In Ohio we pay 8% (our PM since upped it to 10% for new clients). We pay 1st month for tenant placement, nothing for a renewal. If the tenant leaves before 1 year is up, we do not have to pay to get another tenant in. Rents are btw. $650-$800 a month.
We keep $200 a property (10 SFHs) in reserves for repairs. We don't pay any overage for repairs, though he has no handyman, all work goes through his contractor friend from high school/growing up/neighborhood, something like that. They also share office space. Who knows if they have some sort of deal..... Some of the repairs could be handled by a handyman, I think we pay too much for some simple things because we are paying contractor prices and not necessarily getting a better result.
For a new purchase reno, or a turnover reno we use that same contractor, who for the most part does good work, but things definitely slip through the cracks and we have to check our invoices and confirm that the work has been done.
They do have a great software program, Rentec Direct, and are efficient at disbursing our funds.
We definitely have to manage the property manager and now the contractor as our PM has gotten busier with his own deals.
I'm getting a bit frustrated and have been thinking of starting a thread on what my expectations should be.
