Posted by Ken (in Iowa) on August 27, 2003 at 08:24:52:
One more issue to consider - if you obtain a real estate license and manage real property, you may have to split your fees with the broker where your license resides. If I were a broker and one of my salespeople was managing property, I would consider that a potential liability issue for my brokerage. Some brokers might not even allow you to do it.
Just a thought…
Ken (in Iowa)
property management company costs - Posted by Frank
Posted by Frank on August 26, 2003 at 22:10:07:
Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your input.
I have a friend who is very tired of their apartments, but don’t want to sell. They are thinking about going with a property management company. I see an opportunity here and was wondering what does the average property management company charge? Is there a percentage or per until fee? How can I determine these fees.
I am getting my real estate license and will continue to get my broker license with hopes of starting my own property management company, but is it something that would be worth while? I do have handymen available for any repairs and such, I could do the landscaping/lawncare and snow removal myself.
Can I ask for a fee up front such as a retainer fee?
Thanks for any input you can give me! Greatly appreciated.
Frank
Re: property management company costs - Posted by Nate(DC)
Posted by Nate(DC) on August 26, 2003 at 23:11:59:
“How can I determine these fees.”
The easiest way would be to shop around by calling some property management companies that manage the type of property you are thinking of managing, and posing as a property owner and asking what they would charge.
"is it something that would be worth while? "
Only you can answer that for you, based on your own life situation and career goals. Some people like property management. Others don’t.
“Can I ask for a fee up front such as a retainer fee?”
Sure, you can ask for a fee, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get it.
One thing I will caution you on, however, is that depending on what state you are in, a real estate sales and/or broker’s license may or may not automatically confer the right to manage property. For example, in DC, which is not a state, but is where I am from, there is a separate property manager’s license which anyone can get to manage property for another for a fee. It doesn’t matter if you have a real estate sales or broker’s license - in fact, you don’t HAVE to have either to get the PM license - it’s a separate license and just having the real estate license doesn’t allow you to act as a PM.
Good luck,
NT