What's included in full-service management
- Marketing and showings — photos, listing syndication, and handling inquiries and tours.
- Tenant screening — credit, income verification, rental history, and references, applied consistently and lawfully.
- Rent collection and accounting — monthly statements, owner disbursements, and year-end summaries for your tax preparer.
- Maintenance coordination — a vendor network, competitive bids on bigger jobs, and someone else taking the 2 a.m. water-heater call.
- Compliance — security-deposit handling, proper notices, habitability standards, and rent-cap / just-cause rules where they apply. California landlord law is unforgiving of paperwork mistakes; this is a large share of what you're paying for.
The fees, itemized
| Fee | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly management | 8–12% of rent | Lower for multi-unit portfolios, higher for single homes |
| Leasing / placement | 50–100% of one month's rent | Charged when a new tenant signs |
| Lease renewal | $0–$500 flat | Many managers charge nothing or a small flat fee |
| Maintenance markup | 0–10% on invoices | Ask — the good ones are transparent about it |
Always ask what happens when the unit is vacant: reputable managers charge a percentage of collected rent, meaning no rent, no management fee. A manager paid on scheduled rent has less incentive to fill your vacancy.
One California-specific credential check
In California, property management activities like leasing and rent collection on behalf of someone else, for compensation require a real estate broker's license — the manager either holds one or works under a licensed broker. (Owners managing their own property are exempt; the rule applies to third parties you hire.) Ask for the license number and look it up with the state's Department of Real Estate before signing a management agreement.
When it's worth it
Self-managing one local rental with a great long-term tenant is very doable. Management earns its fee when you're remote from the property, own several units, have had turnover or collection problems, or simply value not being on call. Run the math: on a $2,800/mo rental, 10% is $3,360 a year — often less than one badly handled vacancy or one compliance mistake.