Let the Manager Manage. Board micromanagement duplicates effort and inevitably runs up costs. If your management company is incompetent, get a new one. If qualified, let it do its job. This may be your single biggest cost saver.
Insurance claims can take many hours of a manager's time.
Management time for involved collections should be billed to and recouped from the delinquent owner whenever possible. Manager time and costs to compile disclosure information for owner home sales should be charged to the owners. These are but a few ways that management costs can be trimmed. Be sensitive to your manager's time and don't pile on unnecessary tasks that ultimately will raise the cost. While it's important to get what you pay for it's equally important to pay for what you get.