It's been a great summer here in Central Texas, but we're ready for the cooler fall weather! Post Index:
- BMG Austin Blog
- Austin Economic News
- Free Shred Day
- Election Season
- USPS Dog Bite Awareness Campaign
- Scam and Data Breach Info
- Texas Unclaimed Funds
- Renter’s, Auto and Flood Insurance
Labor Day Holiday Closing
Our offices are closed on Monday, September 7th, 2026, in observance of the Labor Day holiday
BMG Austin Blog
We'd like to highlight some recent content from the blog-
What Can Tenants Do If a Landlord Enters Without Notice in Texas?
How Long Can a Landlord Leave You Without Air-Conditioning in Texas?
Average Electric Bill in Austin – What to Expect & How to Manage It
Check out more posts at https://texasbmg.com/blog/
Austin Economic News
Two major announcements were made in August that have potential to impact the local economy. One of them is a sure thing while the other is uncertain:
Amazon's Big Announcement - An old quarry site in East Austin was recently brought to city council for redevelopment, and after months of speculation it was finally revealed that Amazon is building a multi-billion-dollar advanced robotics manufacturing facility on the site. The secretive project was brought to the city as "project toaster" before the announcement in August!
Economically, this is a good thing for Austin in the short term during the build out, and the long term impact will become clearer as more details become public. Amazon has stated they will work with the local school districts to support STEM programs as well as working with local non-profit organizations.
NHL Expansion - In other economic news for Austin it was announced that the National Hockey League is looking to expand, and the list of potential locations has been reduced to Austin and Houston. While Austin doesn't compare to Houston in many metrics because of the massive size difference, it's great that we're in the running. It would likely require a new stadium for which construction alone would be a big economic factor ahead of the long-term financial infusion a professional hockey team would bring to the region.
Free Shred Day
We regularly post about scams and want to bring light to another way to protect yourself. If you have sensitive documents, whether business or personal, shredding them is important when it comes time to dispose of them. There are regularly free events around Austin, and likely in your area if you’re not local, that accept documents for free shredding. There are two events coming up in Austin that we wanted to share with you, and we’ll update this list as they come up-
Balcones Shred sponsored by Austin ARMA on Saturday, November 7, 2026
Election Season
No politics here, but we do encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote! 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. The deadline to register for the November 3, 2026 election is October 5, 2026.
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.
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.
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.
Renter’s, Auto, and Flood Insurance
Part of being prepared for life challenges is to have insurance for the things you may not be able to recover from on your own, and some are required to participate in our social contract like auto insurance. Many people don’t know that typical homeowner and renter policies don’t include flood insurance coverage.
Insurance rates change constantly, and your best defense against rising costs is to shop for your policies as often as you see fit. This is typically done at the time of renewal, and we’d like to recommend contacting our partner who has access to many carriers and policy types to get you the best deal for your needs. Our partner can help you get the coverage you need, review existing policies, shop for the best deal, automatically look for better options ahead of renewal, and/or answer questions with no obligation to buy anything from them. More information and contact details can be found by contacting Andor Insurance.
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.
