I’m Mike Fisher with MF CashFlow Property Management, part of M Property Group LLC in New Lenox, IL, a Licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker. I’ve been investing in Chicago real estate for 35 years and done thousands of deals. When an owner calls me, the second question after “what do you do” is almost always “what does it cost.” Fair question.
The trouble is that management pricing is often buried in fine print, so let me lay it out plainly so you can compare any company against the next one. The Monthly Management Fee This is the core charge, usually a percentage of the rent you collect each month. It covers the daily work: rent collection, tenant communication, coordinating repairs, handling the books, and keeping you compliant with Illinois rules. The percentage of rent model matters because it ties the manager’s pay to your income. If the unit sits empty, most managers on that model don’t get paid either, so we’re both motivated to keep it filled with a paying tenant.
The Leasing or Tenant Placement Fee This is a one time charge when a new tenant is placed.
It pays for the real work of filling a unit: pricing it, marketing it, running showings, screening applicants, verifying income, and getting a compliant lease signed. It’s separate from the monthly fee because it’s a separate job.
The thing to watch here is turnover. A company that places a weak tenant collects a placement fee, then collects another one when that tenant leaves early.
The whole point of screening well is to avoid paying to fill the same unit twice, and our tenant screening process is built to place tenants who stay.
Maintenance and Repair Costs Repairs are a real cost of owning a rental, and they get billed to you because they’re your property.
A good manager earns their keep here by knowing the right price, making the right call on repair versus replace, and not letting a small problem turn into a large one.
Ask any company exactly how maintenance is billed and how they choose vendors.
You want someone shopping the work on your behalf, not approving the first quote without question. What Should Stay in Your Pocket One I feel strongly about: late fees. When a tenant pays late, that fee should go to you, the owner, because it’s your rent that came in late. At my company, 100% of late fees go to the owner. Not every company does it that way, so ask. Little policies like this tell you whether a manager is set up to make money with you or off of you. Fees to Watch For Some companies stack on charges that are easy to miss: markups on routine work, setup or onboarding fees, technology fees, renewal fees, and marketing fees. None of these are automatically wrong, but they should be disclosed up front and explained.
If you have to dig to find what something costs, that’s your answer about how the relationship will go.
Get the full fee schedule in writing before you sign anything. Ours is laid out on our pricing page, no digging required. How to Judge Whether It’s Worth It The fee is only half the math. The other half is what good management returns: faster leasing, better tenant retention, smarter maintenance spending, correct rent pricing, and fewer costly legal mistakes. When management is done right, those gains cover the fee and then some, which is the only reason to hire out in the first place.
A cheap manager who leaves your unit empty an extra month costs you far more than the fee you saved. our ROI calculator lets you run that comparison with your own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions Are property management fees negotiable? Sometimes, especially if you have multiple units. But the lowest fee is not the goal. The best net return after the fee is the goal, and those are not always the same company. Do I pay a management fee when the unit is vacant?
On a percentage of collected rent model, usually no, because there’s no rent to take a percentage of. Always confirm this in the agreement. What’s a typical placement fee? It varies by company and is usually a portion of one month’s rent. What matters more is how well they screen, because a good placement that stays for years is far cheaper than a bad one you replace in six months. Want the full picture for your specific property, fees and returns side by side? Reach me at (708) 719-0977 or book a time at cal.com/mike-f/30min. At MF CashFlow, our business model is your cashflow.
