Austin Property Management Blog

The number one choice that you as a landlord will make for your rental property is who you decide to let rent your place and become your tenant. No other decision you make for your property will affect it’s outcome as much as who you decide to rent to. Placing the right tenant in your property will help turn your property into a residual income machine, but placing the wrong tenants can tie your property up and cost your thousands of dollars. Avoiding scenarios such as unpaid rent, eviction fees, turn-over costs, and expensive property repairs should be key points for you when deciding on tenants, and can persuade you to hire a property manager.

When it comes to leasing your property and screening tenants some factors outweigh others. Below are important factors that should be considered first when screening potential tenants.

Rental History

People usually consider income or credit to be a more important factor in screening your tenants, but don’t discount a tenant and their rental past. A strong rental history shows that a tenant can be trusted by rental owners and shows that they can build a good rapport with paying rent on time. They might have the income your looking for and a credit score that meets your criteria, but if their rental ...

8400 Harrier Drive, Austin, Texas 78729

1,561 SF | 3 Bed | 2 Bath

Austin Home for Rent

Off the top of your head, can you think of a homeowner you know who doesn’t have homeowner’s insurance? More than likely you can’t. If they have a mortgage then the lender who provided the funding would have required them to have it. If anything were to happen to the home the lender’s money would go down with it. It makes sense as it gives everyone involved protection as well as peace of mind.

While homeowners insurance is important to have on your Austin home, renters insurance is just as important if your home is occupied by tenants. Not only does it protect your renters and their possessions in the event of an emergency, but it also protects you – the landlord.

Damages to your tenant’s personal belongings is not covered under your homeowner’s insurance and will leave your tenants liable for replacing everything out of their own pocket. Renters insurance would cover all of this for your tenant and even replace your tenant’s belongings even when a burglary happens in a place other than the home. When you don’t require your tenants to purchase a renters insurance policy this can lead to trouble. If damages to their property h...

12716 Cardinal Flower Drive, Austin, TX 78739

South Austin Rental Home

4202 Knollbluff, San Antonio, TX 78247

San Antonio Home for Rent

When a tenant moves into your rental property, they normally will pay you or the property manager a security deposit. This amount is normally equal to one month’s rent and is held by the landlord/manager until the end of the duration of the lease. In Texas, landlords or managers are required to return the deposit within 30 days of the tenants move out. However, there are a few scenarios where the landlord is given the right to retain this deposit.

Nonpayment of Rent

Most states, including Texas, allow the landlord to retain the security deposit in the event your tenant begins to forego paying their rent. Your tenant, by definition, is contractually obligated to pay their monthly rent and failure to do so entitles you, the landlord, to keep the amount equal to past due rent.

The Lease is Terminated Early

If your tenant decides to terminate their lease before it expires you have the right to retain all or part of the security deposit to cover any costs associated with the lease. The specific wording may vary across lease agreements so double check yours to make sure you are entitled to this. A typical Texas Association of Realtors lease will have a clause written in it protecting the landlord in the event of a lease termination.

Damage to the Property

Damages to your rental property entitle you to retain your tenant’s deposit. However, normal ‘

16705 Bridgefarmer Blvd, Pflugerville, TX 78660

Pflugerville Homes for Rent

11328 Autumn Ash Drive, Manchaca, TX 78652

Austin Rental Homes

Working as a property manager, it’s easy to think the job won’t be that hard and that most of what you’ll be doing is collecting rent payments. Then you come to find out that property management is much harder than first anticipated. Part of any venture in life is learning from your mistakes and as a property owner in Austin, Texas, this includes you. Here we’ll go over some of the mistakes to avoid if you choose to self-manage your Austin rental home.

Charging too much or too little

If you’ve chosen to work with an agent to help lease your property this shouldn’t affect you too much. However, let’s imagine you’re choosing to find a tenant for your property on your own. You post ads for your property to the usual sites such as Craigslist or Facebook, but is this helping? You might find a tenant, but do you know how much to charge them? Realtors have access the MLS which houses a lot of real estate data, some which is important in this situation. Working with a property manager would have allowed you to run comps in your area to accurately pinpoint the amount you could charge for your Austin rental home. Self-managing owners do not have this luxury and instead price their property on their...