Property Management - Contract and Fee Structure

[Austin L. Smith]

Hey All, 

I am a CPA who works directly with Property Managers. I have worked full time as an accountant for a property manager for the last six months. I am looking for information for contracts between owners and property Managers. I am looking for information for common clauses used by property managers. I am also looking for information regarding fee structures, and what item's that should be and should not be included in the management fee calculation. 

If anyone has information directly on the following questions, I would appreciate any information. 

1. Should the management fee be collected on rent charges applicable to utility reimbursement, and/or the the rent charges to account for utilities directly baked in, and included in rent? I know this may be company specific, but is there an industry standard?

2. Is it industry standard to use Passthrough's, as the fee's collected for certain item's are simply collected by the management company, then paid directly to the property management company, making the transactions net to zero for presentation? You could report the income, and the management fee, but the net amount reported would be the same, and only presentation of the profit and loss would change. This seems more of a preference item on reporting, but I wanted to get more insight on how these transactions are structured. 

Any internet resources and books that go in depth on these concepts would be very helpful! 

I usually hang out in the tax section, but I'm really interested in gaining more knowledge on the industry of property management. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help! 

If this is in the wrong board, please let me know! 

Austin L. Smith, CPA

[Drew Sygit]

@Austin L. Smith have your company join NARPM, where you will have access to more PMCs for info.

1) Company specific. If it's not included in the rent, many companies charge a flat fee to monitor & pay utilities.

2) Assuming you're referring to resident benefit packages, renters insurance, and other charges for services the PMC offers to tenants. It is usually dependent on the PM software used. Many, make it difficult to not show pass-thrus on Owner Statements.