Recent Hail Storm Inspections
As you know, there was a recent hail storm in mostly North / Northwest Austin that potentially caused damage to a large swathe of properties in those areas. We are currently in the process of having all of our properties in this area inspected by our team. If any damage is discovered on your property we will contact you directly.
2021 Tax Protest Season
The tax values have jumped significantly this year, especially in Travis county due to the freeze on values in 2020. We are in the process of assembling our list for the tax protest season. If your account(s) was/were protested last year or you became a client who opted into the protests your account(s) will be included unless we've discussed differently with you. If we have a note to confirm your account before filing this year we will reach out very soon. If you'd like to confirm the status of your account being on our list or make any changes please email accounting[at]stoneoakpm.com or call 512-617-6766 x-4. The deadline to file is coming up in a few weeks, and once that is passed we will not be able to add anything to the list. Once the season has commenced we will notify you of the results when we get them in the late fall.
Rentals Lagging Behind The Residential Market?
Does the crazy residential resale market have an impact on the value of your monthly rental?
If we are talking in the sense of selling your rental home, then yes - you too can take advantage of a seller’s market. However, we’ve spoken to several property owners lately who have some high hopes on raising the rent by, sometimes, several hundred dollars on their property to try and mimic the explosive growth that those selling their homes in Austin have experienced.
These do not go hand in hand.
There’s a difference between purchasing a property and capturing all of the benefits that come along with the purchase (equity, tax savings, etc) and renting a property on a 12-month lease. Attempting to suddenly raise the rent by several hundred dollars will most definitely result in tenant turnover. Rentals are still subject to their given market and the comparable properties that can be pulled for any given property.
The explosive growth in real estate that Austin is experiencing is, in my opinion, due to a variety of factors that have made the value of homes in our area grow exponentially. Interest rates are at their lowest they’ve ever been, the law of supply & demand, large organizations announcing plans to move their operations here, and other factors are all driving this growth we are seeing in the Austin residential real estate sales market. These same factors that are driving the growth in this market, unfortunately, don’t translate directly to the rental market.
Extension to the CDC Eviction Order
As of March 29th, the CDC extended the eviction ban through June 30th, 2021. With a strong economy in Austin, we feel fortunate that we haven’t felt the effect of the negative aspects of the landlord side of this eviction moratorium as you may read/hear about with other rental markets, landlords, and management companies. Though we do feel it is important to keep our clients in the know. While there is currently opposition to the order that is proceeding through the court systems, landlords in Texas and nationwide should plan on evictions regarding non-payment of rent due to COVID-19 related events to not be heard by many JP courts until at least June 30th. Some courts are allowing evictions and there are exceptions written into the CDC order that allows us to have each situation evaluated by an attorney to determine what steps we can take.
Additionally, we are working with all delinquent tenants to participate in the Texas Rent Relief program to get assistance for those who need it. We don’t have a lot of applicants or delinquencies, but of those that we’ve submitted the first one was approved this week for funding after about a month-long process. Any clients with delinquent tenants should be notified if/when the time comes.
The Return of a Familiar Face
We’d like to welcome Jennifer Frizzell back to Stone Oak! For those of you who are familiar, Jennifer was with Stone Oak since our inception and briefly stepped away at the end of 2019. As of March 29th, Jennifer has joined our team once again as a property manager and is familiar with many of you. She’s a great asset to our company and team, and we’re grateful for having her with us again.
Please don't hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions about Austin, the market in general, or our property management services.
