (NASDAQ) | Largest manager in Florida |
Castle Group (Plantation)
Castle Group is the largest privately held community-association management company in Florida. Founded in 1996 in Plantation by James Donnelly, his brother Robert, and Craig Vaughan after relocating from Ottawa, Castle has grown to 500+ communities and 2,700+ employees while remaining founder-controlled. James Donnelly is still Chairman; Jordan Goldman became CEO in 2025. Castle is known for its "Royal Service" brand promise, a strong tech platform (Castle Connect), and a focus on luxury oceanfront and master-planned properties. Its presence is heaviest along Galt Ocean Mile and central-Broward luxury towers, with offices stretching from Jacksonville to Bonita Springs.
Campbell Property Management (Deerfield Beach)
Campbell is the oldest of the three Broward-headquartered firms, founded in 1953 — the same year Eisenhower took office. It is also the most strictly local: Campbell operates only in South Florida, from Miami through Orlando, with no multi-state ambitions. The company manages 300+ community associations and serves over 75,000 homeowners, self-reports a 98% renewal rate, and remains 100% locally owned according to its website. For boards that want a long-tenured, family-style local partner rather than a national operator, Campbell is the canonical choice.
FirstService Residential (Dania Beach)
FirstService is the largest community-association manager in Florida and one of the largest in North America. Its Florida headquarters is in Dania Beach, with additional offices in Plantation. The Florida operation traces back to The Continental Group, founded in Hollywood in 1990 by Gene Gomberg, which became the largest manager in Florida before being acquired by FirstService in 1997. The combined entity rebranded entirely as FirstService Residential in 2013. The parent, FirstService Corporation, is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as FSV. In 2024, FirstService acquired Rizzetta & Company, entering the Florida CDD special-district market. In January 2026, FirstService added seven active-adult communities across FL, GA, and TN — signaling that 55+ communities are an active growth pillar.
Other major firms operating in Broward
Beyond the Broward-headquartered three, several other large national and regional firms have a meaningful Broward presence — often via locally branded subsidiaries.
| Company | Headquarters | Broward presence |
|---|---|---|
| KW Property Management (KWPMC) | Miami | Dedicated Fort Lauderdale office; 100,000+ units statewide |
| Associa Florida | Plano, TX (national) | Operates via subsidiaries Premier Association Services (Plantation) and Marquis |
| Seacrest Services | West Palm Beach | 550+ associations across PB and Broward; offices in Pompano and Miramar |
| AKAM | NYC origin; SE HQ Dania Beach | New Pembroke Pines office; FLCAJ Diamond Award winner |
| RealManage | Texas (PE-backed) | March 2025: acquired two Coral Springs firms (United Community Management + Condo Management Alternative) |
The pattern to recognize: national-branded companies often operate locally via acquired subsidiaries that retain their original brand names. Associa is the parent of Premier Association Services in Plantation and Marquis Association Management in Miami; RealManage's South Florida book is built largely from the United Community Management and Condo Management Alternative acquisitions in 2025. Ask your prospective on-site CAM not just what brand is on the business card, but which company actually owns them.
Mid-size and local Broward firms
| Company | Broward HQ | Notable details |
|---|---|---|
| Allied Property Management Group | Pompano Beach | Multi-county footprint (Broward, PB, Miami-Dade, Treasure Coast) |
| MG Property Management | Pompano Beach | HOA-focused, Broward-centric |
| APM South Florida | Deerfield Beach | HOA, condo, community association management |
| Premier Association Services | Plantation | Associa-owned, locally branded; offices in Boca and Plantation |
| Lang Management | Coconut Creek | HOA + condo specialist for Broward and Palm Beach |
| Affinity Management Services | Miramar | Boutique South Florida focus |
The mid-size firms often provide more personal service and are more likely to keep the same manager assigned to your community for years rather than months. The trade-off is fewer resources for after-hours coverage, technology platforms, and emergency response at scale. Reference checks matter more here than for the top three — there is no national back-office to catch CAM mistakes.
What they charge in Broward
Broward management pricing follows a per-unit-per-month model for most communities. The range is wide and depends heavily on building size, complexity, and the scope of services included. Coastal high-rises pay materially more than inland HOAs.
Those headline figures are the total assessment a unit owner pays. The slice that goes to the management company specifically is much smaller — roughly $12 to $40 per unit per month for most Broward communities, depending on size, services, and whether on-site staff are included. The larger the community and the leaner the service scope, the lower the per-unit rate.
Typical pricing by community size
| Community size | Per unit/month | Estimated annual cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small inland HOA (10-50 units) | $25-$45 | $3,000-$27,000 | Often minimum monthly fee of $250-$375 |
| Mid-size condo (50-150 units) | $15-$35 | $9,000-$63,000 | Most competitive range for bidding |
| Large master-planned (150-400 units) | $10-$25 | $18,000-$120,000 | Volume discounts; may include on-site staff |
| Coastal high-rise (400+ units) | $10-$20+ | $48,000-$250,000+ | On-site management, concierge, lifestyle programming |
These are base management fees only. Total cost of a management relationship typically runs 20-40% higher once you factor in add-on charges for after-hours emergencies, special assessments, and capital project oversight.
The case for hiring a management company
For many Broward communities — particularly large coastal condos, buildings hitting milestone-inspection age, and associations navigating Florida's increasingly complex regulatory environment — professional management is not a luxury. It is a necessity.
Legal compliance is getting harder every year
Florida's legislative environment for HOAs and condos has changed more in the last three years than in the prior thirty. HB 1203 (2024) introduced criminal liability for board members and a 100-parcel website mandate. Section 720.3033 now requires board-member certification courses with annual continuing education. Condos face SIRS reserve study requirements and milestone inspections triggered by building age. A professional management company has CAM-licensed staff trained on these requirements.
Financial oversight reduces fiduciary risk
Florida law is explicit: board members owe a fiduciary duty to the association, and failure to maintain proper financial records can now result in criminal charges under HB 1203. For a board of volunteers without accounting backgrounds, outsourcing to a licensed firm reduces the risk of errors and personal liability.
Scale brings vendor leverage
A management company with 100+ communities can negotiate better rates on landscaping, janitorial, insurance, and maintenance contracts than a single board acting alone. In a market like Broward — where hurricane season drives up contractor demand every year and where coastal insurance is in crisis — having pre-existing vendor relationships matters.
Board member burnout is real
Serving on a Florida HOA board is an unpaid second job with personal legal exposure. When one or two board members burn out and resign, the community can lose institutional knowledge overnight. A management company provides continuity through that turnover.
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- Keep yourself compliant on every statute change
- Keep your board compliant across every workflow
- Keep your HOA compliant and your owners happy
The case against — and a Broward fraud case
Management companies are not universally loved. The industry has real structural problems, and Broward boards in particular have learned hard lessons in 2025-2026.
Cost is the obvious one
A 200-unit Broward condo paying $20 per unit per month spends $48,000 per year on base management fees — and that is before add-ons. Once you add on-site staffing markups, project oversight fees, and CPA work, total annual cost often exceeds $300,000 for a mid-size building.
Responsiveness and turnover
The most common complaint about management companies — in Broward and nationally — is unresponsiveness. The property manager assigned to your community changes every 6-12 months. Each new manager has to re-learn your community's history, governing documents, and ongoing projects. A CAI Homeowner Satisfaction Survey found that while 72% of homeowners were satisfied with their community association overall, only 58% were satisfied with their management company specifically.
Vendor conflicts and kickbacks
Florida Statute 718.111(1)(a) and Section 720.3033(3) explicitly prohibit officers, directors, and managers from soliciting or accepting anything of value from vendors. But enforcement is reactive, not preventive.
In January 2026, Broward property manager Michael Curtis was arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing between $600,000 and $1 million from Windmill Lakes Condominium in Pembroke Pines between 2021 and 2025. Investigators allege Curtis forged board signatures on more than 350 checks. He faces felony charges across at least four separate Broward cases. The pattern reportedly involved a small CAM firm operating through multiple related LLCs, with sole-signatory authority on association accounts.
This is not the norm — most Broward management firms are legitimate, licensed, and well-run. But it is a real reminder of why basic financial controls (dual-signatory approval, quarterly board access to bank statements, fidelity bonding that matches reserve balances) are non-negotiable.
A second 2025-2026 Broward case worth tracking: residents at Ramblewood East in Coral Springs collected approximately 200 board-recall petitions in 2025 and exhausted DBPR channels. The Coral Springs Police Department and city attorney are now reviewing the documents. The case underscores how slow DBPR can be on HOA matters — DBPR's authority over Chapter 720 HOAs is meaningfully narrower than its authority over Chapter 718 condos.
5 steps to verify a Broward management firm before you sign
Whether you are evaluating a giant like Castle or a boutique mid-size firm in Pompano Beach, every Broward board should run through these five steps before signing or renewing.
- Step 1: Verify the individual CAM license for the actual person who will be assigned to your community at the DBPR License Search. The license must be active, not lapsed.
- Step 2: Verify the management firm license separately — firms are licensed independently of individual CAMs. Both must appear in DBPR records.
- Step 3: Pull disciplinary history on both the individual and the firm. Past suspensions, citations, and consumer complaints appear in the licensee detail. Multiple actions are a red flag.
- Step 4: Confirm fidelity bond and E&O coverage in writing, in amounts that exceed your association's reserve and operating account balances combined. This is what protects you if a CAM commits fraud.
- Step 5: Cross-check the firm on Sunbiz at search.sunbiz.org. Look at the corporate filings, listed officers, and any related entities. A CAM owner whose name appears as a director or officer on multiple unrelated LLCs handling association funds is the pattern from the BDM case above.
Broward also publishes a county-level resource at broward.org/hoa that consolidates state and local guidance for owners and boards.
Self-management, hybrid, and the AI alternative
Not every Broward community needs a full-service management contract. About 30% of community associations nationally are self-managed, and inland Broward HOAs (Coral Springs, Plantation, Pembroke Pines) are particularly likely to operate without a third-party firm.
When self-management works
Self-management tends to succeed in smaller communities (under 50 units) where board members have relevant professional skills (accounting, law, construction), resident engagement is high, and the physical plant is simple. A 30-unit Plantation townhome HOA with a board president who happens to be a CPA is a very different situation than a 200-unit Hollywood Beach condo tower with aging elevators and a $2 million annual budget.
The hybrid model
Between full-service management and pure self-management, a growing share of Broward boards are exploring hybrid management. The board handles day-to-day operations, resident communication, and rule enforcement. A specialized firm handles only the back-office: accounting, assessment collection, financial reporting, and compliance review. A hybrid arrangement typically runs $1,500-$3,000 per month for financial-only management instead of $4,000-$8,000 for full service.
- Your community has 50-250 units
- Your board is engaged and has relevant professional skills
- You want financial oversight without giving up operational control
- You have been frustrated by unresponsive full-service managers
- Your budget cannot support $40,000-$100,000+ in annual full-service fees
The AI alternative for the operational load
The biggest challenge hybrid boards face is not accounting or insurance — it is the daily operational load. Answering the same resident questions over and over. Digging through governing documents to find a rule. Explaining assessment increases. Responding to "Can I install a satellite dish?" for the hundredth time. This is what drives board members to either hire a full-service company or quit entirely.
This is the problem Mosaic was built to solve. Mosaic is an AI-powered platform that reads your association's governing documents, budgets, meeting minutes, insurance policies, and Florida statutes — and gives residents instant, sourced answers 24/7. Board members get their evenings back. Residents get accurate answers in seconds, with citations to the actual documents.
What Mosaic handles
- Resident questions about rules, bylaws, assessments — 24/7
- Document search across all uploaded files
- Resale disclosure packages auto-compiled per FL 718.503
- Lender questionnaire pre-fill (FNMA 1076)
- Violation intake and rule verification from CC&Rs
- Compliance calendar — board certifications, SIRS, record-request deadlines
- Meeting notice generation and minutes drafting
What you still handle
- Financial management (or outsource to financial-only manager)
- Vendor contracts and maintenance coordination
- Board-level decisions and policy
- Legal matters and dispute resolution
- Insurance renewals and claims
- Capital projects and reserve planning
For a Broward board that is competent and willing to stay involved but tired of being a 24/7 help desk, the hybrid + AI approach is the most cost-effective path. Mosaic costs $199 per month and eliminates the single largest time sink for volunteer boards — while generating revenue through resale transaction fees that often offset or exceed the subscription cost.
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