Property Management Fees Explained: Every Fee, What's Fair, and What's Not

Before you sign a management agreement, you need to know every fee the company charges. Not just the management percentage in the headline. The full list.

Here is every type of fee property management companies charge, what is standard, and where the line is between fair and excessive.

Monthly management fee

This is the base fee charged as a percentage of collected rent. In Memphis and most of Tennessee, the standard range is 8% to 10%. On a $1,200/month rental, that is $96 to $120 per month.

Some companies charge a flat fee instead of a percentage, typically $100 to $150 per door per month regardless of rent amount. Flat fees benefit owners with higher-rent properties. Percentage-based fees benefit owners with lower-rent properties.

Fair: 8% to 10% for single-family homes. 5% to 7% for portfolios of 10 or more doors. Red flag: Below 6% on single-family. The company is either cutting corners on service or making it up in other fees.

Leasing or placement fee

Charged when the company places a new tenant in your property. This covers marketing the vacancy, conducting showings, screening applicants, and executing the lease. Standard range is 50% to 100% of the first month's rent.

On a $1,200/month property, that is $600 to $1,200 per placement. This is a one-time charge per tenant, so it matters most when turnover is frequent.

Fair: 50% to 75% of first month's rent with a tenant placement guarantee (if the tenant breaks the lease within 6 to 12 months, the company re-places for free or at a reduced fee). Red flag: 100% of first month's rent with no placement guarantee. You are paying full price with no protection against a bad placement.

Lease renewal fee

Charged when an existing tenant renews their lease. This covers the administrative work of preparing a new lease, negotiating rent adjustments, and conducting a renewal inspection. Standard range is $150 to $300 per renewal.

Some companies charge this annually. Others waive it if the tenant renews at the same or higher rent. A few companies include it in the management fee.

Fair: $150 to $200, or waived entirely. A renewal is 15 to 30 minutes of administrative work. Red flag: $300 or more. At that price, the company has a financial incentive to churn tenants rather than retain them, because the leasing fee is higher than the renewal fee.

Maintenance markup

A percentage added to third-party vendor invoices when the PM coordinates repairs. Standard range is 10% to 20% of the vendor invoice. On a $500 HVAC repair, a 15% markup adds $75 to your cost.

This fee is separate from any coordination fee. Some companies charge both.

Fair: 10% to 15% on third-party vendor work, clearly disclosed on your owner statement. Red flag: Markup not disclosed anywhere in the agreement. If you only see a total "maintenance" line on your statement without the original vendor invoice amount, you have no way to know what you are actually paying. Read the full guide to hidden PM fees for more on this.

Maintenance coordination fee

A flat fee charged per maintenance dispatch, on top of the vendor cost and any markup. Standard range is $50 to $100 per work order. This is supposed to cover the time spent receiving the request, contacting vendors, getting quotes, and verifying completed work.

Fair: $50 or less, or included in the management fee. Red flag: $100 per dispatch plus a 15% to 20% markup on the vendor invoice. On a $300 repair, you are now paying $300 plus $45 to $60 markup plus $100 coordination, totaling $445 to $460 for $300 of work.

Technology or portal fee

A monthly charge for access to the owner portal, online rent collection, or maintenance request system. Standard range is $10 to $30 per month per property.

Fair: Included in the management fee. Technology is a cost of doing business, not an add-on. Red flag: Any company charging $25 or more per month for "technology" on top of a 10% management fee is double-dipping. The software costs them $5 to $15 per door. The rest is margin.

Make-ready or turnover fee

Charged when a tenant moves out and the property needs to be prepared for the next tenant. This covers the inspection, cleaning coordination, vendor scheduling for repairs, and final walkthrough. Standard range is $100 to $250.

This is separate from the actual cost of cleaning, repairs, and painting. Those vendor costs come out of the security deposit or the owner's account.

Fair: $100 to $150, reflecting real coordination time. Red flag: $250 or more, or a make-ready fee combined with a leasing fee. You are paying twice for work that overlaps significantly.

Early termination fee

Charged if you cancel the management agreement before the term expires. This varies widely: some companies charge nothing with 30 days notice, others charge $500 to $1,000 or require 60 to 90 days notice.

Fair: No termination fee with 30 days written notice. Red flag: Any termination fee over $250, or a notice period longer than 60 days. A company that needs a financial penalty to keep you is not earning your business on performance. Check the management agreement guide for what else to watch for.

Trip charge or inspection fee

Charged for property inspections, drive-bys, or site visits outside of routine maintenance. Standard range is $50 to $100 per visit. Some companies include quarterly inspections in the management fee. Others charge for every visit.

Fair: One to two inspections per year included in the management fee. Additional inspections at $50 to $75 each. Red flag: Charging for routine drive-bys or inspections that should be part of standard management. If the company charges $75 every time they visit your property, they have no incentive to check on it regularly.

How to compare companies

Do not compare management fees in isolation. A company charging 8% with a $100 coordination fee and 20% maintenance markup will cost you more than a company charging 10% with no coordination fee and 10% markup. The total annual cost is what matters, and that depends on how many maintenance calls your property generates and how often it turns over.

Ask every company for a written schedule of all fees. If they will not put it in writing, that tells you what you need to know.