How Much Does Property Management Cost in Des Moines, Iowa?
If you're researching property management companies in Des Moines, the fee question comes up fast — and the answers you find online are often frustratingly vague.
"It depends." "Call for a quote." "Typically 8–12%."
This guide does something different. It breaks down every fee category you'll encounter when comparing Des Moines property management companies, explains what's standard versus what's a red flag, and shows you exactly what Caddie Property Management charges — because we believe transparency is the starting point for a good landlord-manager relationship.
By the end, you'll know precisely what to ask any property management company before you sign.
The Five Fee Categories You Need to Understand
Property management pricing is rarely one number. Most companies charge across several categories, and the total cost only becomes clear when you add them all up. Here's how to evaluate each one.
1. Monthly Management Fee
This is the core ongoing fee — what you pay every month for day-to-day management of your property.
Industry range in Des Moines: Most property management companies in the Des Moines metro charge either a percentage of monthly rent (typically 8–12%) or a flat monthly fee.
On a $1,400/month rental, an 8% management fee is $112/month. A 10% fee is $140/month. A 12% fee is $168/month.
What to watch for: Percentage-based fees aren't inherently bad, but they create a subtle misalignment — the manager earns more when your rent is higher, regardless of how much work they're actually doing. Flat fees eliminate that dynamic entirely.
What Caddie charges: A flat $99/month for full-service management — regardless of what your property rents for. On a $1,400/month rental, that's roughly 7% of rent. On a $1,800/month rental, it's 5.5%. The more your property earns, the better the value.
2. Leasing Fee (Tenant Placement Fee)
This is the one-time fee charged every time your property manager finds and places a new tenant. It's separate from monthly management and only applies when a vacancy is filled.
Industry range in Des Moines: Most companies charge between 50% and 100% of one month's rent. Some charge a flat fee in the $500–$1,000 range.
On a $1,400/month rental, a 100% leasing fee is $1,400. A 50% fee is $700.
What to watch for: A low leasing fee paired with a high monthly fee — or vice versa — can obscure the true annual cost. Always calculate what you'd pay over a full 12-month tenancy, including the leasing fee amortized over the lease term.
What Caddie charges: 75% of one month's rent for both the Tenant Placement plan and the Full Service plan. On a $1,400/month rental, that's $1,050 — paid once at placement. Amortized over a 12-month lease, that adds roughly $87.50 to your effective monthly cost.
3. Lease Renewal Fee
When a tenant renews their lease for another term, some property management companies charge a renewal fee to cover the administrative work of drafting a new lease and re-confirming terms.
Industry range in Des Moines: Renewal fees range from $0 to $300+. Some companies charge a percentage of rent. Others waive it entirely.
Why it matters: Tenant retention is one of the highest-value things a property manager can do. Every time a tenant turns over, you pay a new leasing fee, face potential vacancy days, and absorb cleaning and touch-up costs. A manager who charges for renewals isn't necessarily doing anything wrong — but you want to know about it upfront.
What Caddie charges: A flat $300 lease renewal fee. That's a predictable, one-time cost for keeping a good tenant in place — almost always a better financial outcome than paying a new leasing fee on a vacancy.
4. Maintenance Markups
This is where property management pricing gets murky — and where some landlords get surprised.
Many property management companies charge a markup on maintenance and repair work coordinated through their office. A plumber bills $200; the manager invoices you $240 and keeps the 20% difference. This practice is common and legal, but it's not always disclosed clearly.
Industry range: Markups typically run 10–20% on top of vendor invoices.
What to watch for: Ask any prospective property manager directly: "Do you mark up maintenance invoices?" If the answer is unclear or evasive, that's important information.
What Caddie charges: No maintenance markup — ever. You're invoiced at cost, exactly what the vendor charges. This matters more than it might seem. On a $5,000/year in maintenance on an older home, a 15% markup adds $750 in invisible costs annually.
5. Setup / Onboarding Fees
Some property managers charge a one-time fee when you first bring a property on — covering initial inspection, lease setup, system onboarding, and administrative work.
Industry range: $0 to $500+, depending on the company.
What Caddie charges: No setup or onboarding fee. Getting started with Caddie doesn't cost you anything beyond the standard leasing and management fees.
The Full Picture: What Caddie Costs in Year One
Numbers are easier to evaluate in context. Here's what a typical first year with Caddie looks like on a single-family rental at $1,400/month.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly management (12 months × $99) | $1,188 |
| Leasing fee (75% of $1,400) | $1,050 |
| Lease renewal fee | $0 (renewal in year 2) |
| Maintenance markup | $0 |
| Setup / onboarding fee | $0 |
| Total Year 1 Cost | $2,238 |
That works out to an effective rate of about 13.3% of gross annual rent ($16,800) — which sounds higher than a "10% management fee" until you realize that a 10% manager charging a 100% leasing fee, a $300 renewal, and a 15% maintenance markup on $4,000 in annual repairs adds up to significantly more.
The lesson: always compare total annual cost, not just the management percentage.
What You're Actually Paying For
Fees are only worth evaluating in the context of what you get. Here's what's included in Caddie's Full Service plan at $99/month:
- Enhanced marketing — your property listed across major rental platforms to minimize vacancy days
- Tenant screening — credit, background, income verification, and rental history checks
- Rent collection — online payment processing and enforcement
- Move-in and move-out inspections — documented property condition at every transition
- Annual walk-through inspection — proactive identification of maintenance issues before they become expensive
- Home maintenance coordination — vendor dispatching with no markup
- Owner portal access — real-time visibility into rent collection, maintenance history, and financials
- Monthly owner statements and ACH payments — your money, on time, with clear documentation
- Eviction assistance — support if the situation requires legal action
- Year-end 1099 and financial statements — everything you need for taxes, organized
- No cancellation fee — if it's not working, you're not trapped
Questions to Ask Every Property Manager Before You Sign
Use these as your due diligence checklist when comparing Des Moines property management companies:
- Is your monthly fee a flat fee or a percentage of rent?
- What is your leasing fee, and does it apply on renewals as well?
- Do you charge a lease renewal fee?
- Do you mark up maintenance invoices? By how much?
- Is there an onboarding or setup fee?
- Is there a cancellation fee?
- What's your average days-to-lease on vacant properties?
- How do you handle maintenance requests — do you have in-house staff or use third-party vendors?
- Do you provide monthly financial statements and a year-end summary?
- What does your tenant screening process look like?
A company that answers all ten questions clearly and directly — without redirecting you to a sales call — is a company that's confident in what they offer. Opacity on fees is almost always a signal worth paying attention to.
DIY vs. Hiring a Property Manager: The Real Math
Some Des Moines landlords manage their own properties, and for a small portfolio close to home, that can make sense. But the true cost of self-management is often underestimated.
Consider what you give up or spend when managing yourself:
- Time: Tenant calls, maintenance coordination, showing vacancies, and lease renewals easily run 5–10 hours per month per property for an active landlord.
- Vacancy risk: Professional managers typically lease faster because of broader marketing reach and faster showing response times. Every day of vacancy on a $1,400/month rental costs $46. Two extra weeks of vacancy costs $644 — more than six months of Caddie's management fee.
- Tenant quality: Systematic screening reduces the risk of late payments, property damage, and eviction. The average eviction in Iowa costs $1,500–$3,500 in legal fees, lost rent, and turnover costs.
- Maintenance markup savings: With Caddie, there's no markup on repairs — which means you're already saving compared to managers who charge 15–20% on top of every vendor invoice.
For most investors managing one to five single-family properties in Des Moines, professional management pays for itself when you account for vacancy reduction, maintenance savings, and recovered time.
Caddie's Two Plans, Simply Explained
Tenant Placement Only — Caddie finds and places your tenant. You handle day-to-day management yourself. The leasing fee is 75% of one month's rent. No monthly management fee.
Full Service — Caddie handles everything: marketing, screening, rent collection, maintenance coordination, inspections, accounting, and more. $99/month flat, plus the 75% leasing fee when a tenant is placed and a $300 renewal fee when a lease renews.
No setup fees. No maintenance markups. No cancellation penalties.
View Caddie's full pricing page or contact us to talk through which plan fits your situation.
The Bottom Line
Property management in Des Moines typically costs $80–$200/month in management fees, a 50–100% leasing fee at placement, and potentially additional charges for renewals, maintenance markups, and onboarding — depending on the company.
Caddie Property Management keeps it simple: $99/month flat, 75% leasing fee, $300 renewal, no markups, no onboarding fee, no cancellation fee. Every cost is disclosed upfront, and none of them are hidden inside your maintenance invoices.
If you're evaluating property managers in Des Moines and want a straightforward comparison, we're happy to walk through the numbers with you.
