Top 10 Condo Management Companies in Chicago
Condos make up roughly one in five homes in Chicago, per DePaul University’s Institute for Housing Studies, and more than half the housing stock in neighborhoods like the Loop and Near North Side. Buy one, and you automatically join an association.
Someone has to run that association day to day, and that’s the work of the condo board. Condo board members are teachers, retirees, engineers, and parents, squeezing board business around a job that has nothing to do with real estate. The one solution boards have to make their association run professionally is to hire a condo management company. In my experience, it’s also the decision that predicts almost everything that goes wrong later.
And Illinois law doesn’t have guardrails to protect associations from poor management. For example, the law requires boards to budget “reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance” and never defines “reasonable,” leaving nobody to translate that into an actual number for your roof or elevators. If your chosen management company doesn’t do things professionally, this gap in the state law has real teeth.
A good example is Chicago’s Granville Tower, which had to levy a $4.15 million special assessment, a dispute that reached the Illinois Appellate Court. Other than that, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will flag a building ineligible for conventional financing if it’s carrying more than $10,000 per unit in unfunded critical repairs, locking out every owner until the board closes the gap. You can prevent most of this, but it starts with hiring the right company. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the top 10 condo management companies in Chicago: what they cover, where each tends to shine, and the questions worth asking before you sign the contract.
How I evaluated the best condo management companies in Chicago
Condo management isn’t one skill set in Chicago. Here are a few things worth checking with every firm on this list:
Licensing
Illinois requires a license for both the individual manager assigned to your building and, since June 2023, the management firm itself, tracked by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Every licensed firm must also name a “Designated Community Association Manager” personally accountable for its work. IDFPR runs a free license lookup, so check it yourself.
Façade compliance
Any Chicago building 80 feet or taller must file exterior-wall inspection reports under the city’s Façade Ordinance, with a hands-on Critical Examination due every four, eight, or twelve years, depending on cladding. A firm with high-rise experience will know where your building stands in that cycle and know what to do.
Winter readiness
Chicago requires snow to be cleared from sidewalks by 10 p.m. the same day it falls, or 10 a.m. if it falls overnight, with fines up to $500 per violation. Rather than asking whether a company offers snow removal, ask who’s physically out there at 6 a.m. after a storm: an in-house crew, a subcontractor, or an on-call list that might not pick up.
Run every company through these filters. That said, here are the top 10 condo management companies in Chicago.
1. Hales Property Management
Founded in 2003 by Chicago property owners frustrated with other management companies, Hales Property Management has stayed deliberately narrow. In fact, its site lists 20 to 70 units as its sweet spot. Current scale runs to roughly 600 units across 117 Chicago-area markets, handled by a staff of 35. Designated manager Steven R. Walter holds both the CMCA and AMS designations from the Community Associations Institute.
Reviews
The picture here is mixed. Google rates Hales 4.5 stars out of 622 reviews, and Yelp trails at 3.8 from 122. The company is BBB accredited with a B+ rating. The lower-rated reviews raise a real concern: managers cycling mid-contract, leaks unresolved for over a month, no way for the board to view its own bank account activity, and billing terms that reportedly changed without warning. Against that, one long-tenured board president credited Hales’ payment system with cutting down late payments from owners.
Pricing
Hales doesn’t publish a rate card, but its blog cites $20-45 per unit monthly for portfolio-style management, with on-site staffing quoted separately. Two tiers: Complete Financials (accounting and reporting only) and Advanced (full day-to-day operations).
Bottom line
A solid fit in that 20-to-70-unit range, but there’s a huge gap between best- and worst-case client experiences. Ask for two or three current references for your building’s size.
2. Sudler Property Management
Sudler has operated in Chicago since 1927 and is credited with helping establish some of the city’s earliest homeowner associations. Worth noting that there’s a separate, unrelated Sudler Management operating out of New Jersey, so confirm which one you’re checking. Sudler runs roughly 268 employees, and holds CAI’s Accredited Association Management Company designation and IREM’s Accredited Management Organization status, both held for decades.
Reviews
Depending on the platform, you’d swear you were looking at different companies. BBB gives Sudler an A+ letter grade, yet the actual customer star rating on that same profile averages just 1.67 stars out of 305 reviews. Employees rate the company better, at 4.2 on Glassdoor. Zoom into Yelp pages for specific buildings, though, and ratings drop sharply: 1.8, 1.9, and 2.3 stars at three properties.
Remember that a company-wide score reflects how a firm treats staff and complaints in aggregate, while a building-level score reflects the manager actually assigned to your association. Sudler’s history also includes a complaint that a former manager used derogatory language toward a resident without executive follow-up. Ask what changed since, and how Sudler protects residents today.
Bottom line
Sudler brings a century of operating history and real institutional credibility, but don’t let the brand name make the decision for you. Get the name of the manager who’d actually be assigned to your building, and look up that person, not just the parent company.
FCM’s marketing traces the firm to 1998, though BBB records list a 2001 start date. Per its CAI directory listing, FCM takes on associations from six units up to large high-rises, wider than firms locked into one size tier, and offers financing for common-element repairs. The company currently serves 147 associations. But where FCM stands out is its executive bench: Lou Lutz holds the CMCA and PCAM designations (PCAM is CAI’s highest credential), plus a CPM designation and broker and insurance producer licenses.
Reviews
Birdeye rates FCM 4.3 from 457 reviews, and BBB grades it A+, though that accreditation is recent, dated April 2025. Weighed against that, the most recent reviews on FCM’s BBB profile are uniformly negative and specific: a mailbox mix-up that kept court notices from a resident for half a year, and a water shutoff that preceded resident notice instead of following it. The common thread is communication timing, not service quality. Ask FCM how it documents and time-stamps notices before planned interruptions.
Pricing
FCM offers Full-Service management or a lighter Financial-Only tier for boards that self-manage but want professional bookkeeping.
Bottom line
The PCAM-credentialed executive team here is rare, and the size flexibility is great. But the recent review pattern around notice and communication is specific enough to pressure-test before you sign.
4. Chicagoland Community Management
Before evaluating Chicagoland Community Management’s service, sort out which legal entity you’re dealing with. “Chicagoland Community Management, Inc., is now considered inactive by BBB, and its own registration records list a 1995 start date regardless. A separate entity, “Chicagoland Community Management, LLC,” formed in August 2023, now operates the familiar phone number and website. In my research, I didn’t find any clarification whether this reflects a sale, a transfer, or a new operator reusing a recognized name, so ask about it.
Reviews
The newer LLC has its own black mark: an F from BBB, for not responding to four filed complaints. On Google, the company is rated at 4.3 stars out of 141 reviews, which is not bad anyway.
Bottom line
The real starting question here has nothing to do with service quality; it’s which legal entity would actually be on your contract. Given the inactive Inc.’s history and the new LLC’s unanswered-complaint rating, confirm the entity, ownership history, and licensing status through IDFPR before comparing this firm on anything else.
5. AssociationOne
AssociationOne markets itself as the antidote to large, impersonal management platforms, but it isn’t a Chicago-grown independent. It’s headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, covering the Twin Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, and Wisconsin. Its roots go back to 2013, though the business relaunched under current CEO Brian Borchardt and Principal Carl McElroy in March 2018. Chicago client feedback consistently circles back to the same few names, property managers Todd Klohn and Marsha Craft, and a manager referred to as Alexis, pointing to a small, stable local team rather than one with constant turnover.
Reviews
AssociationOne’s page shows steady, specific praise to Todd Klohn, described as dependable and easy to reach, a technician credited for a heating repair, and one owner recounting the CEO personally arranging a fair repayment plan after a water-line rupture. Independent sources complicate that a little: BBB gives the firm an A+, accredited since April 2024, but the two most visible reviews there pull in opposite directions, one three-year customer praising genuine service, and another describing residents feeling overlooked.
Bottom line
Reputation here circles back to the same handful of local names: great if your building lands with that team, less useful if it doesn’t. Given the out-of-state headquarters, ask which local manager would handle your building, request two or three Chicago references, and confirm IDFPR status.
6. Chicago Property Services
Salvatore Sciacca founded Chicago Property Services in 2001 and has kept it focused on small associations since, ranging anywhere from 6 to 100 units. Sciacca brings more than 25 years in the industry and, notably, served on a condo board himself before managing one professionally, a genuine differentiator that suggests he knows what a board needs to hear rather than what’s easiest to report. He also publishes his actual Illinois manager license number (261.001386) rather than just claiming to be licensed, alongside CMCA and AMS designations and guest contributions to the Chicago Tribune.
Reviews
The sources genuinely disagree here, and not by a little. CPS is not BBB accredited and carries a D- rating, specifically because the firm failed to respond to two filed complaints, a different order of problem than a slow work order. On Yelp, the company has a rating of 2.3 out of 42 reviews. On the other hand, a Chicago real estate blog rates the company 4.5 from 69 reviews and points to longevity as evidence of a loyal client base.
Pricing
CPS uses three named service tiers, Serenity, Tranquility, and Zen, built around a proprietary “Zen Community Index” meant to track an association’s health over time rather than just react to the loudest problem.
Bottom line
Sciacca’s track record is verifiable, which counts for something, but the BBB non-response finding isn’t something to wave away. Raise it, and weigh the answer against references from associations close to your own size.
7. Forth Group
Forth Group’s own materials trace the company to the late 1980s (Yelp says 1986), though BBB’s official record lists a May 1999 start date. Whichever date is accurate, the firm has built a genuine range: it manages HOAs and condos anywhere from 30 to 700 units, spanning mid-rise and high-rise buildings. It also takes on co-ops and commercial properties. It states that every manager holds the CMCA designation and is licensed and insured. But I recommend you get the name and license number of whoever’s assigned and check it through IDFPR.
Reviews
Forth Group is BBB accredited, with an A+ rating. On Yelp, the company has a rating of 3.0 stars out of 90 reviews, and on Google, it has a rating of 4.3 out of 219 reviews.
Pricing
Service tiers include limited-service and remote portfolio management, plus an accounting-and-portal-only option for boards with capable volunteers who mainly want professional bookkeeping.
Bottom line
Few competitors here will comfortably take on both a 30-unit walk-up and a 700-unit tower, but the credential trail is thinner. Get the manager’s name and license number, verify it, and talk to two or three current clients before you sign.
8. Foster Premier
Buffalo Grove-based and independently owned since 1992, Foster Premier is led by CEO Ronald Foster and President Jamie Falconer, with a footprint across six counties and 200-plus associations. It holds CAI’s Accredited Association Management Company designation, and PCAM, AMS, and CMCA credentials show up on more than half of its managers’ resumes. On paper, this checks every box the boards should look for.
Reviews
BBB lists Foster Premier as an A+ Accredited Business, but actual customer reviews on that same page average roughly 1 out of 5 stars across nine submissions, a gap explained by how BBB grades, which mostly measures whether a business engages with complaints, not how customers rate the experience. Other platforms agree: Birdeye puts the company at 2.6 out of 352 reviews, and Chicago’s Consumers’ Checkbook rates it “not recommended,” citing high prices and slow service.
Bottom line
Tenure, credentials, and scale are present here, which is exactly why the gap between BBB’s letter grade and the actual reviews deserves a look. Get the complete fee schedule in writing, and ask how delinquency escalation works before you sign.
9. FirstService Residential (Illinois)
FirstService Illinois became Chicago’s dominant condo manager almost overnight in February 2019, when it acquired Lieberman Management Services and absorbed Draper and Kramer’s entire condo division, and more than 100 licensed managers reportedly joined in that stretch. Parent company FirstService Corporation trades publicly on Nasdaq and Toronto (FSV), unlike the privately held firms elsewhere on this list.
The Illinois operation now manages roughly 500 residential communities statewide, and President Brian Butler is a licensed attorney and community association manager holding PCAM, CMCA, and AMS designations.
Reviews
The company is BBB accredited, with an A+ rated Illinois profile. BBB complaints include billing confusion after buildings switch managers (one family reported months of statements addressed to a deceased relative), and one senior resident left without heat for nearly two days during a cold snap. On Google, the Chicago profile has 4.3 stars out of 757 reviews.
Pricing
FirstService publishes more guidance than most: typically $10-20 per unit monthly, or 5-12% of assessments, with larger buildings trending toward the lower end.
Bottom line
Scale here is a real asset: a publicly traded parent and hundreds of managed communities. But that same scale produces a longer complaint trail, and the property managers running day-to-day relationships don’t rate their jobs as well as the broader company does. Before signing, find out who your manager would be and how long they’ve held the role.
10. The Habitat Company
Habitat has operated as a vertically integrated developer-owner since 1971, managing condo associations alongside a much larger portfolio of market-rate and affordable housing across several states. That means Habitat brings its own in-house engineers and capital-planning staff rather than contracting every project out, and it pitches round-the-clock financial-record access plus a weekly on-site team member.
Habitat tends toward big, demanding buildings: its condo wins include the 567-unit Carl Sandburg Village and the 724-unit Park Tower, and IREM named it Property Management Company of the Year in 2020, an award peers vote on. Habitat now serves over 20,000 units.
Reviews
Habitat is BBB accredited and holds a BBB A+ rating. On Yelp, the rating is less impressive, with a 1.6 star out of 32 reviews. But it’s worth noting that Habitat’s rental and affordable-housing business is considerably larger than its condo division, and a fair share of its public reviews and complaints come from renters and voucher applicants rather than condo owners, whose expectations differ. So ask for references from two or three current condo clients close to your building’s size.
Bottom line
What sets Habitat apart is depth, not price: a developer-owner’s engineering and capital-planning resources applied directly to your board. That’s an advantage heading into roofing, façade, and elevator work.
Final thoughts
No matter which of these ten firms you’re considering, I suggest you ask the same few questions: What share of this company’s current portfolio actually matches your building type? Who would be assigned to your association, and can you verify that license yourself through IDFPR? And what happens if the relationship doesn’t work out? Other than that, technology has made it possible even for self-managed boards to get the same level of professional management. Invest in a condo management platform, and automate everything from dues collection, maintenance tracking, and invoicing, to bank reconciliation and financial statements.
