Austin Property Management Blog

Property Tax Time - What to Do?

The Travis County Appraisal District has released appraisals to homeowners across Austin, and expectedly, home values are way up.

The data this year shows the median home price in Austin now sits at $632,208. Up from $413,403 in 2021 and $354,622 in 2020. That represents an increase of 52.9% in just the last year. Congratulations if your property has appreciated alongside this crazy market!

One thing that comes with this rise in value though, is the rise in property taxes. We expect a lot of homeowners this year to be surprised at the size of their tax bill for their property. As a property owner, you have actions you can take that can greatly help you reduce this amount owed for your property taxes every year!

We encourage clients of Stone Oak Property Management to protest their property taxes, and have negotiated a deal for our clients with our partner, Home Tax Shield, when you set up the protest through us. The cost of the service is contingent on savings they are able to obtain for you so if they don’t save you any money you don’t pay! We are able to assist our clients with working with Home Tax Shield, we just need the owner’s approval to do so.<...

3304 Lauren Nicole Lane, Round Rock, TX 78665

1,600 SF | 3 Bed | 2 Bath

Learn more about this available rental home today!

Own an investment / rental property in Round Rock? Learn more about Stone Oak's property management services for Round Rock, Texas. 

3124 Bravo Drive, Leander, TX 78641

2,780 SF | 5 Bed | 3.5 Bath

View this property and other rental homes available now in Austin, Texas!

Own a property like this one? Learn more about Stone Oak's Leander property management services!

The Importance of Renters Insurance

With the recent storms in the Austin/Round Rock area, the importance of maintaining renters insurance is front and center. In the event a home is deemed to be unlivable, your renter's insurance, with the right coverage, will cover you while you are displaced and will also cover your personal property should it sustain any damage.  Talk to your insurance agent or company to make sure you have the right coverage for your needs

Renters insurance is a requirement to live in a property managed by Stone Oak Property Management.

Phone Calls & Communication With Our Company

We strive to provide excellent customer service! We return all calls within 24 business hours, if you call into the office, please leave a voicemail and someone will get back to you within 24 business hours.  Please note, that unless you leave a message we will not know that you called.

Our team strives to provide the best service possible and sometimes we can get busy! Please know that our team will always field your inquiry at our earliest convenience.

Lockboxes On Your Property

In anticipation of the busy summer season approaching, we are taking...

7429 Dallas Drive, Austin, TX 78729

2,323 SF | 4 Bed | 2.5 Bath

View this and more available Austin rental homes!

Pre-leasing Your Austin Rental Home

Pre-leasing your rental property is a process that allows your asset to stay in front of the market and decrease periods of no income. There are pros and cons to doing so, both faced by the owners - and tenants.

We recently took the time to go over the pros and cons of pre-leasing your rental home in Austin. Please check out this write-up and let your property manager know if you have any questions regarding the pre-leasing of your rental property.

Tax Protest Account Transfers Underway

For those who opted in to the program, our process to transfer all protest accounts has begun. Please keep an eye out for an invitation from their platform in your email inboxes before the end of March. We will be keeping tabs on any clients who haven’t responded to the invite to protest their property taxes and will reach out to make sure it was received and completed prior to the deadline.

For property owners taking part in the program, it’s important that you complete the required setup via the protest invite you received before the protest filing deadline approaches.  If the setup is not co...

6621 Paseo San Lucas Lane, Austin, TX 78744

1,512 SF | 3 Bed | 2 Bath

View this and more Austin, Texas homes for rent!

2605 Buckeye Trail, Cedar Park, TX 78613

2,477 SF | 4 Bed | 2 Bath

Learn more about this home and more Austin rental homes available to lease!

Own a rental home in Cedar Park? Learn more about our Cedar Park property management services and how Stone Oak helps owners reach their goals with their real estate portfolio. 

Resident Benefits Program

Our new Residents Benefits Package is in full effect! We want to thank you for the positive feedback! We are excited to offer these wonderful services!

Notifications of Weather and other Emergencies

As you all know by now we recently went through an emergency water boil notice for the City of Austin and some surrounding communities.  This was issued on a weekend when we were not in the office and could not send a notification to anyone.  We wanted to provide a link to everyone which allows you to sign up for the Austin emergency notification system - warncentraltexas.org - that will alert you to situations like this.

Looking Beyond Earth

We want to try to at least occasionally include something in our blog posts that aren’t related to being a tenant.  We’d like to share this link below that you can check out to share an experience with your family or friends.  The International Space Station frequently flies over Austin, and there are also opportunities to see many other things including strings of satellites...

Competitively Pricing Your Rental Property

Pricing your rental competitively for the Austin market is important to make sure your property is earning what it is worth. Over the years this task has become more difficult for a number of factors. The first being COVID and its effect on your rental pricing. 

During COVID, some landlords have worked with their tenants to ensure a smooth living situation during a rocky time. Many landlords chose not to raise the rent on their tenants for 2020 and even 2021. On the business side of things this has set some back on earning true market rate for their property by 1-2 years. 

A second big factor is the growth of our beloved city, Austin. The last couple of years have seen Austin explode with many household companies like Tesla, Samsung & Apple announcing expansion plans in our community. The rise in our housing markets prices have soared past comparable cities in the United States. 

Another major factor to consider is the inflation we are experiencing across the board in America. Prices for all things are up, including your costs as a landlord to own your rental property. That an...