Searching for, “property management San Francisco?” If so, you’re in the right place.
Our complete guide covers some of the top-rated companies, their services, and tips on hiring them.
Looking for Property Management in San Francisco?
San Francisco can be a landlord’s dream or worst nightmare. It’s the number one rental market in the United States right now. A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco rents for an average of $3,040/month.
Compare that to the average New York City one-bedroom rental price of $2,700/month, or the national average of $1,233/month. For property owners, San Francisco represents the holy grail of rental income.
But whether renting out property in the Bay Area is a nightmare or a dream depends on the way you find tenants, the quality of those tenants, and who’s in charge of actively managing the property.
What’s Wrong With Self-Managing Properties?
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Owners who choose to self-manage their San Francisco properties will quickly find that intense regulations and complicated ordinances are tough to keep up and comply with.
Failure to comply can result in lawsuits. Common issues like rent collection, lease creation, property inspections, and maintenance further weigh landlords down.
Tenant quality and sourcing are other issues many property owners struggle with. Screening tenants takes time, research, and requires access to resources and national databases.
Finding good tenants often means spending money on advertising, spending time crafting property descriptions, taking photos and videos, and responding to applications and questions.
In fact, many landlords take up to 75 days to place a tenant. With an average rent of $2,700 per month, that’s nearly $4,000 out of your pocket.
Why Hiring a Property Management Company Is Better
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That’s why so many property owners and investors turn to one of the many property management companies San Francisco offers.
Property management companies follow changing rules and regulations in the area to ensure their clients stay in compliance.
They also take care of tenant screening and placement to ensure only the best quality tenants can lease a property.
To varying degrees, different property management companies will handle regular tasks like:
- Responding to maintenance requests
- Property inspections
- Rent collection
- Lease creation and renewal
- Rent increases
- Financial reporting for owners
- And much more
With the rental and housing market undergoing major changes in San Francisco, now is the time to enlist the help of a property management company.
They will ensure you’re maximizing your rental income potential without spending all your time managing properties.
If you’re in the San Francisco area and you’ve been considering hiring a property management company, this guide is just what you need.
We’ve found 10 of the most prominent property management companies in San Francisco and reached out to each one for detailed fee and service information.
Property Management San Francisco: Top 10 Companies
Here are our top 10 picks for property management companies in San Francisco.
We’ve included what makes each company stand out, services offered, and fees so you can have all the information you need to find the best option for you.
1. Onerent Property Management
Image Source: Onerent.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 6% (Basic plan) to 9% (360 plan) of monthly rent
- Renewal fee: None
- Occupancy fee: 40% (Basic plan) to 30% (360 plan)
Note that these fees are for up to 5 properties. Contact Onerent if you have more than five properties to manage.
For owners who want to partner with tech to quickly find tenants, Onerent is the gold standard. It’s backed by Google’s Chief of AI and manages more than 18,000 properties in California, Washington, and Colorado.
Get dedicated management for everything from leasing, rent collection, maintenance, tenant screening, and even home improvements.
Thousands of renters use the Onerent mobile app to find houses and apartments for rent, so you always have access to a wide pool of tenants.
Three property management plans are available: Leasing, Basic Management, and Onerent 360.
2. Present Financial Property Management
Image Source: Presentfinancialpm.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: $250/month (flat fee)
- Renewal fee: None
- Occupancy fee: None
Present Financial Property Management has a unique pricing approach for their property management services. Instead of fees based on a percentage of monthly rent, they have one flat fee.
Every owner pays the same fee, regardless of the monthly rent amount collected. Cancel anytime with no penalty.
They offer leasing, rent collection, online portals for owners and tenants, and access to maintenance and repair vendors. They promise “no markups on maintenance, ever.”
Present Financial has offices in San Francisco, Brea, and Carlsbad, CA.
3. Hemlane Property Management
Image Source: Hemlane.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: $2/unit + $28 base (Basic plan); $30/unit + $28 base (Smart plan)
- Renewal fee: None
- Occupancy fee: Unspecified fee for agent turnover assistance
Hemlane property management services covers leasing, tenant screening, rent collection, maintenance and repairs, inspections, and showings.
The two offered plans are available month-to-month or annually. If you want to self-manage properties, use their Basic plan with access to their all-in-one property management software.
For a fully managed service, choose the Smart plan. Add your preferred maintenance and repair service providers or use Hemlane’s fully managed third-party network for a fee of 5% of the total bill.
Plus, there’s a one month free trial for new users.
4. MYND Property Management
Image Source: Mynd.co
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 3.9% of rent/month (Core); 4.9% (Avid); 6.9% (Peace of Mynd)
- Renewal fee: $299 (Core); $149 (Avid); $0 (Peace of Mynd)
- Occupancy fee: 100% of 1st month’s rent (Core); 50% of 1st month’s rent (Avid); 0% (Peace of Mynd)
MYND Property Management services are designed to keep units occupied and ensure rental income is flowing in. When a tenant’s lease is almost up, they start advertising the vacancy to ensure there’s no long periods of vacancy.
MYND handles property preparation (rekeying, landscaping, utilities) as well as leasing, rent collection, maintenance, and more. MYND offers three plan options for different property management needs: The Core Service plan, Avid Investor plan, and Peace of Mynd plan.
Extras included with the Avid Investor plan are a rental income guarantee and eviction protection. The Peace of Mynd plan includes those extras as well as property damage protection up to $5,000.
5. Kenny Realty Sales and Property Management
Image Source: Kennyrealty.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: $125 per month, per unit (Single-Family plan); 6% of monthly income (Apartment plan)
- Renewal fee: $250
- Occupancy fee: 6% of annual income (Tenant Placement Only and Single-Family plans); 50% of monthly rent (Apartment plan)
Kenny Realty Property Management is a full-service property management company established in 1983. They offer three plans: Tenant Placement Only, Single-Family Houses, and Apartments.
They provide tenant placement and screening, lease management, rent collection, maintenance, and online portals for owners and tenants.
This property management company doesn’t charge any fees upfront. Initial fees are taken out of the first collected rent and security deposit.
6. Gordon Property Management
Image Source: Gpmsf.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 6% of monthly rent + additional fees (Full Service); 8% of monthly rent + leasing fees (Gold Standard)
- Renewal fee: None, but there is a $125 annual admin fee
- Occupancy fee: 55% of 1st month’s rent (Full Service); 85% of 1st month’s rent (Leasing Only)
Gordon Property Management has been around since 1987 and was founded by Stephanie Gordon. This company brings a deep understanding of the unique San Francisco rental market.
Transparent pricing and quality service are the pillars that Gordon Property Management is built on. They promise no hidden fees and include all pricing and fee information on their website.
Property management is all they do – they don’t sell real estate like many other property management companies San Francisco is home to.
Tenant screening and placement, listing and marketing, and lease management are included with all plans. Maintenance services and financial reporting are included with the Full Service and Gold Standard plans.
7. Leading Properties Property Management
Image Source: Leading-sf.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 6% of monthly rent (Full Service); 10% of monthly rent (Premium)
- Renewal fee: None
- Occupancy fee: 8% of first month’s rent (Leasing Only)
Leading Properties is a highly rated property management company in San Francisco. They pride themselves on transparency, honesty, and being easily accessible for owners and tenants.
With more than 20 years of experience managing properties in the Bay Area, this is a company you can trust to care for your property and keep it in compliance. They offer three plan options depending on your needs: Leasing Only, Full Service, and Premium.
The Premium plan includes portals for owners and tenants, rent collection, video advertising for vacancies, maintenance vendor access, and two annual property inspections.
8. East Bay Property Management
Image Source: Eastbaypmc.com
Pricing and Fees
Single-Family Homes and Condos:
- Management fee: 7.9% of gross monthly rent
- Renewal fee: $95
- Occupancy fee: None
Commercial and Multi-Family:
- Management fee: 5.9% of gross monthly rent (2-4 units); 4.9% (5+ units)
- Renewal fee: $95
- Occupancy fee: None
East Bay Property Management is owned and run by brother Mike and Tom Connelly. They offer complete property management services from leasing to maintenance.
You can customize your plan with them to self-manage more or to delegate all tasks to their team. Online tenant and owner portals allow for online payments, financial reporting, and 24/7 access to maintenance.
They have a 21-day rental guarantee that promises they’ll have your property rented out within 21 days, or the first two months are free. Additional fees can be found on their website.
9. Doorstead Property Management
Image Source: Doorstead.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 5% of monthly rent
- Renewal fee: None
- Occupancy fee: 50% of first month’s rent
Doorstead Property Management is unique because it guarantees your rental income. This applies whether they successfully place a tenant in your property or not.
If a tenant fails to pay rent, you still get the full amount from Doorstead. Having a little “skin in the game” means that Doorstead works hard to ensure your properties are never vacant and always earning you money.
Tenant placement, screening, leasing, maintenance, and move-in prep are included in the plan. There are no long-term contracts, so you’ll be on a month-to-month plan and cancel anytime.
If a tenant breaks their lease, Doorstead will find you a replacement tenant for free. They don’t mark up maintenance services, so you pay only what the service costs.
If you’re not enjoying the service after 90 days, they’ll fully refund the management fees you’ve paid.
10. Five Star Property Management
Image Source: Gofivestarpm.com
Pricing and Fees
- Management fee: 8% gross monthly rent (Premium); 10% gross monthly rent (Total Care); 100% 1st month’s rent (Leasing Only)
- Renewal fee: 10% of one month’s rent (Premium); None (Total Care); N/A (Leasing Only)
- Occupancy fee: 25% of one month’s rent (Premium); None (Total Care); 100% + $1,000 flat fee (Leasing Only)
Five Star Property Management is a popular company in San Francisco because of the complete services they offer. In almost every category, this company strives to go above and beyond.
Instead of an annual property inspection and report, you get a property inspection video. Vacancies are advertised with video and submitted to more than 150 rental websites for exposure.
Owners and tenants get access to their 24/7 maintenance hotline to ensure problems are taken care of fast. An eviction management protection plan is either available or included in your plan, depending on your choice.
You can even use Five Star to find a tenant and choose to manage the property yourself if you’d like.
Property Management Companies in San Francisco
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It’s easy to see why so many people flock to this lively tech-centered city on the bay. Rents here may be higher than the rest of the nation’s, but it’s no easier to manage a property.
In fact, managing your own San Francisco property can be more difficult than many other areas due to the various regulations and ordinances you’ll have to navigate.
Whether you’re just considering renting your San Francisco property out or already act as your own property manager, finding a great property management company you can trust makes all the difference.
Forget about hounding tenants for rent, responding to 3:00 am maintenance calls, or spending hours sifting through renter applications. Start with the companies we’ve listed here to find out which one will be the best fit.
Remember: The best property management companies strike a balance between cost and services to ensure you and your tenants get the best value.