{
  "slug": "pm-fee-vs-self-manage",
  "title": "Property Management Fee vs Self-Managing Calculator",
  "heading": "PM Fee vs Self-Manage Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pm-fee-vs-self-manage",
  "summary": "What a property manager actually costs you vs the hours you'd spend doing it yourself.",
  "description": "Landlords compare the management percentage to their free time, but the real comparison is dollars against dollars. A manager typically charges 8-10% of collected rent plus a leasing fee equal to half or a full month's rent on turnover, plus sometimes a maintenance markup. Self-managing costs your hours at whatever your time is worth, plus the mistakes a first-time landlord makes on screening, notices, and vendor pricing. This tool totals the manager's annual cost against your own opportunity cost of the hours you'd spend on calls, showings, and coordinating repairs, then tells you the breakeven hourly rate where self-managing stops being worth it.",
  "formula": "PM cost = (rent × mgmt% × 12) + (rent × leasing fee%) + (maintenance markup × repair spend). Self-manage cost = hours/month × your hourly value × 12. Breakeven hourly rate = PM cost ÷ annual hours you'd spend.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=pm-fee-vs-self-manage",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "rent",
      "label": "Monthly rent",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1900,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "mgmtPct",
      "label": "Management fee",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "leasingFeePct",
      "label": "Leasing fee (per new lease)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 75,
      "unit": "% of one month rent",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "turnoverYears",
      "label": "Average years per tenant",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "hoursMonth",
      "label": "Hours you'd spend self-managing",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "hrs/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hourlyValue",
      "label": "Your time value",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45,
      "unit": "$/hr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "repairMarkup",
      "label": "Annual repair spend a manager marks up 10%",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "diff",
      "label": "PM cost minus self-manage cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "pmCost",
      "label": "Annual cost of hiring a manager",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "selfCost",
      "label": "Annual cost of your own time",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "breakevenRate",
      "label": "Breakeven hourly rate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "mgmtAnnual",
      "label": "Annual management fee",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "leasingAnnual",
      "label": "Amortized annual leasing fee",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly rent: 1900 $",
      "Management fee: 9 %",
      "Leasing fee (per new lease): 75 % of one month rent",
      "Average years per tenant: 2",
      "Hours you'd spend self-managing: 6 hrs/mo",
      "Your time value: 45 $/hr",
      "Annual repair spend a manager marks up 10%: 1200 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "PM cost minus self-manage cost: -$356",
      "Annual cost of hiring a manager: $2,885",
      "Annual cost of your own time: $3,240",
      "Breakeven hourly rate: $40.06",
      "Annual management fee: $2,052",
      "Amortized annual leasing fee: $713"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly rent ($).",
      "Enter management fee (%).",
      "Enter leasing fee (per new lease) (% of one month rent).",
      "Enter average years per tenant.",
      "Enter hours you'd spend self-managing (hrs/mo).",
      "Enter your time value ($/hr).",
      "Enter annual repair spend a manager marks up 10% ($).",
      "Read your pm cost minus self-manage cost on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "rent": 1150,
        "mgmtPct": 5.3999999999999995,
        "leasingFeePct": 45,
        "turnoverYears": 1.2,
        "hoursMonth": 3.5999999999999996,
        "hourlyValue": 25,
        "repairMarkup": 700
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "rent": 1900,
        "mgmtPct": 9,
        "leasingFeePct": 75,
        "turnoverYears": 2,
        "hoursMonth": 6,
        "hourlyValue": 45,
        "repairMarkup": 1200
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "rent": 3050,
        "mgmtPct": 14.4,
        "leasingFeePct": 120,
        "turnoverYears": 3.2,
        "hoursMonth": 9.600000000000001,
        "hourlyValue": 70,
        "repairMarkup": 1900
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Is 9% a typical management fee?",
      "a": "Most single-family managers charge 8-10% of collected rent, with a floor around $80-100/month for low-rent units. Multifamily and larger portfolios often negotiate down to 4-6% because of scale. Always confirm whether the fee is on gross rent or collected rent — collected rent means you don't pay during a vacancy."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does a manager do that I might mess up?",
      "a": "Fair housing compliance during screening, proper notice service for late rent and lease violations, security deposit itemization deadlines, and getting competitive vendor pricing. A single fair-housing complaint or a botched eviction notice can cost far more than a year of management fees."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does the breakeven hourly rate include emergencies?",
      "a": "No, this is steady-state monthly time. Add a buffer for the occasional multi-hour emergency call, tenant dispute, or turnover crunch — those are lumpy, not evenly distributed across the year, and they tend to land at the worst times."
    },
    {
      "q": "When does self-managing clearly win?",
      "a": "When you have one or two properties nearby, some landlord experience, and your hourly value is genuinely low or you enjoy the work. It also wins if you can't find a manager with a good local vendor network, since a bad manager's markup and slow repairs cost more than doing it yourself."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pm-commission-tier-comparison",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/maintenance-cost-per-unit"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Property Management Fee vs Self-Managing Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pm-fee-vs-self-manage)"
}