I’m running a 24-unit in Columbus and moved from a 9% third‑party fee to in‑house last quarter; expense ratio dropped from 46% to 39% using AppFolio, adding roughly $280k of value at a 6 cap. Faster screening cut average vacancy from 21 to 10 days, but payroll and my time are the wildcards. For those who’ve made the switch, where did the real gains come from — labor efficiency, vendor pricing, or tighter rent/turn control — and what hidden costs hit your returns?
We took a 30‑unit in Dayton in‑house; the real lift was from “labor efficiency” — we pre‑scheduled turns the day notice hit and standardized paint/locks so one tech could clear 2–[redacted] a week. AppFolio tasks and canned turn checklists kept maintenance under about 6 hours per unit and vacancy around 9 days. Hidden hit: on‑call stipends and workers’ comp added about 1% to expenses, plus I still bring in a weekend leasing assistant during summer.