New rentals in Denver, struggling with PM repair costs

[Jamie C.]

I'm new to REI and could use some advice. I live in Colorado and recently purchased a condo(Denver) and townhome(Lakewood) Using a property management company is the right choice for me at the moment. The properties will likely be break even cash flow the first couple years if my expense analysis is accurate. That's accounting for a downward adjustment I already made to account for PM fees. What I didn't account for is how much repairs cost that are managed by the PM. $450 for a handyman to install three sets of window blinds and swap out an interior garage door (replacement door was already onsite). $425 to diagnose an A/C issue that turned out to be a thermostat that went bad/thermostat replaced. Waiting on estimate to repair small crack by the door handle of the hollow core bedroom door, that the tenant says is a safety issue. I lost the debate with the PM that it needs to be repaired and that's when I realized this PM company isn't working for me. I asked for veto/approval power over all future repairs but they're sticking to their policy that any repair under $500 is managed under their discretion, I get a say only when the repair is over $500.

1. Are these repair costs via a PM for a med-high market typical? I would guess I could find a business/handyman to do it for about half those prices.

2. Do all/most property management companies have this under $500 repair policy?

I intend to scale my portfolio and with my 9 to 5 and family, using a property management company makes sense for me. I also want to get my feet wet using a property management company with these current SF properties, so I'll be a bit more prepared for future purchases of SF or more likely, MF. But if my only options are A) continue in the red with a PM or B) self-manage...then I'll have to re-evaluate.

Thanks in advance!

[Julie Hartman]

@Jamie C. Some of the repairs sound a little high and others sound reasonable. Right now, I can tell you that finding quality service providers is a real nightmare. People either don't show up or don't want new customers. As @Drew Sygit said, seeking out the cheapest guy on Craigslist is a losing bet most of the time and it comes back to bite you later. We have a reliable handyman service but we've had to kiss a lot of frogs to find them. We don't mark up repairs but some PM's do. Our contract also has the $500 repair limit but we always call owners first because we don't want them to have any surprises on the monthly statement. We make exceptions if we can't reach them and it's something urgent. Bottom line, it might take some time to get the feel for how your PM handles things and if you don't like it, keep searching until you find one that you are comfortable with. Good luck!