San Antonio Property Management Fees: The Real Range and What It Actually Covers

Most San Antonio property managers quote a monthly fee between 8% and 10% of collected rent, plus a leasing fee equal to 50%–100% of one month's rent when they place a tenant. That's the headline. The real cost sits in the other eight to twelve line items in the management agreement — renewal fees, maintenance markups, lease-up minimums, inspection fees, eviction coordination, and the way vacancy is handled. A landlord comparing two companies on the 8% line alone is comparing the wrong number.

Below is what the fee structure actually looks like in Bexar County as of recent cycles, what each charge pays for, and where to push back.

The monthly management fee: 8%–10% is the working range

For a standard single-family rental in Stone Oak (78258), Alamo Ranch (78253), Converse (78109), or Cibolo, expect:

• 7% — aggressive pricing, usually either a portfolio discount (4+ doors with the same company) or a newer PM trying to win business. Sometimes paired with weaker service.
• 8%–9% — the competitive middle. Most established San Antonio PMs land here for a single door at market rent.
• 10% — common for smaller operators, higher-touch service, or lower-rent properties where the percentage has to clear a minimum.
• 12%+ — short-term/mid-term rental managers, Section 8 specialists, or luxury properties in 09 or Terrell Hills.

A few things to confirm in writing:

• Is it percentage of rent collected or percentage of rent due? You want collected. If rent isn't paid, you shouldn't owe a management fee that month.
• Is there a monthly minimum? A $125 floor turns an 8% quote on a $1,200 Harlandale rental into an effective 10.4%.
• Does the fee apply to late fees and pet rent? Some contracts sweep everything; others are base-rent only.

The leasing fee: where the real money is

This is the charge for marketing the property, showing it, screening applicants, and executing the lease. In San Antonio the common structures are:

• 50% of one month's rent — typical at larger PMs that already have the monthly percentage.
• 75% of one month's rent — a middle point, often with a co-broke split if a SABOR agent brings the tenant.
• 100% of one month's rent — flat-fee or leasing-only shops, and some full-service PMs on lower-priced rentals.
• Flat $500–$1,200 — less common but worth asking about on higher-rent homes where a percentage gets painful.

If the PM uses the SABOR MLS to syndicate the listing (most do), they'll typically offer 25%–40% of one month's rent as a co-op to a tenant's agent. Confirm whether that co-op comes out of your leasing fee or on top of it. On top of is a deal-breaker on most single-family rentals.

Renewal fees: the charge nobody budgets for

When your tenant signs a second-year lease, most PMs charge a renewal fee. The range in San Antonio:

• $200–$300 — standard.
• $350–$500 — higher-end or luxury managers.
• 25% of one month's rent — percentage-based, which can run higher than a flat fee on a $2,500 Stone Oak lease.
• $0 — rare, but exists. Usually paired with a higher monthly percentage.

A good renewal is the most profitable event in the relationship — no vacancy, no turn cost, no new leasing fee. Paying $250 to lock in a proven tenant for another year is money well spent. Paying $500 to mail a pre-filled renewal addendum is not.

Maintenance markups and the vendor network

This is where landlords get surprised. Common practices:

• 10% markup on vendor invoices. A $400 AC capacitor job from the PM's HVAC vendor shows up on your statement at $440. Legal and disclosed in Texas, but it has to be in the contract.
• In-house maintenance tech at $55–$85/hour. Cheaper than licensed trades for small stuff (gate latch, smoke detector, minor plumbing), but you're paying for drive time.
• Markups on turn work. Paint, carpet, make-ready cleaning — often bundled and marked up.
• Trip/dispatch fees. $45–$95 just to roll a truck, separate from labor.

What to negotiate: a repair approval threshold (commonly $300–$500) above which the PM must call you before authorizing work, and a requirement that any job over a set dollar amount ($1,500 is typical) get competing bids. Texas Property Code § 92.052 obligates you as the landlord to repair conditions that materially affect health and safety, so you can't use the threshold to stall legitimate habitability issues — but you can absolutely require a phone call before a $2,800 water heater gets swapped.

Fees that show up on the statement and aren't in the quote

Read the management agreement line by line. The ones that appear most often:

• Setup/onboarding fee — $0 to $300 one-time.
• Annual inspection fee — $75–$150 for an interior walkthrough with photos. Some PMs include one free.
• Advertising/listing fee — occasionally $100–$250 on top of the leasing fee. Push back; marketing should be inside the leasing fee.
• Eviction coordination fee — $200–$500 on top of JP court filing costs and attorney fees. A Bexar County JP eviction (filed in one of the 4 precincts through eFileTexas) runs roughly $121 in filing + service fees, plus whatever your attorney charges. The PM's coordination fee pays for the 3-day notice under § 24.005, the petition prep, and showing up at the hearing.
• Reserve — PMs typically hold $250–$500 of your funds as a maintenance float. Not a fee, but it affects your first distribution.
• Vacancy fee — some contracts charge a reduced flat fee ($50–$100) during vacant months. Others charge nothing. A few charge the full monthly minimum.
• ACH/tech fee — $5–$15/month pass-through for the owner portal. Usually not worth fighting over; sometimes worth getting waived.
• 1099 / year-end fee — $25–$75. Ask that it be waived; it's a 15-minute task.

What most people get wrong

Comparing only the monthly percentage. A 7% company with a 100% leasing fee, a $400 renewal fee, and a 15% maintenance markup will out-earn an 8% company with a 50% leasing fee and no markup on a property that turns every two years. Model the full year.

Assuming "full service" means the PM handles BCAD protests and insurance claims. It almost never does. Property tax protests (notice arrives around April, informal hearing with the appraiser, then the ARB in May–July) are on you or a protest service. Insurance claims from the April hailstorms are on you. Ask.

Not checking whether the PM holds the security deposit in a separate account. Texas doesn't require escrow segregation the way some states do, but you want it anyway. When the tenant moves out, Property Code § 92.103 gives the landlord 30 days to return the deposit with an itemized list of deductions. If the PM's operating account is the deposit account, your money is exposed to their business risk.

Ignoring the termination clause. Look for: notice period to cancel (30–90 days is normal), whether there's a termination fee, and — critically — whether the PM keeps the leasing fee if you fire them mid-lease. Some agreements claw back a pro-rated leasing fee if you terminate within 6–12 months of a placement. That's the clause that traps people.

Treating the PM as the tenant's landlord for legal purposes. You are still the landlord. If the tenant sues under § 92.0563 for a repair not made, or § 92.331 for a wrongful lockout, or § 92.108 for retaliation, the suit lands on your title. The PM's E&O helps; it doesn't replace your own landlord policy.

Hiring a PM that isn't a licensed Texas broker. In Texas, leasing and managing third-party real estate for compensation requires a TREC real estate license held by a broker (or a sponsored agent acting under one). Ask for the broker's license number and verify it on TREC's public search before you sign.

A quick sanity check on total cost

On a $1,800/month Converse rental (78109, Judson ISD) with a two-year tenancy, an 8% monthly fee, a 75% leasing fee, a $250 renewal, and a 10% maintenance markup on roughly $1,200 of annual repairs:

• Monthly management: $1,728/yr
• Leasing fee (amortized over 2 yrs): $675/yr
• Renewal fee (year 2): $125/yr amortized
• Maintenance markup: $120/yr
• Effective all-in: ~$2,650/yr, or about 12.3% of gross rent

That's the number to benchmark against self-management, not the 8% on the marketing page.

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If you're evaluating managers or deciding whether to keep handling the property yourself, RentInSA has landlord resources at /resources, a free FSBO-style listing path for rentals at /list-your-home, and vetted local agents at /agents who can refer PM companies they've worked with on their own portfolios.