The management fee on the front of the brochure is rarely the whole price. The fees that decide what you actually pay sit in the agreement's fee schedule, in the addenda, and sometimes nowhere at all until the first statement arrives. Owners who compare managers on the headline number alone regularly pick the more expensive one.
Here is the full list to ask about, what each fee is supposed to cover, and the one habit that protects you: every fee in writing, on one page, before you sign.
Setup and onboarding fees
Some managers charge a fee to open your account: setting up the owner record, collecting documents, keys and the existing lease, and doing a first inspection. The work is real, but it is also the work of winning your business, and many managers absorb it.
Where it is charged, it should be a single, stated amount, charged once. Watch for a setup fee that is also charged per property, or a setup fee plus a separate first-inspection fee plus a separate lease-review fee for a tenant already in place. That is one task billed three times.
If you are moving from another manager, ask whether the setup fee is waived or reduced, since the lease, the deposit records and the tenant file already exist and just need to be transferred. The takeover itself is usually straightforward when the outgoing manager cooperates, and a good incoming manager will handle most of the transfer for you.
Leasing, lease-up and marketing fees
The leasing fee is expected. It pays for pricing, photos, listing, showings, screening, the lease and the move-in. The hidden part is what gets charged around it: a marketing fee, a photo fee, a lease preparation fee, a move-in inspection fee, a key or lockbox fee. Each of these is already part of placing a tenant.
Ask whether the leasing fee is the complete price of a new tenant. If the answer includes the word "plus," ask for the list. The full breakdown of what belongs inside the fee is in leasing fees explained.
Renewal fees
A renewal fee is charged when your existing tenant signs for another term. It can be fair when the manager does the work: checks the market, negotiates the increase, inspects the house and prepares the paperwork. It is padding when it is the price of an automated email.
The question to ask is how the renewal fee compares to the leasing fee. A renewal should cost you much less than a new tenant, because it is much less work and it saves you a turnover. A manager who charges the same amount for both has no reason to keep your tenant. More on this in lease renewal fees: what they cover and when they are fair.
Maintenance coordination, markups and trip charges
This is the category that costs owners the most over time because it is charged on every repair, not once a year. The forms it takes:
- A percentage markup added to vendor invoices.
- A coordination fee for arranging the repair.
- A trip or dispatch charge for each vendor visit.
- An in-house maintenance company billing at retail with no competing quote.
- A project management fee on larger jobs, such as a make-ready or a roof.
Ask whether invoices are passed through at cost and whether you will see the vendor's original. How each of these works, and the questions that expose them, are in maintenance markups explained. Our own policy is on the maintenance service page.
Inspection fees
Inspections are one of the most valuable things a manager does, because a small leak found in month four is cheaper than a floor replaced in month twelve. Some managers include periodic inspections in the monthly fee. Others charge for each one, and some charge separately for move-in, move-out, periodic and drive-by inspections.
A per-inspection fee is not unreasonable if the inspection is thorough and documented with photos you can see. What to avoid is paying for inspections that are never done, or that produce a one-line note. Ask how many inspections a year are included, what each one costs beyond that, and what the report looks like. Our approach is on the inspections page.
One more detail: ask who does the inspection. A manager who sends a licensed staff member with a checklist and a camera is giving you something worth paying for. A manager who asks the tenant to send a few photos is charging you for the tenant's time.
Eviction and legal fees
When a tenant stops paying, the costs stack: the manager's fee for handling the eviction, court filing fees, a constable's fee for the writ, possibly an attorney. The filing and constable fees are set by the county and passed through to you. The manager's own fee is the one to ask about.
Ask what the manager charges to serve notices, file in Justice Court and attend the hearing, and whether that is a flat amount or hourly. Ask whether they appear themselves or hire counsel. In Texas the process has fixed steps: a written notice to vacate, a filing in Justice Court, a hearing and, if needed, a writ of possession. Each step has a cost, and each one the manager handles well is money you do not spend on an attorney. A manager who screens well will rarely need to use any of this, which is the real way to keep the number low.
Vacancy, early termination and the "admin" category
These are the fees that owners most often do not know exist until they are charged:
- Vacancy or minimum fee: a monthly charge while the house is empty, under a fee that was presented as a share of rent.
- Early termination fee: what it costs to leave the management agreement before the term ends, sometimes several months of fees, sometimes the leasing fee again.
- Administrative, technology or statement fees: small monthly amounts for the software, the portal or the paperwork, which should be the cost of doing business.
- Year-end or tax document fees: a charge for the annual statement and the 1099 you need to file.
- Late fee retention: the manager keeping all of the tenant's late fees, which were charged on your rent.
- Insurance claim or large project fees: a percentage of a roof claim or a renovation for coordinating it.
None of these is automatically wrong. All of them need to be on the page before you sign, with a number next to each. The admin category deserves one extra question: what, specifically, does the fee buy that the monthly management fee does not? If the answer is the portal and the statements, those are the job, not an extra.
How to get the full list in writing
Ask for one page that lists every fee the manager can charge an owner, with the amount or the formula next to each, and have it attached to the agreement as the fee schedule. Then read the agreement itself, because fees also hide in clauses about termination, maintenance limits and reserves. The clause-by-clause walk is in what to look for in the management agreement.
At Perpetual, that page exists before the first conversation ends. Every fee is listed in writing, and the structure is on the pricing and fees page. The written quote that follows a rental analysis uses your house's rent, so the annual total is a real number and not a brochure example. If you want that number for your house, request a free rental analysis.
The takeaway: Get every fee a manager can charge on one written page before you sign, and compare managers on the annual total rather than the headline rate.
Questions owners ask
What fees do property managers charge besides the monthly fee?
Commonly a leasing fee when a tenant is placed, a renewal fee, and sometimes setup, inspection, maintenance coordination, eviction, early termination, vacancy and administrative fees. Not every manager charges all of them. Ask for the complete list in writing and compare the annual total, not the monthly rate.
Is a property management setup fee normal?
Some managers charge one and some do not. If charged, it should be a single stated amount, charged once per account, covering onboarding and the first inspection. Watch for setup fees that are duplicated by separate inspection, lease-review or document fees for the same work.
Does it cost anything to cancel property management?
It can, and the termination clause tells you how much. Some agreements charge an early termination fee to leave before the term ends, which may be a flat amount, several months of management fees or a repeat of the leasing fee, while others only require a reasonable notice period. Read that clause before you sign and look for a notice period rather than a penalty that locks you in. Ask also whether the fee applies if you sell the house or move back into it. Perpetual lists every fee an owner can be charged, including anything tied to termination, on one written page before the agreement is signed.
Should the property manager keep the tenant's late fees?
Practices vary. Some managers keep late fees as compensation for collection work, some split them with the owner, and some pass them through. Any of these can be acceptable if it is disclosed in the agreement. What you should not accept is finding out from the statement.
Are there extra fees for accounting or access to the owner portal?
Some managers charge small monthly administrative, technology or statement fees for the software, the portal or the paperwork, and some add a charge for the year-end statement and the tax form you need to file. None of these is automatically wrong, but each should be on the fee page with a number next to it before you sign. The question to ask is what the fee buys that the monthly management fee does not; if the answer is the portal and the statements, those are the job, not an extra. Perpetual includes statements, year-end reporting and the owner portal in management, with every fee in writing up front.
A manager quoted a low monthly fee. What other charges should I check?
A low headline fee usually means the company needs other income, so ask for one page listing every fee with an amount or formula next to it. Check for charges stacked around the leasing fee such as marketing or photo fees; the renewal fee and how it compares to the leasing fee; maintenance markups, coordination fees and trip charges; per-inspection fees; eviction handling fees; vacancy or minimum monthly fees; early termination fees; and administrative or technology charges. Then ask which tenant-side fees the manager keeps, since those never reach your statement. Compare managers on the twelve-month total with one month of vacancy, not on the monthly rate.
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