Property Management Blog

20 Money Questions You Want to Ask Before Hiring a Property Manager


System - Sunday, January 6, 2019
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Let’s say you decided to hire a property manager. What does it cost you? That will depend on which property manager you chose. The important thing is to make sure you understand all the fees before you sign a management agreement. You may know the major fees, such as leasing/tenant placement fee or recurring management fees, but sometimes there’s more to it. Below are some of the fee questions you want to ask before you hire a property manager.

1. What is the management fee?

2. Is there any onboarding/initial setup Fee?

3. When does the owner get paid?

4. If the manager doesn’t collect any rent or collect only partial, do the owner still have to pay the full management fee?

5. Do the owner have to pay the management fee when the property is vacant?

6. Who pockets the late fee?

7. Who pockets the monthly animal fee/rent?

8. Who pockets the initial animal fee?

9. Who holds the security deposit?

10. Any repair & maintenance markup fee?

11. How much is the maintenance reserve?

12. Will the owner get notified for the cost for any repairs?

13. What’s the cost of leasing/tenant placement?

14. Is there any lease renewal fee?

15. Is there any late fee if the owner failed to pay some invoice on time?

16. What is the cost of eviction?

17. If the owner decided to sell the rental property, what would be the commision?

18. Any management agreement cancellation/termination fee?

19. Any administration fee?

20. Any other fee?