Cost of Property Management in Charlotte

[Ben Durwood]

Hello Biggerpockets - 

I could use some advice.  I live in San Diego, invest in Charlotte real estate, and use a property manager.  My property manager is also my real estate agent, and I've always thought her management fees are on the high-end.  She charges 100% of first month's rent as a leasing fee in addition to 10% of monthly rent afterward.  So, in a year where we sign a lease with a new tenant, I am effectively giving up two months out of twelve months of gross rents to my property manager.

 As a property manager and agent, she is fine (not incredible, but not bad), although her rates seem very high and I am considering using a different manager and agent, or at least negotiating aggressively to lower the fees.  Before I do that, I wanted to confirm with the Biggerpockets community that these fees are very high for the Charlotte area?  

Thanks in advance,
- Ben