Property management companies are well known for taking the helm of complex housing portfolios such as sprawling apartment communities and high-turnover vacation rentals. But are they a good option for everyday homeowners who need home maintenance and home management help for their primary or secondary residence? And what about those looking to list their spare spaces on rental platforms such as Airbnb? Are property management companies the only option for these homeowners? 

We’re sharing our insights on the roles and responsibilities of property management services, the costs associated with these type of services, and a few alternatives to traditional property management companies.

What Is Property Management, and What Do Property Managers Do?

Property managers are hired by property owners to manage all aspects of the property, including things like maintenance, cleaning, collecting rent, and contracting short and long-term tenants.

Large multi-unit rental communities typically require a robust team of specialists to manage all aspects of the property. These complex arrangements often require a 24-hour maintenance crew, full-time leasing agents, a cleaning staff, and operational managers all working together to respond to tenant requests, fix repairs, and a whole host of other responsibilities.

In other cases, an individual can act as a property manager for a single investor-owned vacation property. This person might be tasked to oversee bookings on platforms such as Airbnb, including coordinating things like check-ins and post-stay cleanings, and resolving repairs and maintenance as needed.

How Much Do Property Managers Charge?

Property management companies typically charge fees based on a percentage of total monthly earnings. This fee can be upwards of 8 to 12%. For smaller properties, they may charge a flat monthly rate. Multiple additional charges may also incur. These include additional management fees, contract set-up fees, maintenance fees for repairs or preventative work, booking or leasing fees, late payment fees, eviction fees, inspection fees, and so on. 

The fees leveraged will be largely dependent on the type of property and its needs. A 500-unit complex requires far more oversight than, say, a 5-bedroom rental home on Airbnb.

If you’re considering hiring a property management company to manage your property, be sure to understand all of the potential fees upfront before engaging in any legally binding agreements.

---

The best property management company in Boulder isn’t even a property management company

Home concierge companies are popping up all across the US to help homeowners manage and maintain their investments. What is home concierge, and is it right for you? As a leading provider of home concierge services in Boulder, Colorado, we’re sharing what’s important to know about this new trend in home maintenance.

---

Property Management vs Co-Hosting Company vs Home Concierge

With the surge in popularity of rental platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Homestay, and many others, more homeowners and investors are looking for ways to capitalize on the demand for unique and homey overnights. Thankfully, there are a growing number of options to help homeowners manage their homes and listings, but it can get a bit confusing knowing which service helps with what.

In addition to traditional property management companies, now there are co-hosting companies and home concierge companies. We’re breaking down the differences so you can determine what’s right for you.

Property Management Companies
—

As we mentioned earlier in this article, traditional property management companies tend to have tremendous resources and experience in handling the interworkings of mega apartment complexes and can offer solutions for other high-volume housing situations such as sororities or fraternities and high-volume multi-unit vacation rentals. These traditional property management companies are therefore going to be great fits for large-scale investment housing bundles.

But for smaller-scale homeowner investors looking to get into the game, there are other options out there worth considering.

Co-Hosting Companies
—

An alternative to property management companies for homeowners who want to list their homes on platforms such as Airbnb are co-hosting companies. A relatively new type of service, these companies focus specifically on the property management of short-term rentals.

Co-hosting services take over the management of the property listing across multiple platforms to prevent overbookings, while also focusing on customer satisfaction and cultivating good reviews. They also manage things like post-stay cleaning and turnaround services like restocking toilet paper and checking that everything in the home is in working order.

This service can be especially valuable for investor homeowners residing in different states or countries than their properties. Akin to property management companies, co-hosting services can charge steep management fees, upwards of 25%. This takes a serious bite out of any earnings, which might make this a cost-prohibitive option for homeowners looking to test out Airbnb as a potential side income.

Home Concierge
—

Home Concierge is an emerging trend in the home management and home maintenance space.

While they vary greatly, companies offering home concierge services tend to focus on protecting the investment of the home through proactive home maintenance rather than reactive home maintenance. In other words, they find and fix potentially costly problems before they become painfully expensive, often saving homeowners major money in the process. 

Proactive maintenance can be challenging for larger property management firms and even co-hosting companies, as they’re often juggling a higher volume of repairs and have to work within continuously-occupied units.

Some home concierge companies stay away from servicing rentals altogether, focusing instead on providing premiere services to discerning homeowners who care about the long-term investment value of their homes. 

A home concierge is more like a home manager as they combine home maintenance with personal, home-related concierge services to help homeowners better balance the demands of managing a home. This frees up time for homeowners to focus on what they love to do most, instead of time-sucking home maintenance tasks.

These services are often subscription-based and are tailored to the unique needs of the homeowner and what needs to be done each week, month, quarterly, and so on.

For homeowners looking to experiment on platforms like Airbnb, a home concierge might be able to assist with coordinating post-stay services or maintenance for your listing. This might be a great option for homeowners who want to manage the listings themselves while also holding onto a greater percentage of their profits.

Pros and Cons of Property Management
—

Pros:

• All aspects of property management are handled for the property owner.

• Experience with handling complex systems for multi-unit housing.

• Absentee owners and larger-scale property investors can be entirely hands-off.

• Potentially less stressful as things are handled without owner involvement.

Cons:

• Owner turns over full control to the property management company, which may not run things as the owner would.

• Percentage fees and other additional fees can be costly and dramatically erode profits.

• Small investors may not actually take advantage of the full set of services they’re being charged for.

• Sometimes less personal for smaller property investors.

Pros and Cons of Co-Hosting Services
—

Pros:

• Focuses specifically on short-term rentals, a potentially good option for homeowners looking to monetize on rental platforms like Airbnb.

• They manage your rental listings for you, including marketing and fulfillment.

• Good for absentee owners.

Cons:

• Often very expensive, taking upwards of a 25% cut of your total monthly earnings.

• Owner relinquishes full control over managing your property and who stays there.

• These companies aren’t centrally focused on protecting the value of your property, but rather maximizing total earnings. They might deprioritize proactive routine maintenance if it means fewer bookings and profits for them.

Pros and Cons of Home Concierge
—

Pros:

• Home concierge is focused on protecting the investment value of your home and reducing the everyday burdens of managing it for the homeowner. 

• Proactive home maintenance is highly prioritized. Routine maintenance is scheduled and completed before issues become scary and expensive, saving homeowners major money over time.

• Home concierge gives homeowners more time back to do the things they love. Does your house need repainting? Let a home concierge service handle it and take that weekend trip you’ve been dreaming about instead.

• These plans tend to be subscription-based, helping homeowners budget expenses over time.

Cons:

• These plans often involve a monthly financial commitment. While this often pays for itself by catching and addressing issues early through preventative maintenance, a home concierge service would not be a good fit for someone looking to do the bare minimum of home maintenance.

• A home concierge company may not be willing to work with absentee homeowners or larger investment groups.

Property management companies are well known for taking the helm of complex housing portfolios such as sprawling apartment communities and high-turnover vacation rentals. But are they a good option for everyday homeowners who need home maintenance and home management help for their primary or secondary residence? And what about those looking to list their spare spaces on rental platforms such as Airbnb? Are property management companies the only option for these homeowners? 

We’re sharing our insights on the roles and responsibilities of property management services, the costs associated with these type of services, and a few alternatives to traditional property management companies.

What Is Property Management, and What Do Property Managers Do?

Property managers are hired by property owners to manage all aspects of the property, including things like maintenance, cleaning, collecting rent, and contracting short and long-term tenants.

Large multi-unit rental communities typically require a robust team of specialists to manage all aspects of the property. These complex arrangements often require a 24-hour maintenance crew, full-time leasing agents, a cleaning staff, and operational managers all working together to respond to tenant requests, fix repairs, and a whole host of other responsibilities.

In other cases, an individual can act as a property manager for a single investor-owned vacation property. This person might be tasked to oversee bookings on platforms such as Airbnb, including coordinating things like check-ins and post-stay cleanings, and resolving repairs and maintenance as needed.

How Much Do Property Managers Charge?

Property management companies typically charge fees based on a percentage of total monthly earnings. This fee can be upwards of 8 to 12%. For smaller properties, they may charge a flat monthly rate. Multiple additional charges may also incur. These include additional management fees, contract set-up fees, maintenance fees for repairs or preventative work, booking or leasing fees, late payment fees, eviction fees, inspection fees, and so on. 

The fees leveraged will be largely dependent on the type of property and its needs. A 500-unit complex requires far more oversight than, say, a 5-bedroom rental home on Airbnb.

If you’re considering hiring a property management company to manage your property, be sure to understand all of the potential fees upfront before engaging in any legally binding agreements.

---

The best property management company in Boulder isn’t even a property management company

Home concierge companies are popping up all across the US to help homeowners manage and maintain their investments. What is home concierge, and is it right for you? As a leading provider of home concierge services in Boulder, Colorado, we’re sharing what’s important to know about this new trend in home maintenance.

---

Property Management vs Co-Hosting Company vs Home Concierge

With the surge in popularity of rental platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Homestay, and many others, more homeowners and investors are looking for ways to capitalize on the demand for unique and homey overnights. Thankfully, there are a growing number of options to help homeowners manage their homes and listings, but it can get a bit confusing knowing which service helps with what.

In addition to traditional property management companies, now there are co-hosting companies and home concierge companies. We’re breaking down the differences so you can determine what’s right for you.

Property Management Companies
—

As we mentioned earlier in this article, traditional property management companies tend to have tremendous resources and experience in handling the interworkings of mega apartment complexes and can offer solutions for other high-volume housing situations such as sororities or fraternities and high-volume multi-unit vacation rentals. These traditional property management companies are therefore going to be great fits for large-scale investment housing bundles.

But for smaller-scale homeowner investors looking to get into the game, there are other options out there worth considering.

Co-Hosting Companies
—

An alternative to property management companies for homeowners who want to list their homes on platforms such as Airbnb are co-hosting companies. A relatively new type of service, these companies focus specifically on the property management of short-term rentals.

Co-hosting services take over the management of the property listing across multiple platforms to prevent overbookings, while also focusing on customer satisfaction and cultivating good reviews. They also manage things like post-stay cleaning and turnaround services like restocking toilet paper and checking that everything in the home is in working order.

This service can be especially valuable for investor homeowners residing in different states or countries than their properties. Akin to property management companies, co-hosting services can charge steep management fees, upwards of 25%. This takes a serious bite out of any earnings, which might make this a cost-prohibitive option for homeowners looking to test out Airbnb as a potential side income.

Home Concierge
—

Home Concierge is an emerging trend in the home management and home maintenance space.

While they vary greatly, companies offering home concierge services tend to focus on protecting the investment of the home through proactive home maintenance rather than reactive home maintenance. In other words, they find and fix potentially costly problems before they become painfully expensive, often saving homeowners major money in the process. 

Proactive maintenance can be challenging for larger property management firms and even co-hosting companies, as they’re often juggling a higher volume of repairs and have to work within continuously-occupied units.

Some home concierge companies stay away from servicing rentals altogether, focusing instead on providing premiere services to discerning homeowners who care about the long-term investment value of their homes. 

A home concierge is more like a home manager as they combine home maintenance with personal, home-related concierge services to help homeowners better balance the demands of managing a home. This frees up time for homeowners to focus on what they love to do most, instead of time-sucking home maintenance tasks.

These services are often subscription-based and are tailored to the unique needs of the homeowner and what needs to be done each week, month, quarterly, and so on.

For homeowners looking to experiment on platforms like Airbnb, a home concierge might be able to assist with coordinating post-stay services or maintenance for your listing. This might be a great option for homeowners who want to manage the listings themselves while also holding onto a greater percentage of their profits.

Pros and Cons of Property Management
—

Pros:

• All aspects of property management are handled for the property owner.

• Experience with handling complex systems for multi-unit housing.

• Absentee owners and larger-scale property investors can be entirely hands-off.

• Potentially less stressful as things are handled without owner involvement.

Cons:

• Owner turns over full control to the property management company, which may not run things as the owner would.

• Percentage fees and other additional fees can be costly and dramatically erode profits.

• Small investors may not actually take advantage of the full set of services they’re being charged for.

• Sometimes less personal for smaller property investors.

Pros and Cons of Co-Hosting Services
—

Pros:

• Focuses specifically on short-term rentals, a potentially good option for homeowners looking to monetize on rental platforms like Airbnb.

• They manage your rental listings for you, including marketing and fulfillment.

• Good for absentee owners.

Cons:

• Often very expensive, taking upwards of a 25% cut of your total monthly earnings.

• Owner relinquishes full control over managing your property and who stays there.

• These companies aren’t centrally focused on protecting the value of your property, but rather maximizing total earnings. They might deprioritize proactive routine maintenance if it means fewer bookings and profits for them.

Pros and Cons of Home Concierge
—

Pros:

• Home concierge is focused on protecting the investment value of your home and reducing the everyday burdens of managing it for the homeowner. 

• Proactive home maintenance is highly prioritized. Routine maintenance is scheduled and completed before issues become scary and expensive, saving homeowners major money over time.

• Home concierge gives homeowners more time back to do the things they love. Does your house need repainting? Let a home concierge service handle it and take that weekend trip you’ve been dreaming about instead.

• These plans tend to be subscription-based, helping homeowners budget expenses over time.

Cons:

• These plans often involve a monthly financial commitment. While this often pays for itself by catching and addressing issues early through preventative maintenance, a home concierge service would not be a good fit for someone looking to do the bare minimum of home maintenance.

• A home concierge company may not be willing to work with absentee homeowners or larger investment groups.