What Property Management Actually Costs in San Diego

Most San Diego property managers quote somewhere between 6% and 12% of collected rent. That range is wide enough to be useless on its own, and the headline percentage is rarely what you actually pay. The add-ons are where the real cost lives.

The fees behind the percentage

When you compare management companies, ask about each of these in writing:

• Management fee — the headline percentage, ideally on collected rent rather than scheduled rent. Collected means you pay nothing during a vacancy; scheduled means you pay regardless.
• Leasing / tenant placement fee — often 50–100% of one month's rent, charged each time a unit turns.
• Lease renewal fee — a few hundred dollars to re-paper an existing tenant.
• Maintenance markup — a percentage added on top of every contractor invoice. This one is easy to miss and compounds quietly.
• Vacancy fee — a flat monthly charge while the unit sits empty.
• Setup / onboarding fee — one-time, to open the account.
• Inspection fees — per visit, sometimes per photo report.

Why the headline rate misleads

Consider two San Diego single-family homes at $3,200/month rent, one turnover in the year, and $4,000 of maintenance:

| | Company A — 7% | Company B — 8% | |---|---|---| | Management fee | $2,688 | $3,072 | | Leasing fee | $3,200 (100%) | $0 | | Maintenance markup | $400 (10%) | $0 | | Setup fee | $300 | $0 | | Total year one | $6,588 | $3,072 |

The 7% company costs more than twice the 8% company. The percentage told you almost nothing.

Ask for total annual cost

The single most useful question you can ask a prospective manager: "On a $3,200/month rental with one turnover and $4,000 of repairs, what will I pay you over twelve months?" Any manager who cannot answer that in one number is telling you something.

What we charge

We charge 8% of rent collected, and nothing else. No leasing fee, no renewal fee, no maintenance markup, no vacancy fee, no setup fee. If rent does not come in, we do not get paid — which keeps our incentives pointed at keeping your unit occupied and your tenants staying.

Full detail is on our pricing page, and the services included are listed without asterisks.

A note on the cheapest quote

The lowest percentage in your inbox is frequently the one with the most add-ons, because the headline rate is a marketing number. Compare on annual totals, read the maintenance markup clause specifically, and ask what happens when a tenant stops paying — that is when management either earns its fee or does not.