Is Property Management company gauging me on Make Ready fees?

Question

I am working with a property management company to rent out my home. These fees seem exorbitant to me. I have asked if they take a kickback and they said no.

$2,000 to make Ready Home (750 sq foot, 1 story home)

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$95.00 - Landscaping / Clean Out Flowerbeds

$150 - Exterior Painting

$150 - Landscaping / Tree Shrubs

$250 - Haul Off (Limbs, Tires, Furniture)

$225 - Full House Cleaning (One Story)

$495 - Wall and ceiling repairs/Paint Touch up the house from nail holes and scuff marks Seal the joints in the bathroom Walls, trim, and doors touch up Seal above the kitchen cabinets

This all seems excessively high to me... isnt this $15/hour work with a handyman?

Steve Vaughan · Answer

I'm usually all over PM rip-offs, but these don't seem high at all. The $495 nail hole & touch-ups seems a little bit high, but I was surprised a couple others were low. Trash haul should be deducted from the security deposit. Maybe some cleaning, too.

If you're unhappy, spend the time and effort and do it yourself. Looks like only a few weekends worth of work.

BTW- you do not want $15 people spackling and painting. Trust me.

Fred Heller · Answer

None of these prices seem excessively high to me. You say $2000, but the quotes you posted come to $1365. And that seems pretty reasonable.

I just had a vacancy which needed some make-ready repairs. The total cost was $1200. Now $685 was from damages that I could deduct from the previous tenant's security deposit.

Shadonna N. · Answer

Seems like the landscaping and house cleaning is high. Try TaskRabbit for the non-skilled items.

Wilson Lee · Answer

Yea, A nice round $2000 bill seems like a made up number. It seems like they wanted to make $2000 and came up with some work to do that fits the bill.

I am in a very different market. So your cost could be higher.

Exterior painting cost way more than $150. So this must be just trim or something small.

$225 for house cleaning?? I paid $125 a few weeks ago.

$250 to remove debris is excessive. should be included in the landscaping / house cleaning charge.

$495 for paint touch up? New paint is about $2 per sqft. So $1500. For their price to work they should be painting 1/3 of the interior.

It may benefit you to shop around.

Is Property Management company gauging me on Make Ready fees?

Is Property Management company gauging me on Make Ready fees?

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