$60/ hour for maintenance with Property Manager in-house labor

[Michael S.]

Hi there,

My property manager in Beaufort, SC has an in-house maintenance firm that charges $60/ hour for general maintenance. In this specific case it was installing a new doorbell, re-attaching a fan cover, and adjusting a bathtub stopper. I already had the talk with them about these repairs being items the tenant should take care of, except prehaps for the doorbell. Even there, I would rather they leave the doorbell alone-- people can knock, right?

Anyways, my question is how does $60/ hour for general maintenance in South Carolina seem? It seems very high to me, especially since I hired a licensed and bonded electrician for only $65 an hour.

Also, any recommendations for a good property manager in Beaufort, SC? I have a feeling I will be looking for a new one soon.

Thanks for the help!

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Michael S.

  asking tenant to fix anything is a recipe for disaster.   One of the biggest mistakes landlords make in my mind... bowing their back up on these little issues.  then the tenant leaves and you now have a turn over that cost you 1 to 2k and lost rent.. over arguing who should fix a 100 dollar item.

think of the 60 an hour from your perspective.. you have to drive there you have to go to the home depot and pick the parts.. you then have to schedule with tenant.. and then you work on the house for 1 hour and charge 60 bucks.. that's CHEAP you going to do all that for 60 bucks... I know I would not... no one is getting rich off of you in this scenario.

Its the same concept when I am selling my new construction and the buyers want to change a light fixture that is already.. up they see it at home depot for 100 bucks and can't figure out why I charge 500 to do it... Well for the reasons above I have to pay my guy to go shopping replace it exct.