Answers to Frequently Asked Property Owner  Questions

Q. How quickly will you be able to get my property rented?
A. This depends on the market conditions at the time that the property is ready to go on the market. Our goal is to price the property and market it aggressively so that it is rented in 30 days or less.

Q. How will you screen my tenant?
A. Federal fair housing laws require us to treat all tenant/applications equally. All applications must be screened and approved or denied using the same criteria. We have adopted the following guidelines in order to avoid any potential discrimination or fair housing violations. We complete a 4 stage screening process on all applications, including credit check, criminal background check, rental history verification and employment/income verification. If a potential tenant meets or exceeds the criteria for all 4 of these items, they will be accepted as a tenant. If the tenant does not meet all of these criteria, then we may accept them only with a double security deposit and/or lease guarantor (co-signer) that does meet the criteria.

Credit Check

• Minimum acceptable credit score is 600

• No Late Payments on a mortgage within the past 12 months

• No rental collections

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Criminal Background – the following items will be an automatic denial of any rental application

• Any Registered Sex Offender

• Any felonies within the past 7 years

• Any misdemeanors within the past 7 years involving theft, fraud, sexual, or violent offenses

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Rental History

• Applicant must have at least 2 years of verifiable rental history

• Any previous evictions within the past 7 years will be denied

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Employment / Income

• Tenants must have a combined income of at least 3 times the monthly rent

Q. Can you please send me the tenants credit report?
A. The Fair Credit Reporting Act prevents us from sharing the credit report with you.

Q. How soon will my new tenants be moving in?
A. We will hold a property for up to 30 days from the date of application until a new tenant moves in. Most tenants move in within 2-3 weeks from the date that thy apply.

Q. How do you handle repairs?
A. Tenants may submit a maintenance request through their online portal or call our 24/7 emergency maintenance line.

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Our goal is to preserve the value of your property while it is rented and keep maintenance expenses as low as possible. The tenant will have some responsibilities to maintain the property, but some expenses will fall on the landlord. A well-maintained property will attract higher quality renters and higher rents, while a poorly maintained property will take longer to rent, rent for less and rent to a lesser quality tenant. It is always in the Landlord’s best interest to maintain the property in order to demand the highest rents and attract the highest quality renters.

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Maintenance Reserve – We will hold a reserve on your account in the amount indicated in paragraph 4 of the management agreement to cover incidental maintenance expenses throughout the term of the management agreement. We will attempt to notify you of any and all maintenance requests. However, if we are not able to reach you to approve maintenance expenses below the reserve amount, the expenses will automatically be approved in order to avoid further trip charges or additional expenses from the vendor.

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Emergency Repairs – Emergency repairs are defined as any condition that would affect the health or safety of the Tenant or something that is causing damage to the property. Emergency repairs are typically fires, floods, no hot water, and water leaks, but could also include repairs to the HVAC in the summer when outside temperatures are greater than 95 and in the winter when outside temperatures are below 40. We will take immediate action to address emergency repairs as soon as they are reported in order to protect the Tenant and your property. Texas property code requires that emergency repairs be made within 7 days or the Tenant may have a way to terminate the lease. We will not get multiple estimates and we will not work through a home warranty company

for emergency repairs. Doing so would delay the repair, risking the health or safety of the Tenant and/or causing a violation of Texas Property Code.

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Q. Can I do my own repairs?
A. We do not recommend any DIY repairs on your property. There is too much risk to you as an owner if the repair is done incorrectly. We will always use professional vendors for all repairs that will provide an invoice after the work has been completed. The invoice is crucial for any make ready expenses that are to be deducted from a prior Tenant’s security deposit. If you do a make ready on your own, you can not deduct the expenses for your labor from the security deposit.

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Q. My property needs some work before a new tenant can move in. Can you help?
A. Yes, we can coordinate any make ready items that are needed to get the property on the market or get ready for a new tenant.

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Q. When do I get my rental proceeds?
A. All owner distributions and statements will be sent out on the 10th of each month. Should the 10th fall on a holiday or weekend, then the deposits and statements may go out on the following business day.

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Q. What if my tenant doesn’t pay?
A. We take great care to screen all tenants very well upfront in order to avoid any rent payment or collection issues. Because of this, or eviction rate is very low (less than 1%). However, sometimes life events happen that are completely unexpected that can cause a tenant to be late on their payments (job loss, injury, death of a family member, divorce, etc). We have a systematic approach to collections that often leads to a quick resolution for the owner and tenant.

 

Unless the lease specifies otherwise, all rents are due on the 1st of each month. We allow the tenant until the 3rd to pay. We start our collection process on the 4th of each month with phone calls, emails and text messages to the tenant. If we have not received their rent or an agreed payment plan by the 10th, then we start the eviction process. Evictions for non-payment of rent will be filed and handled by AustinVestors. Most evictions are completed and we have possession of the property in 30 days or less from the date of filing.