The Hidden Problem in Your PM’s Maintenance Line Item
Most rental property investors never see the actual maintenance invoices—just the summary line on their monthly owner statement. “Maintenance & Repairs: $847.” That’s it. You don’t know if your PM contracted the work at fair market rates, negotiated discounts, or simply accepted the first quote from a “preferred vendor.”
And here’s the uncomfortable reality: some property managers earn kickbacks from preferred vendors. I’m not suggesting yours does. But the structure creates an incentive misalignment. Your PM benefits from using certain contractors regardless of whether those contractors offer the best value for your property.
As an investor hiring a professional manager, you deserve visibility and accountability over one of the largest expense categories on your portfolio. Maintenance and repairs typically represent 8-12% of gross rental income. For a property generating $2,400/month in rent, that’s $190-290 per month that should be spent wisely.
This guide shows you how to audit those charges confidently—and professionally.
Why PM Portals Hide This Information
Your property manager’s portal probably shows you a clean, summarized monthly statement. It’s organized, easy to read, and deliberately simplified. That simplification is a feature for the PM, not for you.
The portal exists to:
- Show you that work was done
- Demonstrate PM activity and responsiveness
- Prevent excessive tenant complaints
- Keep financial records organized
What it doesn’t do:
- Show you the actual invoices from contractors
- Break down labor vs. materials vs. equipment rental
- Compare vendor pricing across multiple quotes
- Flag unusual spikes in spending
- Provide context on industry-standard rates for your property type
A roof repair invoice that just says “$1,200” tells you nothing about whether:
- The PM obtained three competitive bids
- The contractor charged $80/hour or $120/hour for labor
- Materials were sourced efficiently
- The repair was really necessary or preventive maintenance
The Audit Process: Getting What You Need
Step 1: Request Transparency Without Demanding Everything
Frame this as routine portfolio management, not an accusation:
“Hi [PM Name], as I’m updating my records for tax and insurance purposes, I’d like to get copies of invoices for any maintenance or repair work over $300 from the past 12 months. Could you send those my way? It’ll help me track depreciation and understand our maintenance patterns better.”
This is reasonable. Professional PMs should have these readily available. If your PM resists, that’s your first red flag.
Step 2: Organize by Property Type and Work Category
When the invoices arrive, separate them by:
- Plumbing (leaks, clogs, water heater replacement)
- HVAC (filter changes, compressor work, duct cleaning)
- Roofing (patches, inspections, full replacement)
- Electrical (outlet repairs, breaker issues, new installations)
- General (painting, drywall, flooring, doors, windows)
- Appliances (refrigerator, washer/dryer, stove replacement)
For each work category, group by year and property. Patterns emerge quickly.
Step 3: Check the Invoice Details
A professional contractor invoice should include:
- Itemized labor costs (hours × hourly rate)
- Itemized materials (product name, quantity, cost)
- Equipment rental if applicable
- Travel or service call fees (if reasonable, typically $50-100)
- Date of service
- Warranty information
If an invoice just says “Roof Repair - $1,200” with no breakdown, ask your PM to request an itemized version from the contractor. Professional contractors have this available. If they don’t, they’re not professional.
Step 4: Benchmark Against Market Rates
Use these resources to validate contractor pricing:
- ServiceTitan or HomeAdvisor data - These platforms aggregate pricing by region and work type. A water heater replacement should cost $1,000-1,500 in most markets, not $2,500.
- Local contractor estimates - Call 2-3 independent contractors in your area with the same scope of work and ask for ballpark estimates. Don’t hire them; just get pricing reference points.
- Your own past work - If you’ve had similar repairs done on your personal home, you have a baseline.
- Builder or contractor forums - Reddit’s r/contractors and industry forums often discuss fair labor rates.
A few benchmarks to remember:
- Plumbing service calls: $100-150 plus parts
- HVAC service calls: $100-200 plus parts
- Roof inspection: $150-300
- Appliance replacement (water heater, HVAC unit): Labor typically 15-25% of total cost; don’t pay more
- General handyman work: $50-75/hour in most markets; $100+/hour only in high-cost urban areas
Step 5: Ask Your PM the Right Questions
If an invoice stands out, ask specifically:
- “Were multiple quotes obtained for this work?” (The answer should almost always be yes for work over $500)
- “Why was this contractor chosen?” (Listen for: relationship, reputation, speed, competitive bid. If they say “He’s the only one who could come quick,” that’s different from “He gave the best price”)
- “Is this vendor on a preferred vendor list, and are there any commercial relationships or volume discounts?” (Transparency here indicates professionalism)
- “Can you share the quotes you didn’t choose?” (Legitimate PMs will have these on file)
Notice these questions assume good faith. You’re asking why, not accusing. This maintains the relationship while getting the information you need.
Red Flags That Warrant Deeper Investigation
- Identical charges every month - A $400 “maintenance fee” every single month suggests a standing contract that needs review
- Invoices from entities you don’t recognize - If the contractor name on the invoice doesn’t match the business the PM hired, ask why (could be a sub-contractor, but confirm)
- No vendor name, just a lump sum - “Repairs: $600” with no detail is unacceptable
- Significantly higher costs than your benchmark - If similar work at another property cost $300 but here it’s $1,200, investigate
- Repeated work on the same issue - Multiple $200+ repairs to the same system in 12 months might indicate the first fix was substandard
- Lack of itemization - Professional contractors itemize; hobbyists don’t
Building a Collaborative Audit Culture
The best property managers welcome this kind of oversight. It proves you’re engaged and shows them you’re not the type of investor to blame them later for overspending. Good PMs want to use competitive, fair-priced vendors because it reflects well on their management.
Frame your audit as a partnership: “I want to make sure we’re all getting great value, so I’m implementing a more formal review process on my end. I’ll send you this summary quarterly so you can see the patterns too.”
Then actually do this. Create a simple spreadsheet:
| Property | Date | Work Type | Contractor | Cost | $/Hour or Benchmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 Oak St | Jan 2025 | Plumbing | ABC Plumbing | $450 | $75/hr (reasonable) | Water heater flush |
| 456 Elm St | Jan 2025 | HVAC | XYZ HVAC | $850 | Competitive bid | Annual maintenance |
Sharing this with your PM shows you’re professional and data-driven, not emotional or accusatory. Most will respect it.
Why This Matters for Your Bottom Line
A 10% overcharge on maintenance costs doesn’t sound like much. But across a portfolio:
- 5 properties
- $1,000/month average maintenance (some months zero, some $3,000, averages to about this)
- 10% inflation = $600/year per property
- $3,000/year portfolio-wide
That’s $3,000 you could redeploy to cap-ex, reserves, or reinvestment.
More importantly, auditing maintenance charges teaches you about your properties. You learn which ones are capital hogs, which vendors are reliable, which systems are aging. That intelligence matters for long-term portfolio strategy.
The Bigger Picture
Maintenance audits are one layer of PM oversight. But you also need visibility into whether your PM is tax-ready, making apples-to-apples comparisons across your portfolio, and flagging risks you can’t see from a portal summary.
Tools that aggregate your PM data, parse invoices, and map expenses to tax categories reduce the burden of manual auditing. They also give you the data foundation to have smarter conversations with your PM—conversations backed by numbers, not suspicion.
The goal isn’t to micromanage. It’s to know what you’re paying for and why, so you can make confident decisions about your properties.
At DoorVault, we help you move beyond the PM portal. Knox AI ingests your PM statements and contractor invoices, breaking down maintenance categories and flagging unusual spending patterns so you can audit with confidence.
