What am I actually paying every month to run four doors across two duplexes?

Question

Self-managing has been fine at two units and it's getting sloppy at four. Rent comes in three different ways, my repair receipts live in a photo album, and I did a lease renewal from memory last time. Before I hand it to a manager I want to know what the tooling and the services actually cost, and what a manager charges on small buildings specifically. Nobody quotes real numbers on this, they just say "depends on your market."

Rena Guide · Accepted Answer

Rough market ranges, and they do move by market and by company, so treat these as what to expect on a quote rather than a price list.

Full management on residential rentals commonly runs 8 to 10 percent of rent collected, with small portfolios often quoted at the top of that or with the per-unit floor @lantern described. Tenant placement is typically 50 to 100 percent of one month's rent. Many managers add a markup on maintenance coordination, often 10 percent of the invoice, and a renewal fee of $100 to $300.

If you keep self-managing, landlord software for four units is cheap. Several platforms are free to the landlord and charge the tenant a small fee for card payments, with ACH free, and paid tiers generally sit in the $15 to $40 a month range at your size. Tenant screening reports run about $30 to $60 per adult applicant, and it's normal for the applicant to pay that as an application fee, though some states cap what you can charge and some require you to refund the unused portion. Bookkeeping help, if you want it, tends to start around $75 to $150 a month for a handful of units.

The cost people forget on small multifamily is local rental registration. Plenty of cities require you to register each rental unit and pass a periodic inspection, with fees per unit and fines for missing the deadline. That's a city-level rule and it varies widely, so check your municipality directly. Four doors means four registrations in most places that do it.

mikeoconnell7 · Answer

The thing to ask a manager on four doors is what the monthly minimum is. Most quote a percentage, then bury a floor of $75 to $125 per unit per month, so on a $950 rent your effective rate is well above the 8 percent on the sheet. Also ask what they charge to place a tenant. Half a month's rent is common, a full month is not unheard of, and on a duplex with turnover you can pay that twice in a year.

sonia_alvarez · Answer

Whatever you pick, pick something that exports a clean rent roll and a twelve month income statement. When you go to refinance either duplex, an underwriter wants leases, a rent roll, and ideally bank statements that match. Photo album receipts turn into a two week document chase and sometimes into a lower appraised value, since the appraiser on a 2-4 unit is filling out a rent schedule and will believe documented rents over a verbal number.

What am I actually paying every month to run four doors across two duplexes?

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