The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

They generally charge 1% for debt introductions and 3% (although I’ve seen up to 5%) for equity.

i charge a pet fee but generally don't require a deposit. 

I take credit cards, too, which are a bit of a pain and still charge as much as Airbnb does.  

They have refunded my startup costs and have agreed to not charge our company anything until we get a deal.

Your property might be legitimately worth $1,500 and the tenant qualifies for $500 in assistance, but can only afford to pay another $500 for a total of $1,000, they won't approve $1,500.Unfortunately, you can usually only find both of these out when you have an application and lease signed from a prospective tenant and submit it to the local housing authority.

ARK also charges a flat franchise tax on ARK LLC's and out of state LLC's every year, of $150.    

My guess is the 10% mark up because that's far less than any reputable GC will charge for their services. 

We also have an operating agreement that states that I will be handling the daily operations and I'm basically in charge of the whole business.

I can only see the benefit of forming a self performing property management company if you believe you can be more effective on cost and service than the local 3rd property operators and even cost can be tricky to calculate because most focus on the management fee that's charged rather than the cost to put out fires when they do arise.