Property Management Fees in Memphis, TN: 8%-10% vs $199 Flat
What property management costs in Memphis, TN
Property managers in Memphis, TN quote 8%–10% of collected rent. On Memphis’s average asking rent of $1,260, 9% works out to $113 a month, or $1,361 a year before a single lease is signed.
That figure covers all bedroom types, and the gap matters: a three-bedroom in Memphis asks $1,350 (Zumper). Even that is below the $2,211 break-even, so on headline management price a percentage stays cheaper here for most single-family rentals.
The arithmetic on a Memphis rental
| Percentage manager at 9% | Ziprent flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly management | $113/mo | $199/mo |
| Twelve months of management | $1,361 | $2,388 |
| Tenant placement, one lease | $819 | $1,500 |
| Year one, one lease signed | $2,180 | $3,888 |
The honest read: at Memphis’s average asking rent of $1,260, a 9% manager bills about $2,180 in year one against Ziprent’s $3,888. The percentage model is cheaper here on headline price. What the flat fee buys instead is a number that does not climb with rent, no markup on maintenance invoices, and a placement fee that is fixed rather than a share of a month’s rent. A Memphis rental only has to reach $2,211 a month for the flat fee to win on management alone.
The break-even point is $2,211 a month: above that rent, 9% of rent costs more than $199.
That break-even assumes one property. Additional properties are $100 a month each rather than $199, so the comparison shifts with portfolio size: from 8 properties onward the flat fee is cheaper in Memphis even at today’s rents — $899 a month against $907 at 9%.
Three years, one tenancy, no rent increase
Stretch the same $1,260 rent across three years with one tenancy and no increase, and the totals in Memphis look like this. One 12-month lease and two renewals.
| Model | Three-year total | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| 9% of rent + placement | $4,901 | Excludes the two lease renewals a local firm would also bill on top. |
| Ziprent $199 flat + $1,500 placement + 2 renewals | $9,164 | Fixed. Includes both $250 renewals. |
| ZipGuarantee $250 flat | $9,000 | Fixed. Placement and renewals already included. |
None of those totals includes the add-ons. In Memphis the usual ones are vacant weekly advertising and marketing fee ($25 per week, up to 12 weeks), maintenance escrow ($250), property inspection fee ($95-$149) and eviction fee. Ziprent bills for none of them.
The fees underneath the headline percentage
The quoted percentage covers management and nothing else. Everything below is billed separately by most firms in Memphis.
| Fee | What it costs here |
|---|---|
| Monthly management | 8%–10% of collected rent |
| Tenant placement | 50%-80% of one month’s rent |
| Lease renewal | $195-$250 at published Memphis schedules; Tennessee renewals typically land around $200 |
| Account setup | $99 to take over an occupied property or $199 to originate a new lease at one published Memphis schedule, plus a $250 maintenance escrow held on account |
| Maintenance markup | 10%-25% on the contractor’s invoice across Tennessee markets |
| Also commonly charged | vacant weekly advertising and marketing fee ($25 per week, up to 12 weeks); maintenance escrow ($250); property inspection fee ($95-$149); eviction fee |
Ziprent charges management at a flat $199, placement at a flat $1,500 per signed lease and $250 per renewal — and nothing else. No onboarding charge, no vacancy charge, no markup on contractor invoices. ZipGuarantee folds placement and renewals into $250 a month.
What Memphis requires of landlords
Memphis sits in Shelby County, one of the Tennessee counties above the 75,000-population threshold where the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (T.C.A. § 66-28) applies, so late fees are capped at 10% of the past-due rent and cannot be charged until the five-day grace period has run. Memphis has no long-term rental registry, but the City of Memphis Rental Ordinance requires landlords to meet minimum energy-efficiency standards in rental properties, enforced through the Memphis and Shelby County Environmental Court.
What to ask a Memphis manager before signing
- Is the quoted 9% charged on rent collected or rent due, and do you bill in a vacant month?
- Managers here commonly charge for vacant weekly advertising and marketing fee ($25 per week, up to 12 weeks), maintenance escrow ($250) and property inspection fee ($95-$149) — which of those do you charge, when do they trigger, and are any capped?
- On a $500 repair, what do I actually pay, and what does the contractor receive?
Ziprent’s pricing in Memphis
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Management | $199 / month | Rent collection, maintenance coordination, inspections, day-to-day handling of the tenancy. |
| Tenant placement | $1,500 per lease | Marketing, showings, screening, lease preparation. Charged only when a lease is signed. |
| Lease renewal | $250 per renewal | Re-screening and paperwork when a sitting tenant renews. Not charged on ZipGuarantee. |
| ZipGuarantee | $250 / month | Management plus unlimited tenant placement and lease renewals folded into the monthly fee. |
All four lines are flat, and that is the trade. On a single Memphis property at today’s average rent a percentage manager bills less in year one; what a flat fee buys is a number that cannot follow the rent up, no markup on repairs, and a second property at $100 rather than another full fee.
Memphis property management fee questions
How much do property managers charge in Memphis, TN?
Is a flat fee cheaper than a percentage in Memphis?
What does tenant placement cost in Memphis?
What is the average rent in Memphis?
More on Memphis
Memphis property management · Memphis tenant placement · Every Tennessee market we cover · Property management fees by market · Ziprent pricing
Fee breakdowns for other markets
Sources
Rents: Zumper, September 2026. Fee percentages and add-on charges are drawn from published fee schedules and industry survey data for this market, and are given as ranges because practice varies between firms.