Residential neighborhood in Stockton, California
Stockton, CA

Stockton Property Management, Run by Stockton Landlords

We started SUM in 2015 because we owned rentals in Stockton and could not find a manager we would trust with them. Stockton is still where most of what we manage sits, and a good share of those buildings are our own.

Quick Summary: SUM Property Management manages single-family homes and small apartment buildings in Stockton, CA for a flat 7% of the rent we collect, plus 50% of one month's rent when we place a new tenant. There is no setup, renewal or inspection fee. Licensed by the California DRE, in business since 2015, rated 4.8 stars on Yelp and Google.

mail Email us phone (209) 299-2100
300+
Doors under management
2015
Managing in Stockton since
4.8 ★
Yelp & Google
check_circle Flat 7% of rent collected check_circle 50% of one month's rent to place a tenant check_circle No setup, renewal or inspection fees check_circle CA DRE licensed
What We Handle

What does SUM actually do for a Stockton rental?

Everything between "the tenant moved out" and "the rent is in your bank account". Here is what that means in practice.

person_search

Tenant screening

We pull credit, eviction and criminal records through Experian and CIC, verify income, and check rental history. We also run the file through a risk-scoring model, but a person makes the final call on every application.

build

In-house maintenance

Our own handymen do most of the small jobs, and licensed contractors we have used for years do the rest. You get before-and-after photos with every invoice, and nothing over your approval limit happens without a call to you first.

payments

Rent collection and statements

Tenants pay through the portal, or in cash at CVS, 7-Eleven and Walmart with a barcode we issue. You get a monthly statement, a 1099 in January, and a portal where you can see the ledger any time.

apartment

Leasing

Stacy runs our leasing. A vacancy goes on Zillow, Apartments.com, Redfin, Trulia, Zumper and about thirty other sites the same day, and she holds the showings herself. Most Stockton vacancies are leased in two to three weeks.

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You stay out of it

Tenants never get your name or number. They text our office line, and we deal with the 10pm water heater. Most of our owners live outside Stockton, and several are out of state.

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Notices, rent caps and evictions

We prepare and serve 3-day and rent-increase notices in-house, keep increases inside the AB 1482 cap, and hand a non-paying tenant to the eviction attorney we have worked with for years. It rarely gets that far, but when it does you are not learning the process alone.

Pricing

How much does property management cost in Stockton with SUM?

Two fees, both in the contract, both the same for every owner. On a house renting for $2,000 that is $140 a month, and $1,000 once when we place a tenant.

7%
Monthly management fee

of the rent we actually collect. A vacant month costs you nothing.

  • check_circle Covers collection, maintenance coordination, statements, notices and compliance
  • check_circle Lower rate if you bring us four or more properties
50%
Tenant placement

of one month's rent, charged once, when a new tenant signs.

  • check_circle Photos, listings, showings, screening and the lease are all inside that number
  • check_circle Not charged when an existing tenant renews
$0
Setup, renewal, inspection

None of these are on our fee schedule.

  • check_circle No onboarding fee, no cancellation fee
  • check_circle Anything optional is priced in the contract before you sign, not discovered on a statement

The full schedule, including the optional items, is on our fees page.

Why SUM

Why hire a property manager in Stockton at all?

Honestly, if you live in Stockton, own one house, and have a good tenant, you may not need one. Most of the owners who come to us are in a different spot. They live in the Bay Area, Southern California or another state, the tenant stopped paying and they do not know what a valid 3-day notice looks like, or they have three or four properties and the phone calls have taken over their evenings.

What you are paying us for is that we have already made the mistakes. We know which Stockton streets rent in a week and which take a month, what the Housing Authority of San Joaquin will fail on an inspection, how far a rent increase can go under AB 1482, and which contractors will actually show up on a Saturday.

We also own buildings in the same neighborhoods we manage in, so when we tell you a repair is worth doing or a rent is too high, it is the same advice we take ourselves. Our founder still reads the owner statements. Stacy has run leasing for us for years. You will deal with them and the office team here in Stockton, not a call center.

Things we deal with every week in Stockton

check_circle Section 8 vouchers. A good share of the Stockton leases we manage are Housing Authority tenancies. We handle the HAP contract, the inspection and the rent-reasonableness paperwork.
check_circle City of Stockton utility bills. Water, sewer and garbage stay in the owner's name here. We pay them, track them per building, and bill the tenant's share back to the tenant ledger.
check_circle Rent increases. We review every lease at the twelve-month mark, propose the increase to you with the AB 1482 math, and serve the notice once you say yes.
check_circle Older housing stock. A lot of central and south Stockton was built before 1960. We know the sewer lines, the knob-and-tube and the roofs, and we budget for them instead of being surprised.
Property Types

Which Stockton properties do we manage?

Single-family houses are the bulk of it, with a good number of small multi-family buildings and some condos and townhomes. We do not take commercial space or large apartment complexes.

home

Single-family houses

Three- and four-bedroom houses in Lincoln Village, Spanos Park, Brookside, Weston Ranch and Morada. These rent in the $1,500 to $2,500 range.

holiday_village

Duplexes to small apartment buildings

Two to twenty units, mostly in central and south Stockton. Each unit has its own ledger, and you get one consolidated statement for the building. Several of these buildings are our own.

apartment

Condos and townhomes

We deal with the HOA on your behalf, including the move-in registrations and the violation letters that seem to arrive whenever a tenant parks in the wrong spot.

Local Expertise

Stockton neighborhoods where we already manage

These are the parts of Stockton we work in every week. If your property is in one of them, we already know the rents, the tenant pool and the problem streets.

Downtown & Civic Center
Central Stockton, including buildings of our own
South Stockton & Weston Ranch
South-west Stockton, value rentals and family houses
Lincoln Village & Sherwood Manor
North Stockton, steady demand year round
East Stockton
East of the crosstown, older housing stock
Miracle Mile & UOP
Central Stockton, near the University of the Pacific
Spanos Park & Brookside
North-west Stockton, newer subdivisions, highest rents
West Stockton
West of I-5, near the waterfront
North Stockton, Hammer Lane
North Stockton, houses and small multi-unit
Morada
North-east Stockton, larger lots
Waterloo Road corridor
East Stockton, long tenancies
Reviews

Trusted by Stockton property owners on Yelp

4.8 stars on Yelp and Google. These are quoted as written. Notice where the reviewers live: most of our owners are not in Stockton.

starstarstarstarstar

"They are very efficient and knowledgeable. Very prompt with response time and their website is user friendly. I find it easy to navigate with reports when needed. So glad they were referred to me by my realtor."

— Kelly N., Fort Lauderdale, FL via Yelp
starstarstarstarstar

"I used to manage my own properties until I moved to NY and could no longer do so. Through the recommendation of my realtor, we found this company. They are very detail oriented and very responsive. Charging very attractive rates — well worth the peace of mind."

— C C., New York, NY via Yelp
starstarstarstarstar

"Amazing service! This is my go-to property management company. I left another company that was not up to par with my expectations and communication was lacking. This by far was the best decision I have ever made to switch. The team has exceeded my expectations."

— Lisa W., Las Vegas, NV via Yelp
FAQ

Questions Stockton owners ask us before signing

How much does property management cost in Stockton, CA? expand_more

With SUM it is 7% of the rent we collect each month, plus 50% of one month's rent once when we place a new tenant. On a $2,000 house that is $140 a month and $1,000 at placement. There is no setup, renewal, inspection or cancellation fee. Across Stockton generally you will see 6% to 10% a month plus a placement fee of half to a full month's rent, and the add-ons are where the totals drift apart.

How long does it take you to rent a house in Stockton? expand_more

Usually two to three weeks from the listing going live to a signed lease, if the house is clean and priced at market. A house priced $150 over market can sit for two months, which costs far more than the $150 would have earned, so we will tell you when the number is wrong.

Do you take Section 8 tenants in Stockton? expand_more

Yes, and we are set up for it. A good share of the Stockton leases we manage are Housing Authority of San Joaquin County voucher tenancies. We handle the HAP contract, the inspection and the paperwork, and the Housing Authority portion of the rent arrives by direct deposit every month.

What happens when a tenant stops paying rent? expand_more

Late fees post automatically and we text and call the tenant in the first week. If nothing comes in, we prepare and serve a 3-day notice to pay or quit ourselves, using the actual ledger so the amount is right. If the tenant still does not pay, we hand the file to the eviction attorney we have used for years and keep you posted at each step. You approve the eviction before it is filed.

Do you manage large apartment complexes or commercial property in Stockton? expand_more

No. We manage single-family houses, condos, townhomes and small apartment buildings, roughly one to twenty units. Nothing commercial or industrial.

Do you manage properties outside Stockton? expand_more

Yes. From the same office we manage in Lodi, Manteca, Lathrop, Tracy, Turlock, Modesto and a few other Central Valley towns. Most of our properties are in Stockton.

Are you licensed in California? expand_more

Yes. CA DRE Broker #01004922, Agent #02263113, Corporate #02253300. You can look those up on the DRE site.

How do you screen tenants in Stockton? expand_more

We pull credit, eviction history and criminal records through Experian and CIC, verify income and check rental history. We also run a risk score on the file, but a person at our office makes the decision on every application and we apply the same written criteria to everyone, as fair housing law requires.

Also Serving

Own rentals in more than one Central Valley city?

Stockton is where most of our properties are, but the same office manages houses in Lodi, Manteca, Lathrop, Tracy, Turlock and Modesto. One statement, one contact, whichever city the house is in.

Lodi Manteca Lathrop Tracy Turlock Modesto

Wondering what the rest of the market charges? We wrote up what property management really costs in Stockton, add-ons included.

Want to know what your Stockton rental should be bringing in?

Book twenty minutes with us. We will look at the property, tell you what it should rent for, and be straight with you if we are not the right fit.

No obligation. We answer within one business day.

mail Email us phone (209) 299-2100
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