Owner FAQs

If you own property that you want to rent, you should always consider using a property management company or property manager. These professionals specialize in managing properties and handling tenants, including collecting rent, dealing with clients and leases, and so much more. It’s a great way to be a landlord with a hands-off approach. Property managers will deal with tenants, renting your property, collecting rent and any deposits, maintenance and repairs, and total property management for your unit, whether you’ve got one or 100 properties that need to be managed. You can get back to being a property investor and let someone else handle the details.

We manage single family homes, condominiums, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, vacation homes and residential apartment buildings.

Yes. In the State of Texas a property manager must be a licensed real estate agent.

Yes, we assist our landlords in selling their properties or acquiring new ones. We get many referrals from local Realtors. When a client is referred by a Realtor, we will always refer the sale back to the agent who brought you to us and will assist if necessary. Many Realtors consult with us before acquiring a property for a client.

We discuss the parameters of your lease when setting up your account (pet preferences, etc). Once we have established these criteria we market the property and sign the lease on your behalf and write it in accordance with Texas law and our policies.

Owner distributions are made via ACH on or before the 10th of every month.

We collect over 98% of our rents online. Each of our tenants have a login and can make rent payments at any time. Additionally, we offer incentives to tenants who pay their rent on or before the 1st of the month using our online system. Residents can submit their rent to our company via echeck, ACH and credit/debit or certified funds delivered to our office.

Our leases range from 12-24 months.

Our typical security deposit is equal to 1 month’s rent, but we offer specialty programs to residents as well and can charge as much as 3x the monthly rent for credit risk tenants.

Right now… This actually depends on a few factors including; if your property is currently leased, under management with another company, sitting vacant, you have it under contract but need to put management in place before closing, outstanding or deferred maintenance or you have a difficult tenant that you need evicted asap. The on-boarding process involves a phone interview with you, a visit to the property and an exchange of keys, documents and the like. It can be as quick as the same day!

We publish reports on or about the 18th of each month to your online portal to provide a comprehensive financial picture, which generates and email notice when they are ready. The three reports you'll get are an income/expense summary for the previous calendar month, a balance sheet, and an owner statement that details every transaction in your account on a rolling basis from the 16th of the previous month to the 15th of the current month. In addition, you'll receive an income/expense statement for the previous calendar year when we publish tax forms in January.

In compliance with Texas Law, the tenant’s security deposit is kept in an escrow account. The move-out inspection and digital pictures document the condition of your property and any damages beyond normal wear and tear and are deducted from the security deposit, along with any other money owed by the tenant. The balance is returned to the tenant within 30 days as required by Texas Property Code.

This is a very rare occurrence but does happen. ALL funds are held in your property trust account and paid monthly for legal reasons regardless of a paid in full or standard monthly arrangement.

Each property is evaluated against various factors in determining market rent. The property research compares its size and features to other properties that have rented on the market in the recent months, as well as comparing the home against existing properties that are currently on the market. While a property management company performs the research and provide insight into the market rent, the decision of how much to market a property for ultimately rests in the hands of the homeowner.

We want to protect your investment and don't want to ever put it in jeopardy financially. If a tenant were to not pay their rent on time or there is a vacancy these items still need to be paid. These two items carry a lot of weight and liability if a payment is missed or late, so we do not handle these items.

Utilities are required to be active and on even during vacancies. This ensures protection to the asset throughout weather changing conditions and for vacancy showings.

We handles maintenance requests efficiently and quickly to keep your tenants happy and help maintain your property’s equitable value. We keep maintenance costs low by hiring licensed and insured handymen to take care of smaller repairs when possible. When a repair calls for more specialized service, you will benefit from the relationships we have established with trustworthy, reliable and reasonable companies. These companies specialize in HVAC, electrical, plumbing and cleaning needs. We also have diverse relationships with vendors who provide roofing, foundation and other major home repairs. If you have preferred vendors or a home warranty company, We are happy to work with them directly. Most repair costs are handled by our company, then itemized and deducted on your monthly accounting statement.

We take our tenant selection process very seriously. We are affiliated a national screening company and screen our applicants for 6 different qualifications: rental history, credit history, credit score, employment verification, debt to income ratios, and the terrorist database search. Our leasing agents personally interview and screen each tenant in addition to these formal background checks. Renting a home to a poorly performing tenant creates more work and more expense for us and the homeowner. Tenant selection is critical to the overall health and performance of a rental property.

No you are not unless mandated by law or area.

We strongly recommend our clients keep a contingency fund on hand equal to 6 months of rent or mortgage payments to cover large, unexpected expenses. In addition, you should always keep your property insured appropriately. Our company keeps a reserve of $300 on file for your account. If a repair goes above this, you will be notified beforehand.

No. We work for you and our written property management agreement sets the parameters.

It depends. We take all the legal steps to enforce payment. We can attend all arbitration or court sessions on your behalf as allowed by law. We are allowed to represent you in the Justice of Peace court. If a tenant files an appeal, you need to hire an attorney or represent yourself.

Yes. We will gladly contact the company you specify as long as they are actually licensed, insured, and also comply with our policies and timelines required for our repair and maintenance guidelines.

Due to fair housing laws, we do not let landlords meet the tenants prior to approval. You may however ask us to adjust the credit and income requirements for your specific property, but the standards must apply to each person who applies for the property.

You will not have direct contact the tenants. We have a great process that keeps our owners in the loop and allows you to make decisions while maximizing your return.