Application Process

When you locate a property you wish to apply for, complete the application online. Make sure you also complete the animal or pet addendum even if you have no animals or pets. Then call us during office hours to pay the application fee using a credit/debit card or bring by a money order. Application fees are $45 per person (aged 18 and older). Application fees are non refundable.    

Upon review of application, if all looks in order, we will ask for a legible copy of all drivers' licenses and 2 paystubs or W-2 per employed person. If self employed, we review 2 bank statements.

Lastly, we need to contact your current, and sometimes past, landlord to get a rental reference. This is the only part that can take a while as we have to rely on the expediency of your landlord. It helps to contact them to alert them before we call.

Our part of the process takes about an hour once we receive the above documents.

Once Approved

You will need to bring in the security deposit in a cashier's check or money order within 2 days of being approved. You can use a credit card but would need to add 3%.

Our requirements are:

• Income of 3 times the monthly rent gross
• No bad rental of any kind in last 5 years
• Renters insurance is required of all tenants.

Double Deposits: On a case-by-case basis, sometimes we approve a resident with issues of past rental, foreclosure or past recent bankruptcy.

Pet Deposits: These vary depending on owner and property. Our average pet policy is no more than 2 pets with deposit of $500 each along with a $25 pet rent total per month.. Pet deposits are  half refundable upon move out if lease was fulfilled and there was no damage.   We never allow pitt bulls, rottweilers or other aggressive breed dogs due to insurance issues.

Move Out Procedures and Deposit Refunds

Giving Notice 

We require all notices to vacate be in writing and sent through regular mail or emailed to us. You need to follow up to be sure we received it or in case of an email, that we replied to you. Your other choice is to send via certified mail. The notice must show the property address, date you plan on moving and your signature.

If you are currently on a month-to-month tenancy, you need to give at least a 30 or 60 day notice depending on what your lease states and pay rent up to that 30 or 60 day period. If you are currently in a lease and your lease is coming up in 30 days, you still are required to give a written notice to vacate as stated above. You cannot just move out when your lease is up with no notice and expect a security deposit to be refunded.

If you are needing to break your lease and it is not due to the military transfer or domestic violence clauses that is outlined in your lease, you need to do the following:

If your landlord is in agreement, we can do the following to try and get your property re-leased and to minimize what you owe.

1. You can try and release the property on your own using ads and signs. If you located an interested party, they would contact us and fill out an application. If they qualify, they would pay the deposit and sign a lease. In this case you would be charged for cost of rekeying the locks which is Texas law, any unpaid rent between when you stopped paying and new tenants started, any cleaning or damages that are tenant related, and any utilities during the unoccupied period.  The above is if we don't run any ads and you do it all. 
2. Or you pay us $200 as a deposit to be put toward the cost of ads we will run to try and locate a new tenant. We charge $7 per day. Once we get an approved application, the ads stop and you would be charged for whatever the total is and that would be deducted out of the $200 deposit. You could get a refund or may owe over the $200. If you want our office to show the property to perspective tenants, we charge a flat $100 on top of the above $200. If you show it, there is no fee. Like above, you would be charged the unpaid rent, rekeying, etc. Once notice is given, we email you a cleaning letter so you know what is expected in getting back your deposit.

Moving Out and Deposit Refunds

On the day you move out, you need to be sure to not go out the garage door or leave your keyless deadbolt on. We prefer you hide one key in the electric plug by the front door with the little cover over it or under a rock on the front porch. The rest should be left inside the property. Also leave any garage door remotes and carpet-cleaning bill on kitchen counters.

Someone from our office generally inspects the property by the next day and takes pictures and makes notes of what work is needed. We do this alone and not with the tenant. We miss too many things when a tenant is at the property and can't do the job we need to do. If you are concerned about having proper documentation, then you need to make your own records and photos of the property before you surrender the keys.

We will generally contact you via email within 2 days to let you know of our findings and if there is something you need to go back and do or something you may have left behind. If you left the property in good condition but minor things are needed, you have 2 days to go back and get the job done. If you cannot, then we will hire the work done so that the property can be advertised for rent.

Our goal, as well as your landlord, is to refund you full deposit back, which means the property was left in nice condition and can be advertised for a tenant right away. There will always be some owner costs like caulking and maintenance items that are not charged to a tenant. Our company, nor your landlord, make any money off of the repairs that you may be charged for.