You Gotta Be Kidding....
Ok, so I recently heard that in addition to their fee of anywhere between 3 - 10%, a property mgr also charges for placing tenants in a vacant property. I always thought that an ad would be run to find new tenants. I guess it shows how much I know. lol
Patrice, most I've talked to charge a "door fee". That amount varies greatly - I've talked to a lady in Oklahoma who charges $50 every time she has to re-rent an apartment; on the other hand, there are managers who charge the full amount of first month's rent. What's interesting is that in places like New York, they also manage to collect 1 month rent from the tenant which doubles their fee :-D In Manhattan the two fees combined can add up to $4000 or more...
Cmon fellas, I know we have lots more to say about this.
[addsig]
Hey,
Generally speaking PM collect 8% per month plus 50% to 100% of one month's rent to fill a vacancy.
In all fairness, there is a LOT of work involved in filling a vacancy (appointments, ads, follow ups, credit checks, etc.).
This is one of the many reasons that I do NOT use a PM.
I guess the best way for property owners to determine if a property management company is charging "too much", is to perform all the tasks that a property manager would do, by themselves. Keep track of the total hours. Then compare that to the cost of hiring a property management company.
If the property owner feels its worth their time to do it themselves, then go for it. If not, hire away.
Also, just a note about tenant placement. its more than running an ad. In some cases it takes many, many hours to get a qualified tenant in place.
Mark