And others over charge.  

They do not have this overhead on the wholesale side which makes brokered rates more competitive provided they don't overcharge on their commission. 

Why would you not overcharge a investor living 1000 miles away that has never seen the property let alone the repair for XYZ.

Of course, in this case you will need a trustworthy contractor who will credit you back any overcharge. 

I am trying to get an escrow anaylsis done once I get the exemption so that I am not over charged by Escrow as I am now.

Prop Managers are notorious for over charging for everything. 

Way over charging and not even detailed.

So,  if say, they break a blind that is brand new they know they would be charged full price, whereas if they broke a 15 year old blind they would not be charged anything (because its lived its useful life)  Its a pain to do the inventory initially but I really believe it is a good way to go as tenants wont get overcharged for damage. 

A heads up - before you send out your deposit accounting read the CA laws very carefully -  thankfully laws are changing to protect tenants from over charges from the security deposit - but this means there are very strict laws regarding this. 

Also very important you have the proper PM co, one that does not overcharge you, and actually does what they say, Good Luck