Market Update
We've discussed market conditions in previous posts, and market conditions haven't shifted in any significant way. Instead of repeating what has already been said we recommend reading that post and talking to your property manager or leasing agent about some of the suggestions if you have upcoming renewals or vacancies. Also, we want to share a recent article that gives a lot of good data about the current apartment inventory, new construction, etc. The single-family home rental market is directly impacted by the apartment market and is a great indicator to watch.
August Sales Tax Holiday
The State of Texas has several tax-free weekends for various purchases. The upcoming tax holiday from August 7-9th is geared towards school supplies and clothing. You don’t need an exemption certificate, and most, if not all, retailers will automatically exempt applicable purchases during the tax holiday dates. The list of exempt items is very specific, so check the Comptroller’s website for more details.
Scams and Data Breaches
It seems almost every day a large trove of personal data is leaked. Sometimes the people who are exposed don't have any direct relationship with that company and are only in that situation because another company is sharing data. We want to share some basic steps you can take to protect yourself at no cost. There are plenty of paid services that will help you remove your data from online, but we're going to go even more basic than that
Go to each of the three credit bureaus, sign up for an account, and freeze your credit files. This is 100% free and prevents anyone from opening new accounts in your name, and you can always temporarily thaw or unfreeze each credit bureau individually when you need to legitimately use your own credit. The three you want to set up are Transunion, Experian, and Equifax. Keep in mind that they will try to sell you things while you are going through this process, but don’t get drawn in to their nagging and push forward until you have found the option to freeze your credit for free. This is something all of your family and friends can do very easily and quickly. Also, each of the bureaus has a process to protect minor children’s credit. This is worth taking the time to do so they aren’t surprised by fraudulent accounts when they come of age.
Set up your IRS account and set up an identity protection PIN (IP PIN). Setting up your account allows you to see the status of returns, refunds, make payments, order transcripts, etc., and it also prevents someone else from setting up IRS access with your info fraudulently. After that is done setting up an IP PIN protects you from having fraudulent tax returns filed under your name to scam a refund from the IRS. You will have to use that IP PIN to file future tax returns, so make sure you know how that will affect your situation before doing that. In our opinion, a small inconvenience of including the IP PIN is worth preventing someone else from filing a fraudulent tax return in your name.
Taking these two steps is the bare minimum, and very effective at minimizing some exposure that we all have.
Election Season
The fall elections and related deadlines are right around the corner. This is a good time to check your voter registration, make sure your address is correct, etc. If you're in Texas, you can go to the Texas.Gov Voter Registration site, and/or you can also search for your local state/county elections website.
USPS Dog Bite Awareness Campaign
Did you know that there were over 5,200 dog bite incidents with postal workers in 2025? This is a very preventable issue, and that number doesn't include UPS, FedEx, Amazon, or other package delivery services. The US Post office runs a Dog Bite Awareness Campaign every summer, and we'd like to highlight that by including it this month and asking everyone to take a moment to read the tips on their website.
Austin Fee Disclosure Ordinance
The city council passed a new ordinance that requires landlords to disclose all fees during the leasing process. Many landlords, usually corporate apartment complexes, will charge so called “junk fees” like trash concierge, required internet services, or other mandatory monthly fees. Starting on October 1, 2026 the new ordinance applies to a person who rents, leases or manages 50 or more residential dwellings. The second phase starts on January 1, 2027 and applies to a person who rents, leases or manages less than 50 residential dwellings or spaces for mobiles homes and RVs used as a dwelling. You can read the ordinance here, or there is an article here.
BMG Austin Blog
Please check out the BMG Austin blog! Some recent posts include:
Check out more posts at https://texasbmg.com/blog/
Unclaimed Funds
Did you know that many state governments keep a database of unclaimed funds that belong to the general public? In Texas, there are hundreds of millions of dollars submitted to the state that are unclaimed each year. You never know if you or someone you know might be owed funds. In fact, when writing this post, I came across seven of my family members who are in the database with anywhere from $30 to several hundred dollars that are available to claim.
Check out ClaimItTexas.gov and search for similar databases in other states you may have lived in or think you might have unclaimed funds in. Beware of scam sites that are designed to steal personal info or charge a fee to help you recover funds because you can do it for free directly through the state’s process without paying a third party. It is not easy to claim funds but may be worth it depending on how much is available for recovery.
Property and Flood Insurance
In our previous blog post we talked about insurance and the changing landscape while costs continue to go up for policyholders. One thing we didn’t discuss, and feel is worth mentioning, is flood insurance. Most people don’t know if their property is in an area that has potential for flooding in long term scenarios such as 100 year or longer flood plains. Development can also alter floodplains significantly and cause flooding that standard policies don’t cover. We have seen it happen to our clients and recommend reviewing your property’s location and potential for flooding when considering whether you should have a flood policy. They are relatively low cost for the benefit of recovery if it happens and are definitely worth looking into.
We are not experts but work closely with Andor Insurance. The principals of Stone Oak partnered with an insurance industry veteran to set up Andor Insurance Agency for the purpose of providing exceptional service and options to our clients after seeing some bad insurance related mishaps. Some common issues are having the wrong policy, inadequateness, or lack of coverage among other things. Ryan, the rock star agent and great human that answers the phones and emails at Andor, has spent a good deal of time putting together a strong portfolio of options that cater to real estate investors and homeowners. He’s happy to review your policies, answer questions, shop policies, and make recommendations whether you become a client or not. He always enjoys the opportunity to research options for home, landlord, auto, business, and many other types of insurance and has no issue recommending that someone buy a policy that he did not quote if it is the best option for the circumstances. If you’d like to connect with him the contact info is available here.
Thank you for your trust in us! We always welcome your feedback and questions. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need anything at this time.
Reminders:
Funding Make-Readies & Maintenance for Your Property
Please note that it is Bay Property Management Group Austin 's policy that the owner has reserve funding on hand with Bay Property Management Group Austin to help us commence work faster when it comes to make-readies and maintenance on your property. Bay Property Management Group Austin cannot perform maintenance without first receiving authorization and funding, which can slow down the turn-around times of our vendors and their availability in this market. This can also potentially create a negative experience that tenants will remember when it comes time to renew, and we always want to avoid turning over the tenants. Any time we request authorization for work on your property, the best practice is to immediately fund your account when you provide written authorization to move forward. This is as simple as going into your owner portal and using ACH for a free transfer, or if you prefer a credit card the processor charges a fee as part of the transaction.
Keep in mind that tenant charges on your account are not considered an offset to this amount as we keep a strict accounting system for both our and our client's benefits. Any tenant chargeable items will be posted to their account, and once they are paid it is immediately credited to your account. If you have any questions about this reserve amount held with Bay Property Management Group Austin, please contact your property manager.
