Tenant placement and full-service property management start with the same work and end in different places. With tenant placement only, a property manager prices the rental, markets it, screens applicants and prepares the lease for your signature, then hands the tenancy to you. With full-service management, the manager does that same leasing work and then stays on to collect rent, coordinate repairs, inspect the home and handle renewals.
In Jacksonville, placement-only usually costs 75% to 100% of one month’s rent, paid once. Full-service management usually costs about 10% of the monthly rent, plus a leasing or setup fee. Placement is cheaper on paper. Whether it’s cheaper for you depends on how long your tenant stays and how much of the landlord’s job you can do yourself. This guide covers the services, the cost on a $2,000 rental, and what Florida law expects of you once a placement ends.
Tenant Placement vs. Full-Service Management at a Glance
Tenant placement only | Full-service management | |
|---|---|---|
Pricing, photos and advertising | Manager | Manager |
Showings and applications | Manager | Manager |
Tenant screening | Manager | Manager |
Lease preparation and signing | Manager prepares, owner signs | Manager |
Rent collection | Owner | Manager |
Security deposit | Owner holds it | Usually held by the manager |
Repairs and after-hours calls | Owner | Manager coordinates |
Inspections | Owner | Manager |
Lease renewals | Owner | Manager |
Late-rent notices and eviction | Owner | Manager, with an attorney |
How you pay | One-time fee | Setup or leasing fee, then a monthly percentage |
Cool Realty LLC’s published fee | $100 plus one month’s rent | $750 onboarding and a $65 lease fee, then 10% of rent from month two |
Our own fees are on our pricing page. The agreement you sign sets the exact split of duties, so read the scope before you commit.
With either service, Cool Realty LLC handles all advertising and all showings. We do not allow owners to advertise the property on their own.
What Does “Tenant Placement Only” Mean?
Tenant placement only is a one-time leasing service. A property manager prices, markets and shows the rental, screens the applicants, and prepares the lease for the owner to sign. When the tenant moves in, the service ends and the owner takes over as landlord. It’s also called a leasing-only or lease-only service.
At Cool Realty LLC, a placement covers:
A rental analysis and advice on getting the home ready
Professional photos and a 360° virtual tour, with listings on Zillow, Realtor.com and Apartments.com
Showings, inquiries and applications
Screening on every adult applicant: credit, verified income, criminal background, eviction history, the sex-offender registry and a call to the current landlord
Lease preparation, ready for your signature
How the Fee Is Paid
You pay $100 when we start. The one month’s rent isn’t a check you write. The tenant pays the first month’s rent to Cool Realty, and that covers the fee. We collect the security deposit from the tenant and send it to you. Your first rent payment from the tenant is month two.
How We Approve the Tenant
Cool Realty’s team manages tenant approval directly, from the first application to the final decision. Every applicant is measured against the same written rental requirements, which keeps each decision consistent and fair. Your goals for the property shape who we look for, and we will find a qualified tenant for your home. You are welcome to review our rental requirements before you list.
Screening runs through a third-party service. Our standard requirements are monthly gross income of at least three times the rent, a credit score that meets or exceeds our 600 threshold, and a clear background and rental history verification. Under federal privacy guidelines and our credit reporting agreements, we can’t disclose or distribute an applicant’s raw credit report, criminal records or financial documents to third parties. What we can do is confirm that the applicant meets every one of our requirements and is fully qualified.
What You Handle After the Tenant Moves In
Collecting rent and following up on late payments
Answering the tenant’s calls and repair requests, including emergencies
Hiring and paying contractors
Inspecting the home, and renewing or ending the lease
Serving notices and, if it comes to that, filing for eviction
Returning the security deposit by the legal deadline
Ordering a new placement when the tenant leaves
A placement does not come with a replacement guarantee. If the tenant breaks the lease or is evicted, finding the next one is a new placement at a new fee.
What Does Full-Service Property Management Mean?
Full-service property management covers the same leasing work plus everything after move-in. The manager acts as the owner’s agent for the life of the tenancy: collecting rent, arranging repairs, inspecting the home, renewing the lease and enforcing it.
At Cool Realty LLC, that means:
Rent. Due on the 1st, with a grace period through the 3rd. On the 4th a late notice goes up, a late fee applies and we contact the tenant. Owner funds go out by direct deposit no later than the 10th.
Repairs. Tenants file requests in their portal. Quotes come to you for approval before work starts, followed by a before-and-after photo report. Our in-house handyman is $50 an hour plus materials, and someone is on call 24 hours a day for emergencies.
Inspections. Before move-in, a tenant self-inspection within 48 hours, an in-person visit at six months, a pre-renewal visit 60 days before the lease ends, and at move-out.
Reporting. Monthly statements and a year-end report in your owner portal, with a 1099 for your taxes.
Renewals. $350, covering the new lease, a property inspection and a tenant re-qualification.
Evictions. The attorney who prepared your lease handles the case from filing to move-out. Optional eviction protection is $30 a month and covers the legal fees and related costs.
Two guarantees come with it. If a tenant we place doesn’t complete the lease term, we find the replacement without charging the onboarding fee again. If we haven’t placed a tenant within 90 days of listing, you can cancel with no penalty.
No service can promise a perfect tenant or rent that always arrives on time. What full-service changes is who does the work when something goes wrong.
How Much Does Each Option Cost in Jacksonville?
Here is a hypothetical example using Cool Realty’s published fees. Assume a home that rents for $2,000 a month, a 12-month lease, and rent paid in full every month.
Step | Tenant placement only | Full-service management |
|---|---|---|
At signup | $100 | $350 onboarding |
When the tenant is placed | $2,000 (one month’s rent) | $400 onboarding + $65 lease fee |
Month 1 management fee | None | $0 |
Months 2 to 12 | None | 10% × $2,000 × 11 months = $2,200 |
Year-one total | $2,100 | $3,015 |
The difference is $915, or about $76 a month. The gap barely moves with rent, because the placement fee rises with rent too: it’s $865 at $1,500 a month and $1,015 at $3,000.
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Not included in either column: repairs and materials, HOA dues, insurance, taxes, and any vacancy. Full-service extras such as the $30-a-month eviction protection are optional. If you self-manage, add your own time, any rent-collection software, and an attorney if a tenancy goes wrong. This is an illustration, not a quote.
Year Two, and an Early Move-Out
If the same tenant renews, a placement-only owner pays nothing more in year two. A full-service owner pays the 10% management fee for all 12 months, plus the $350 renewal fee. Here is the full calculation for the $2,000 rental:
Year two, same tenant renews | Tenant placement only | Full-service management |
|---|---|---|
Monthly management fee | None | 10% × $2,000 rent = $200 a month |
Management fee, 12 months | None | $200 × 12 months = $2,400 |
Renewal fee | None | $350 |
Year-two total | $0 | $2,400 + $350 = $2,750 |
Year-one total (from the table above) | $2,100 | $3,015 |
Two-year total | $2,100 | $3,015 + $2,750 = $5,765 |
The $2,750 is the $2,400 in monthly fees plus the $350 renewal fee. The management fee applies to all 12 months of year two, where year one charged it from month two on. Over two years that’s $2,100 against $5,765. A long, quiet tenancy is where placement-only saves the most.
The math reverses if the tenant leaves early. With no replacement guarantee, a second placement costs another $100 plus $2,000 in rent, or $2,100. Added to the first placement’s $2,100, the placement-only total comes to $4,200. That’s more than the $3,015 full-service costs for a full year.
Military Discount
Active-duty owners pay 9% instead of 10% under full-service, which makes year one $2,795 in this example. On a placement, the discount is 10% off the one month’s rent, for a total of $1,900.
One vacant month costs $2,000 here under either option. Our vacancy loss calculator shows the figure for your home.
What Florida Law Puts on You After a Placement
Once a placement ends, you are the landlord under Part II of Chapter 83, Florida Statutes. State law has overridden local landlord-tenant rules since 2023 (s. 83.425), so the same rulebook applies in Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties. These are the parts self-managing owners run into most, plus one federal rule.
What you handle | What the statute requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
Holding the security deposit | A separate account at a Florida financial institution, never mixed with your own money, or a surety bond | 83.49(1) |
Returning the deposit | Within 15 days after the lease ends if you keep none of it. To keep any, written notice within 30 days by certified mail, or by e-mail if you both signed the e-mail addendum. Miss the 30 days and you lose the right to claim against the deposit | 83.49(3)(a) |
Late rent | A written 3-day notice to pay or leave, not counting weekends and court holidays, before you can file for eviction | 83.56(3) |
Lease violations | A written 7-day notice, with or without a chance to fix the problem, depending on the violation | 83.56(2) |
Entering for repairs | At least 24 hours’ notice, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., except in an emergency | 83.53(2) |
Flood history | A separate flood disclosure, completed by you, at or before signing any lease of one year or longer | 83.512 |
Lead-based paint (homes built before 1978) | Before the tenant is bound by the lease, disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards, hand over the EPA lead pamphlet, and include the lead warning statement in the lease | 42 U.S.C. 4852d (federal) |
Pest control | Unless the lease says otherwise, the landlord of a condo or other unit that is not a single-family home or duplex must arrange extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms and bedbugs. For a single-family home or duplex, the lease decides who handles pests, so spell it out | 83.51(2)(a) |
Lockouts and shutoffs | Never. Changing the locks or cutting utilities costs actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees | 83.67 |
Military tenants | A servicemember with PCS orders 35 miles or more away can end the lease on 30 days’ written notice. No lease clause can waive it | 83.682 |
Two of these matter on day one. The deposit we send you has to go into a separate Florida account, not your checking account. And the disclosures, including lead-based paint for homes built before 1978, have to be made before the lease is signed. Once you are the landlord, the federal Fair Housing Act also applies to your later decisions, such as renewals: use the same criteria for everyone.
Under full-service management most of these jobs are ours. The deposit usually sits in our Florida trust account, notices go out on schedule, and the attorney who wrote the lease files the case if it comes to that.
This is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers refer to the 2026 Florida Statutes, except the lead-based paint rule, which is federal. Read the full text of Chapter 83, or see the Florida section of our Jacksonville property management guide.
Which Option Fits Your Situation?
Placement-only tends to work when all five of these are true:
You, or someone you trust, can be at the property the same day.
You already have an HVAC company, a plumber and a handyman you would call.
You have a separate Florida account for the deposit and know the 15- and 30-day deadlines.
You could absorb a second placement fee if the tenant leaves early.
You’re prepared to serve a notice on your own tenant and file in county court if needed.
If any answer is no, full-service is usually the safer choice. It suits three groups in particular:
Out-of-state and absentee owners. Repair approvals, statements and inspection photos come through the owner portal, so distance doesn’t leave you guessing.
Military owners with PCS orders. If you are stationed at NAS Jacksonville or Naval Station Mayport and get orders, you may be managing from another state or overseas. See our military property management page; the active-duty rate is 9%.
First-time and accidental landlords. The deadlines in the table above are unforgiving, and mistakes with deposits and notices cost money.
Experienced local landlords with reliable vendors are the natural fit for placement alone. Our guide on how to choose a property management company lists the questions to ask either way.
If the home will sit empty instead of being rented, neither service fits. Home Watch is a separate service for vacant and seasonal homes. See the Home Watch page for current pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who holds the security deposit after a tenant placement?
The owner does. We collect the deposit from the tenant and send it to you. Florida law then requires you to keep it in a separate account at a Florida financial institution, or post a surety bond (s. 83.49).
Is it worth paying a property manager?
It depends on your time, distance and experience. On a $2,000 Jacksonville rental, full-service costs about $76 a month more than placement in year one and about $229 a month in a renewal year. Owners who live nearby, have vendors and know Chapter 83 can often keep that money. For owners who are remote, new to renting or short on time, one mishandled deposit, notice or long vacancy can cost more than the fee.
How much do property managers charge in Jacksonville?
Fees depend on the company and on the service you choose. Cool Realty charges 10% from month two with $815 in setup costs, or $100 plus one month’s rent for placement.
What is the new law in Florida for renters?
Three recent changes matter to anyone renting out a home. Since October 1, 2026, getting into a rental with a false identity or forged documents is a felony, and the landlord can end the lease on a 7-day notice (s. 817.537 and s. 83.56). Since October 2025, landlords must give a flood disclosure before signing a lease of a year or more (s. 83.512). Since July 2025, landlords and tenants can deliver notices by e-mail if both sign an addendum (s. 83.505).
Does tenant placement guarantee a good tenant?
No. Screening lowers the risk of a bad tenancy; it doesn’t remove it. A placement-only owner carries that risk alone, since there is no replacement guarantee. Under our full-service plan, a tenant who doesn’t complete the lease term is replaced without a second onboarding fee.
What areas does Cool Realty serve?
Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including Orange Park, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Oakleaf Plantation, Mandarin, the Beaches, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Johns, St. Augustine, Yulee and Fernandina Beach.
Put Real Numbers on Your Property
The quickest way to decide is to see both options priced for your own address. Request a free rental analysis and we’ll tell you what the home should rent for and what each option would cost at that rent. You can also review our published pricing first, or call 904-602-5555. Hablamos español.
Cool Realty LLC manages single-family homes, townhomes and condos from its office at 1857 Wells Rd, Suite 207, in Orange Park. Cool Realty LLC was founded in 2012, and our broker has been a realtor and broker since 2002.
