We own rental properties across the country, which means we work with a lot of property managers, and this story could have happened in any of those markets. It happened in Clarksville, Tennessee, where we own two apartment complexes: nice mid-90s brick buildings that the same property management company had run for about five years. Good communication, decent occupancy, nothing obviously wrong. Except one line item I'd stopped questioning: unit turns were averaging $5,000 to $9,000 each.
When I finally audited the relationship, the same turns priced out at a fraction of that, and two units alone saved us almost $12,000. Here's the full story and the rubric, because your portfolio almost certainly has a version of this hiding in it.
The Head-to-Head That Ended a 5-Year Relationship
Deciding to test the market, I interviewed seven property management companies and hired a smaller firm. The transition created an accidental experiment: for a brief overlap, both companies priced the same two vacant units.
Unit 1: the old PM's turn estimate was about $4,800. The new PM looked at the same unit and said it needed a cleaning: $300. It re-leased in two weeks, at the same rent.
Unit 2: the old PM quoted about $8,600. The new PM did the turn for $1,400.
Same units, same market, same rent outcome. Nearly $12,000 of difference across two doors, and with the new firm our turns now average about $1,400. Multiply the old spread across every turn, every building, every year of that five-year relationship, and the number stops being funny.
Was the old company defrauding us? Probably not, exactly. Turn scope creep is usually softer than fraud: a maintenance arm that profits on work orders, a "while we're in there" culture, zero pressure to ask whether the paint actually needs painting. The PM spends your money with none of the incentives you have. That's not a character flaw, it's a structure, and the only correction is an owner who audits.
The Audit Rubric
Rate every property manager you use on five questions, annually:
- Responsiveness. To you and to tenants. Slow responses to owners usually mean slower ones to prospective renters, and that's vacancy.
- Do they implement YOUR business plan? Rent increases you've asked for, RUBS programs, upgrade schedules. A PM who nods and doesn't execute is a veto you're paying for.
- Are you managing them, or are they managing themselves? If nothing happens without your push, you're the property manager and they're expensive software.
- Turn costs and maintenance markup. Pull the last several turn invoices. Compare per-unit costs against a second opinion (interviewing competitors is free). This is where our $12,000 was hiding.
- Are the rents conservative? PMs price for zero vacancy because vacancy is their pain and below-market rent is yours. Check every renewal against market comps yourself (my rent audit added $480/month).
How to Run the Test Without Burning the Relationship
You don't have to fire anyone to get the data. Interview two or three competing PMs (I did seven; overkill is my love language) and ask each to walk one of your recent turn invoices or price an upcoming vacancy. You'll learn the local market rate for turns, you'll learn how your current PM's scope compares, and you'll have leverage for a direct conversation either way.
Sometimes the audit ends with a better-behaved incumbent. Sometimes it ends like ours did. Both outcomes pay. A good property manager is genuinely one of the most valuable people on your team, and the audit is how you find out whether you have one; I'd rather know in February than discover it five years and forty turns later. If you're on the fence about keeping a manager at all, how I replaced two property managers with one remote hire is the other path we've taken.
One more honesty check while you're in there: even good PMs won't hunt owner-side revenue for you. The audit protects the expense side; the two-lever P&L review captures the income side. Do both annually and your existing portfolio will out-earn most people's next acquisition.
FAQ
Q: How much should a unit turn cost? A: Wildly market and condition dependent, but the spread matters more than the average: identical units in our portfolio were priced at $4,800 by one PM and $300 by another, and $8,600 versus $1,400. Benchmark your PM's turn invoices against at least one competitor before accepting any number as normal.
Q: How do I know if my property manager is overcharging me? A: Pull 6-12 months of invoices and look at turn costs, maintenance frequency, and markup patterns. Then ask a competing PM to price the same scope. If the gap is large and your PM's maintenance arm is in-house, you've found the incentive problem.
Q: How often should I review my property management company? A: Annually, against the five-question rubric: responsiveness, business plan execution, who's managing whom, turn and maintenance costs, and rent positioning. The review takes an afternoon; ours was worth $12,000 on the first two units alone.
Q: Should I self-manage instead? A: Not necessarily; a good PM earns their fee, especially out of state. The lesson isn't "fire your PM," it's "audit your PM." Delegation without inspection is how five quiet years get expensive.
