The adage “you pay for what you get,” is only accurate about half the time when it comes to property management. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get over-charged… and sometimes you find a property management company who will give you a fair price and always do a good job.
But what exactly is a fair price when it comes to hiring a property manager? This is where the “what you get” element factors in. Different management companies perform different services and charge for varying fees. This article is an overview of the various fees that property managers charge to help you understand property management fees.
What You Should Know About Property Management Fees
One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t necessarily want to hire the manager/company with the lowest fees – whomever you hire will hold a huge responsibility, and they need to be both qualified and good at what they do – otherwise they could end up costing you a great deal of money down the road (more than saving a few percentage points in fees).
The most important factor isn’t the price, it is the quality of service to your HOA. The best way to gauge good property management service is by judging the transparency of a property manager’s fees.
Questions to Ask a Property Management Company
When considering a property management company ask the following questions to understand their fee structure and level of service.
- Do they seem willing to tell you everything upfront?
- What are their policies?
- Do they have a fair system that minimizes or eliminates the potential for hidden fees?
These are the most important things to look for and if you ask the right questions, you’ll have a good chance of hiring quality managers.