Two Levels of Property Management

[Steven Herman]

I own a condo in NJ which is in a development with a property manager for the entire association and that property manager is paid through part of the overall association fees. I rent my condo and use a property manager to manager the relationship with the tenant. She collects the rent from the tenant but the bulk of the rent cones from section 8 payment sent directly to me.  I handle all banking and mortgage payments and approve all expenditures. She has indicated that she will no longer be able to maintain the current agreement. I understand the fees would usually be 10% if it is a single family home.  What should the fees be for a property manager who is not managing what is already being managed by the association property manager and only money involvement is obtaining the tenant portion of the rent which is about 25% of the total rent?

[Fred Heller]

If it were me, and all you needed was for me to collect the rent, heck I would do it for 30 bucks a month.

Having said that, I collect rent and distribute owner draws online, and I am charged based on the number of doors. So if your condo was the one door that would kick me into a higher bracket, then I would want to charge you more.

I would also hope that you would agree to let me lease the condo and that you would pay a leasing fee when the time came.

It's all hypothetical since I'm not licensed in New Jersey, but that's what I would do in your situation.

[Brian Ortins]

@Steven Herman

I would offer 5%, but if the agent insists on 10%, make sure that the ongoing 10% includes the leasing fee and managing the contractor(s) during the unit refresh.  That way the agent is getting a higher steady income and you can control your long term costs.  Disclosure:  I am an agent and I manage condo units similar to what you are describing and I charge 10% including the leasing fee and as a contractor, I give my clients a cost effective price to "refresh units" after tenants move out.