Fair and transparent pricing with no hidden fees
First Lock Property Management is based at 400 Arcola Rd A-5 in Collegeville, PA, and manages residential and commercial rental properties throughout Montgomery County and the surrounding area. Our property management fees are built on one principle: we get paid when you get paid. The monthly management fee is charged only in the months we actually collect your rent, the management agreement is month-to-month, and there are no termination fees and no hidden line items on your statement. Your exact rate is quoted in a written management plan built around your property, and we walk you through every line of it before you sign anything.
Plans
Lease Only
No monthly management fee. The leasing fee is 100% of one month's rent, charged at completion. Includes the marketing, screening, and leasing work needed to place a qualified tenant before you self-manage.
Full Service Management & Leasing
Monthly management at a custom percentage of collected rent, charged only when we successfully collect.
Here is exactly what each plan includes, side by side, so you can see where every dollar of your property management fee goes.
| Lease Only | Full Service Management & Leasing | |
|---|---|---|
| Property Marketing | ||
| Custom Rental Analysis | ||
| Make-Ready Project Management | ||
| High-Quality Property Photos | ||
| Video Walk-Through Tour | ||
| Live Agent Phone Service | ||
| 12 Point Applicant Screening Process | ||
| Pet Screening | ||
| Lease Preparation & Signing | ||
| Move-in Condition Documentation | ||
| Move-in Coordination | ||
| Utility Transfers | ||
| Property Management - Full Service | ||
| 24/7 Property Maintenance Monitoring | ||
| Maintenance Coordination & Management | 10% coordination fee | |
| Bill Pay | ||
| Utility Administration & Management | ||
| Lease Enforcement | ||
| Annual Property Inspection | ||
| Eviction Services | ||
| Lease Renewal Process | $250 | |
| HOA Administration | ||
| Security Deposit Disposition at Move Out | ||
| Financial Reporting | ||
| Rent Collection | ||
| Secure Online Portal | ||
| Monthly Reporting | ||
| ACH Owner Payments | ||
| Year-End Tax Reporting | ||
| Benefits | ||
| Tenant Placement | ||
| Rent Deposit | ||
| Management Fee | ||
| Leasing Fee | ||
| One Contact & Response Time | ||
| 30 Day Contract | ||
| Legal Compliance | ||
How Our Fee Structure Works
Most property managers bill a flat monthly fee whether or not your rent ever arrives, and bill a leasing fee up front before a tenant is ever in place. We do neither.
Our management fee is tied to collected rent. A month with no rent collected is a month with no management fee, which means a vacancy costs us alongside you rather than costing only you. Our leasing fee is tied to a signed, paid lease, so we are not paid for placing a tenant until that tenant is actually in the property and paying.
Beyond those two fees, the only other charges are a coordination fee on maintenance we manage on your behalf — covering vendor dispatch, cost-control protocols, and post-repair follow-up with the resident — and a lease renewal fee when an existing tenant renews, which is still considerably cheaper than turning the unit over. Every one of these appears in your written proposal before you sign, so nothing shows up on a statement you have not already seen.
The most expensive mistake a real estate investor can make is working with a cheap property manager. A low headline rate attached to long vacancies, weak screening, and deferred maintenance costs far more than a fair fee attached to a manager who performs. First Lock keeps pricing straightforward and aligned with performance.
Property Management Fee FAQs
Our fees are quoted per property. Full-service management is a percentage of collected rent, charged only in months we collect, plus a leasing fee when we place a tenant. Lease-only service has no monthly fee at all — it is a one-time leasing fee charged at completion. Because no two portfolios have the same needs, we put your exact rate in writing in a custom management plan before you sign anything.
It starts with a short interview so we understand your goals and which services you actually need, followed by a custom rental market analysis on the property itself. Property type, unit count, condition, and scope of service all factor in. We then present a written management plan over a video call or in person and walk you through every line of it.
Only when we successfully collect your rent. If the rent does not come in, you do not pay a management fee that month. That is our Management Fee Benefit, and it keeps our incentives aligned with yours — we get paid when you get paid.
The leasing fee covers the marketing, screening, and leasing work needed to place a qualified tenant: rental analysis, professional photos, a video walk-through tour, live agent phone service, our 12-point applicant screening process, lease preparation, and move-in coordination. You do not pay it until there is a signed lease and the tenant has paid. Many companies in the area charge an up-front leasing fee before a tenant is ever in place.
No. The charges are the monthly management fee, the leasing fee when we place a tenant, a coordination fee on maintenance we manage on your behalf, and a lease renewal fee when an existing tenant renews. We walk you through every line in your proposal up front, so there are no surprises on your statement.
No. The management fee is tied to collected rent, so a month with no rent collected is a month with no management fee. If we placed the tenant and they break their lease within the first 12 months, we also find a replacement at no additional leasing cost under our Tenant Placement Benefit.
No termination fees and no penalties. We offer a month-to-month management agreement rather than a multi-year lock-in, because we would rather earn your business every month. You can cancel, and our Contract Benefit means you stay because the service is worth it.
Why Owners Trust First Lock
- Tenant Placement
- Rent Deposit
- Management Fee
- One Contact & Response Time