What does a Sarasota property manager do?
Every job a Sarasota property manager handles, how management fees are usually structured, who holds the money and what to read in the agreement.
A Sarasota property manager runs the rental for you from start to finish: pricing it, finding and screening a tenant, writing the lease, collecting rent, handling repairs, sending you statements and dealing with renewals and move-outs. For a seasonal home, add cleaning and checks between stays and the sales and tourist tax. The management agreement is where all of that gets written down, so it’s worth knowing what should be in it before you sign one.
Here’s the full list of what the job covers, how fees are generally set up, and what to look for in the agreement.
What does a property manager handle before the home is rented?
Most of the work that decides how a rental goes happens before anyone moves in.
Pricing. A good manager prices from what similar homes nearby are actually leasing for, not from an online estimate. If your home could work as an annual or a seasonal rental, you should see both numbers side by side.
Getting the home ready. That means advice on what’s worth fixing before photos, and what isn’t. A dripping faucet and a tired paint color both cost you showings.
Marketing. Photos, a written description, an MLS listing and online exposure, plus someone to answer calls and run showings.
Screening. Every applicant should be checked against written criteria applied the same way to everyone: credit, eviction history, income, employment and rental references. Fair housing law applies to all of it, including how assistance animal requests are handled.
Association approval. Many Sarasota and Manatee condos and HOAs require an application and approval before a tenant can move in, and some set minimum lease terms. The manager should read your documents before listing and handle the application.
The lease. A Florida lease that fits the home, signed before move-in, with the security deposit collected through the brokerage.
What does a manager do once a tenant moves in?
Inspections. A documented move-in inspection with photos, and the same at move-out. Those records are what a deposit claim stands on later.
Repairs. Tenants call the manager, not you. The manager gets a vendor out, follows up and keeps you in the loop. A 24/7 emergency line matters here, because AC failures and leaks don’t wait for business hours.
Rent collection. Rent comes in through the brokerage. If it’s late, the manager sends the late notice and the 3-day notice Florida law requires before an eviction for unpaid rent, and handles an eviction through the court process with an attorney if it ever comes to that.
Statements and payouts. You should get a monthly statement showing what came in and what went out, with invoices for any work, and an itemized year-end summary for your taxes. Ask how payouts are sent. Ours go by direct deposit.
Renewals. Before the lease ends, the manager reviews the rent against the market, talks with you about renewing, and either signs a renewal or plans the move-out.
Move-outs. The move-out inspection, the deposit return or claim within the timelines Florida law sets, and getting the home ready for the next tenant.
Storms and empty months. Help arranging storm prep, a check on the home after a storm, and checks while the home sits empty between tenants or seasons. We cover the storm side in our hurricane season guide for rental owners.
What changes with a seasonal rental?
Seasonal furnished homes are more work. High season (January to April) and low season (May to December) are priced separately. There’s cleaning and a check of the home between stays, and repairs that have to happen in the short gap before the next arrival. Your own weeks get blocked out before the rest of the calendar is marketed.
Rentals of six months or less also carry Florida sales tax and the county tourist development tax. For the seasonal homes we manage, Wagner Realty collects and files both. Our seasonal management page explains how a season runs.
What full-service management should include
Use this to compare any manager's offer, including ours.
- A rental price analysis from what similar homes are leasing for
- Photos, a listing description, MLS exposure and showings
- Written screening criteria applied the same way to every applicant
- Condo and HOA lease applications and approvals
- Lease preparation, signing and the security deposit collected through the brokerage
- Documented move-in and move-out inspections with photos
- Repair coordination and a 24/7 emergency line for tenants
- Rent collection, late notices and evictions if it comes to that
- Monthly statements with invoices and an itemized year-end summary
- Lease renewals and rent reviews
- Vacant-home checks, storm prep help and post-storm checks
- For seasonal homes: turnovers between stays, your own weeks blocked out, and sales and tourist tax filed
The full version of our list, grouped the way the work actually happens, is on our what’s included page.
How do property management fees usually work?
Fee structures vary from company to company, but most are built from a few common types:
- A monthly management fee, usually a percentage of the rent collected.
- A leasing or placement fee, charged when a new tenant signs.
- A renewal fee, charged when an existing tenant signs a new lease. Some companies charge one, some don’t.
- Maintenance coordination, a charge some companies add on top of the vendor’s invoice for arranging repairs.
Seasonal management is often priced differently from annual management because the work is different. Some companies also charge for things like setting up a new account, inspections, advertising or a vacant month, so ask for a complete list in writing.
We don’t publish our fees because they depend on the home, the area and whether it’s an annual or seasonal rental. We go over them on a short call, and they’re written into the Wagner Realty management agreement before you sign.
[NEEDS RICHARD: a charge from another company that surprised an owner who came to you (no company names, no numbers)]
Who holds the rent and deposits?
In Florida, leasing and managing someone else’s rental for pay generally requires a real estate license, and the money goes through a broker’s escrow account, not a manager’s personal account. Florida law also sets rules for how a tenant’s security deposit is held and when and how it has to be returned or claimed.
When we manage a home, your management agreement is with Wagner Realty, and rents and deposits are held in Wagner Realty’s escrow accounts. They are never held by us personally. If a manager can’t tell you clearly where your money sits, that’s your answer.
What should you read in the management agreement?
The agreement is a contract with the brokerage, so read all of it. These are the parts owners most often skip:
What’s included and what costs extra. Every service and every fee, written out, so there’s nothing to argue about later.
How repairs are handled. How you’re kept in the loop on repairs, how emergencies are handled when you can’t be reached, and how vendors are chosen.
Term and cancellation. How long the agreement runs, how much notice either side has to give, and whether there’s a charge for ending it early.
What happens to the tenant if you cancel. Who keeps managing the current lease, and how the deposit, keys and records get handed over.
Payouts and reporting. When you’re paid, how, and what statements you’ll get.
Insurance. Carrying the right landlord insurance is the owner’s job. The agreement will usually say what coverage you need. A policy for a home you live in often doesn’t cover a rental, so talk to your insurance agent.
If you’re comparing companies, our list of 10 questions to ask a Sarasota property manager works as a script for the first call. If your home will sit empty part of the year, read home watch or property management too.
What’s the next step?
Start with what your home could rent for. Request a free rental analysis and we’ll send you a rent range based on what similar homes are leasing for, annual and seasonal if it fits. Then we can walk you through our agreement line by line. Prefer to manage it yourself? Ask about leasing only, which our owner FAQ explains.
