- What exact income or receipts are used to calculate the monthly fee?
- Which services are included, and which trigger separate charges?
- When are leasing and renewal fees earned?
- Are there maintenance markups, affiliate payments, rebates, or project fees?
- What fees apply during vacancy or after termination?
- Can you provide a sample owner statement and a complete annual-cost example?
Questions to ask before signing
This review helps organize and compare compensation terms. It does not determine whether a fee is lawful, enforceable, customary, tax-deductible, reasonable, or appropriate for a particular property. A Florida attorney should review contract rights and enforceability. A CPA should review accounting and tax treatment. A licensed property manager can explain operational practices.
Understand what fee review cannot decide
- A percentage with no defined fee base
- Two labels that may charge for the same service
- Vendor markups or affiliate compensation that are not clearly disclosed
- Fees earned before the related service is completed
- Vacancy, minimum, or continuing fees hidden outside the main schedule
- Termination language that makes the total exit cost difficult to calculate
Flag unclear or duplicative charges
Confirm whether the manager charges for final accounting, tenant notices, key transfer, data export, document copying, security-deposit records, vendor files, and software migration. Identify what format the records will use and the deadline for delivery.
Plan transition and record-transfer costs
Review minimum monthly fees, charges during vacancy, early-termination fees, notice requirements, continuing leasing commissions, and fees that survive the end of management. Compare the cost of leaving with the cost of staying through the full term.
Understand vacancy, minimum, and termination fees
An attorney and insurance professional should review legal and coverage implications. A fee schedule does not establish insurance adequacy or claim rights.
Some agreements charge for insurance-claim coordination, restoration oversight, emergency response, or major capital projects. Identify the percentage or hourly basis, when the fee is earned, and whether outside specialists are also paid.
Check insurance-claim and risk-service fees
Check for charges tied to statements, inspections, notices, technology platforms, tax forms, document storage, court coordination, mailing, and owner-requested reports. Confirm which are included in the monthly fee and which are separate.
Review administrative and reporting charges
There is no universal good or bad management-fee percentage. The same percentage can represent different services, fee bases, risk allocation, and total cost.
| Scenario | Inputs to include | Question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Stable operations | Monthly fee, routine admin, normal maintenance | What is the recurring baseline? |
| Turnover year | Leasing, advertising, inspections, setup, vacancy minimums | How much does one or more unit turns add? |
| Repair-heavy year | Coordination, project, after-hours, and vendor charges | How does maintenance volume change manager compensation? |
| Exit year | Termination, transition, record transfer, continuing commissions | What can still be owed after notice? |
Build at least three scenarios: a stable year, a high-turnover year, and a repair-heavy year. Include monthly fees, leasing, renewals, setup, inspections, notices, maintenance coordination, vendor markups, technology, court or filing administration, insurance claims, projects, and termination.
Model the complete annual cost
Require clear invoices and a written explanation of any financial relationship. A fee disclosure does not prove that a charge is reasonable or legally compliant.
Ask whether the manager adds a markup, receives a rebate, uses affiliated vendors, or charges an administrative fee on vendor invoices. A lower monthly percentage can be offset by higher maintenance or vendor-related charges.
Check vendor markups and affiliations
Confirm approval thresholds, emergency rules, whether the manager or an affiliate performs work, and whether the fee applies to the full invoice, labor only, or another amount.
Management compensation may include maintenance coordination fees, after-hours charges, inspection fees, project-management percentages, insurance-claim fees, or fees for supervising larger repairs. These charges can materially change total cost.
Review maintenance and project charges
Ask for the exact written definition and test it against a sample owner statement.
| Possible fee base | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Gross or scheduled rent | Rent expected under leases | The owner may owe a fee even when rent is unpaid |
| Billed rent | Charges posted to tenant accounts | Credits, concessions, and reversals need clear treatment |
| Collected rent | Cash actually received | Timing, returned payments, and late collections matter |
| Total receipts | Rent plus other income | Fees may also apply to parking, utilities, pet charges, or other collections |
A percentage fee can produce very different results depending on the denominator. The agreement may use gross scheduled rent, rent billed, rent collected, total receipts, or another defined base.
Define the fee base
Also check whether advertising, showings, screening coordination, lease preparation, move-in work, and renewal negotiation are included or charged separately.
The monthly fee may look low while leasing and renewal charges create a larger annual cost. Model expected turnover, renewals, and vacancy. Confirm whether a leasing fee is earned when a lease is signed, when the tenant moves in, or when rent is collected.
Compare monthly, leasing, and renewal fees
| Fee type | Common basis | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly management | Percentage or flat amount | Fee base, minimum, timing, and exclusions |
| Leasing | Flat amount or part of one month's rent | When earned and whether advertising is included |
| Renewal | Flat amount or percentage | Whether automatic or tied to signed renewal |
| Setup or onboarding | Per property or per unit | What records and system work it covers |
| Maintenance coordination | Flat, hourly, percentage, or markup | Approval threshold, vendor selection, and disclosure |
Collect the management agreement, every fee exhibit, onboarding sheet, vendor policy, maintenance policy, and termination schedule. A headline percentage is only one line. Ask what is included, what is optional, what is charged separately, and what can continue after termination.
Start with the full fee schedule
A property management fee is not just one percentage. The real cost may include recurring management charges, leasing and renewal fees, setup costs, maintenance coordination, vendor markups, administrative charges, project fees, vacancy minimums, and termination costs. Compare the full schedule using the same property assumptions.
Continue the management review
Next, compare the agreement with the South Florida multifamily guide, the lease-audit checklist, the delinquency review, and the security-deposit ledger guide.
