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.
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.
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.
Moving Out?
Over the next 60 days, we have a very large amount of move outs due to the summer moving season. We want to make sure those vacating have the best information.
We understand that moving can be a busy and stressful time for you. Please refer to your lease to confirm your move-out requirements.
Be mindful of your required notice to vacate! The standard is 60 days, but yours may be different. Review your lease for your unique notice to vacate requirements. If you do not provide proper notice, you may still be obligated to pay rent past the date you vacate! Please keep utilities on through the end of your lease regardless of the day you turn over possession* If you shut utilities off early, you will be charged back for services plus potential administrative fees.
Additionally, don’t forget to provide a forwarding address! If we do not have a forwarding address, it will cause a delay in receiving your security deposit refund. Also ensure the address is correct by checking for reversed numbers, spelling, and typos.
You are required to turn over possession by delivering keys to the office on your lease end date. This includes all keys, mailbox keys, and garage door openers (including any HOA access cards, if applicable).
Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 8am-4:30pm and the address is 14050 Summit Drive #113B, Austin, Texas 78728.
If you are delivering keys outside of normal business hours, we do have a Dropbox located on the pillar opposite the front door for your convenience. If you are leaving keys in the dropbox, put them in a sealed envelope and be sure to label your keys with your name only (putting your address on there makes it easy for a thief to use the keys.)
Thank you for being a resident! Please don't hesitate to contact our staff if we can help with anything.
Routine Maintenance Reminders
- Maintenance Requests: We still receive a lot of maintenance requests that state something vague like "washer" or "AC" without any other info about the actual issue. We cannot act on requests like this and will require that you provide more info, so any request like this will only delay a resolution to the issue. Make sure you provide as much info as possible in your request, including pics if possible
- Maintenance Portal: Please make a list of any items you want to submit, and then list all issues together as one request, including as much info as possible, and attach photos if applicable. We will then evaluate whether they should be split up or not.
- Smoke and CO Alarms: As a reminder, don't ever unplug and remove smoke detectors because they are beeping. Change the batteries, and if that doesn't work, please notify us. We find a lot of tenants unplug them and bury them in a closet or drawer instead of replacing batteries
- A/C Filters: Make sure to check and change every month or as required by the type of filter. If any HVAC systems in your home have a reusable filter, you are still required to clean them periodically, so please make sure they are kept clean.
- Toilets: "Flushable" Wipes CANNOT be flushed. Do not put anything down the drains except water, human waste, and regular toilet paper. Food, toys, feminine products, wipes, towels, wrappers, condoms, and other objects do not break apart and go down the drain. Clogs of the plumbing system may be charged back to you, so it is best to avoid this by not putting anything down any of the drains aside from water and human waste.
- Disposal Systems: This includes using the sink disposal as a garbage chute. These appliances are not meant to dispose of large quantities of food and should only be used as a last resort after all food items are scraped off dishes into a compost bin or trash can.
- Drainage: Shower, bath, and sink drains can get clogged up over time with hair and other organic matter. Do not use Draino-type products as they are extremely acidic and will do more harm than good by damaging the pipes while usually failing to fix the drainage issue. The best way to address this is to use a disposable drain snake that can be obtained from any hardware store for a couple of dollars. Please note that if we send out a vendor for this and it turns out to be this very issue, you may be charged back for the cost. Here is a video on how to use those - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOb4MJ6widg
- Emergency Maintenance: this extension should not be called unless you have an issue involving Flood, Blood, or Fire. Do not call the emergency line to follow up on existing work orders or submit a new request that is not an emergency. In case of an emergency, call 911 if needed and then contact us after everyone is safe. Remember that we do not monitor emails after hours, so if you submit something considered an emergency online and do not call we may not know until the next business day.
Other Maintenance Notes:
If you'd like to inquire about or update an existing request, contact your property manager at 512-617-6766.
Please allow at least 5 business days before requesting an update from our team unless it is an emergency.
For basic DIY tips and tricks to solve some issues quickly, visit our DIY rental property maintenance page.
Your Tenant Portal & Electronic Statements
The system will generate a statement even if you're moving out, so there is no need to contact us if you receive this and are moving. All charges, including any prorated rent, will be adjusted as needed when the deposit is processed.
If you are not using the portal app that keeps you logged in please take a look at the linked flyer for more info. This can eliminate forgotten passwords and help with easy updates/access to maintenance requests and all other account details.
