Hiring a property management company in San Antonio can cut your vacancy rate in half. You can also save a lot of time and effort if you engage a management company to oversee the details involved in your rental property. These details include advertising and marketing a vacant property, deciding how much to charge, vetting tenants, preparing a residential lease, handling maintenance and repairs on your property and if necessary, handling an eviction process. A common question that people ask is: what will a property manager charge?
Delegating Management
Like many things, the cost will really depend on what you’re getting in return. Any arrangement a property manager makes with an owner is one of delegation. Some owners want to delegate only certain functions to a manager while remaining a hands-on landlord. Other owners may be out of the state or out of the country and they don’t have the time or availability to be active landlords, so they will need a full service manager. Your fee will vary widely based on the scope of services. There may be a flat fee or a list of menu items that you can choose from, and you’ll be charged per item. Costs also vary by location, the type of property you own, and the number of units per property if it’s an apartment complex. The manager will calculate costs based on the estimated hours of work involved in managing that property. There are a few specific fees you can expect when you hire a management company.
Set Up Fee
This fee covers the time it takes to set you up in their management system. Syncing all your information takes several hours and it’s an important part of management because you want the tenants to be able to pay online and do other things that require adding you to the system. This is usually a set fee of between $50 and $350, depending on the number of properties you have. Management Fee This is the most common fee. It can be a flat fee or a percentage based on the value of the rent that’s coming in. Expect to pay between 8 and 12 percent and as high as 15 percent in some markets. This is usually negotiable depending on how many properties you’re bringing to a manager. Leasing Fee A leasing fee or a lease up fee is another common cost that compensates for the cost of getting your property rented. It includes finding a tenant, screening the tenant and paying the real estate agent a commission if someone else showed the property and actually found the tenant. That fee can be flat fee or range between 25 percent of a month’s rent up to 100 percent of one month’s rent.
Maintenance Fee
This fee covers the coordination of maintenance and repairs. Many companies have a 24 hour maintenance line with a roster of companies they can call if something happens. Other companies own a separate maintenance company, and this fee covers the facilitation of repairs and maintenance.
Vacancy Fee
Not all companies will charge a vacancy fee, but there is a lot of work involved in managing your property even if your property is vacant. So you may be required to pay a separate fee or you’ll be expected to continue paying the management fee. Your manager will need to check on the vacant property, look for plumbing leaks and do inspections after storms. There isn’t a tenant in place to report these things, so the property requires extra attention when it’s vacant.
Eviction Fee
If something goes south with a tenant and rent is no longer being paid, you will have to evict. This is a tedious process and the fee is usually between $100 and $500, depending on how long it takes to evict plus court costs.
It’s wise to pay a little more for the best property managers. That enhances the value of your property and you’ll retain quality tenants. Going cheap can wind up being very expensive because a lot of things that can go wrong. You are hiring a company to take care of
your biggest asset, so don’t make the decision based on who charges least.
If you have any questions about property management fees, please contact us at Birdy Properties.
