A professional property manager handles all the tasks associated with managing your property, such as tenant screening, handling maintenance issues, collecting rent, and dealing with tenant complaints. Here in Salt Lake City, property management fees — and the services you receive in exchange for these fees — vary depending on the company. Here is everything you need to know about property management costs in Salt Lake City (and the property management price in Utah, in general).
How Much Do Property Managers Charge in Salt Lake City?
A property management fee covers the costs for the services provided by the property manager — repairs, rent-collecting, maintenance, you name it. Sometimes it’s called a monthly management fee. This is usually 8-10 percent of the tenant’s monthly rent, but it could be a lower or higher percentage. (We’ll explain this in detail later.)
Typically, landlords will need to pay a tenant placement fee on top of the property management fee. This covers the cost of the tasks associated with tenant placement, such as credit and employment checks. This can cost anywhere from $400-600 per tenant.
Some property managers charge landlords an hourly rate for repairs, which can range from $40-80 an hour. It really all does depend on the property manager.
Learn how to Maximize Property Management Cost Savings
The 8-10% Rule
Most property managers in Salt Lake City take a percentage of a tenant’s monthly rent, usually 8-10 percent. Here’s an example:
- Sally pays $2,000 a month to rent an apartment in the Sugar House neighborhood. A property management company takes 10 percent of this amount every month, which equals $200. Sally’s landlord keeps the remainder of the rent, which equals $1,800.
- John pays $2,000 a month to rent an apartment in the East Bench neighborhood. A property management company takes 8 percent of this amount every month, which equals $160. John’s landlord keeps the remainder of the rent, which equals $1,840.
As you can see, there’s a considerable difference between 8 and 10 percent. Sally and John pay the same amount of rent every month, but John’s landlord saves $40 a month — that’s $480 a year — because the property management company charges him a lower percentage.
Some property managers charge less for their services than others, but the price isn’t always an indicator of quality.
Here are some things to consider when renting out your property
Other Property Management Fee Structures
The example above is the most common type of property management fee structure in Salt Lake City, but there is an alternative.
Some property managers, for example, charge a lower monthly percentage — 5 percent, for example — as well as several “add-on” fees for various services. These include:
- Leasing fees.
- Marketing fees.
- Project management fees.
- New customer fees.
- Transition fees.
As you can see, landlords in this fee structure receive itemized bills for multiple services not covered under the monthly percentage.
In some cases, this structure suits landlords better and provides them with cost savings. The first example, however, is far more common.
What Happens When a Property is Vacant?
This is one of the most common questions about the cost of property management in Salt Lake City. The answer is: It all depends. Some property managers won’t charge you anything if your property is empty in-between tenancies. Others might charge you for their services. Even if there are no tenants in a property, managers might still need to make repairs during this time. Additionally, if your property is vacant, a property management company such as Wolfnest will search, find, and fill a vacant property so that you don’t lose your investment. Let us increase the ROI for your property today!
