In Brisbane, management fees generally run between 7% and 10% of the rent collected, with the average around 7.3%. Most agencies also charge a letting fee when a new tenant moves in — usually about one week’s rent. Ascot sits inside that range.

But the percentage is the smallest number in this decision, and it’s the one most likely to mislead you. Two agencies quoting the same 7% can cost you thousands apart once lease renewal fees, advertising, inspection charges, admin and statement fees are counted — and all of those together are dwarfed by a single week of vacancy.

We’ll quote our fee in writing, for your property, before you commit to anything — with every inclusion listed, so you know exactly what you’re paying for. We also haven’t increased it in over seven years.

Not because we forgot — because our clients stay, so our fee doesn’t have to keep climbing to replace the ones who left.

Ask any agency for the complete schedule — not the percentage, the schedule. It should cover the letting fee, advertising, routine inspections, lease renewal, maintenance mark-up, tribunal attendance, admin, and the end-of-financial-year statement.

In Brisbane, some or all of these are commonly charged on top of the headline percentage. A lease renewal alone is often another week’s rent — every time the lease rolls over. Inspections can be $50–$150 each. Advertising around $300. Small amounts individually; not small once they’re annual.

The rule is simple: if a fee isn’t in your management agreement, it shouldn’t appear on your statement.

When we quote you, every inclusion is listed in writing before you sign. Ask us for the schedule and you’ll get it — in full, up front.

Rarely — and the arithmetic is unkind.

On a property renting at $750 a week, a 1% difference in management fee is about $390 a year. One week of vacancy is $750. So a single extra week empty costs you roughly two years of the saving you negotiated so hard for.

The Brisbane average time to lease is 21+ days. 94% of our Ascot properties lease within 7 days on average.

Then there’s what sits underneath the number. A headline percentage tells you very little until you’ve seen the full fee schedule — lease renewals, advertising, inspections, admin and statement fees can add well over $1,000 a year to a quote that looked cheap.

Discounting is also a signal worth reading. An agency that wins business on price has to make it back somewhere, and it’s almost always volume — more properties per manager, less attention on yours. You generally do get what you pay for.

Do your research, and don’t start with the percentage.

Read the Google reviews — all of them, not the top three — and look at how the agency answers criticism. You’ll learn more about the style of management you’ll get from that than from any listing presentation.

Then ask: Who will actually manage my property, and will they still be here in twelve months? How many properties does that person look after? Will you attend inspections yourself, or hand over keys? How quickly do you lease — and what’s the number? What’s in the fee, and what isn’t?

And then ask when they last increased their fees. That one is worth asking everywhere you go.

At most agencies, too many. It’s the single biggest reason landlords feel ignored — not bad intent, just arithmetic. A manager carrying a large portfolio can’t know your property, your tenant or your building. They’re managing an inbox.

We deliberately manage a select number instead. That’s a choice, and it costs us growth. It’s also why we can tell you what your street leases for without looking it up, and why the person who knows your property will still be here next year.

Yes — apartments are our speciality. Buildings like Pinnacle, Flare, Infinity and Gallery House are home ground for us, across Ascot, Portside Wharf and Hamilton.

Every building runs differently — its own committee, its own rules about pets, parking, renovations and move-in times. Knowing which building does what is the difference between a smooth tenancy and a dispute, and it isn’t something you learn from a spreadsheet. We know these buildings because we’re in them every week.

See the latest Form 22 Queensland updates for landlords →

94% of our Ascot properties are leased within 7 days. The Brisbane average is 21+ days.

That gap is the most valuable number on this page. On a $750-a-week property, two extra weeks of vacancy costs $1,500 — more than any fee difference you’re likely to negotiate.

It isn’t luck. It’s our Velocity pricing process: we pull comparable rental data across Ascot and 4007 before every listing, so your property is priced to move at the right number — not guessed at, then discounted three weeks later when nobody’s called.