Happy Holidays from Stone Oak Property Management
The staff at Stone Oak would like to wish you and your family happy holidays! We hope the end to 2021 is full of time spent with family and friends!
New Benefits Package for Our Residents
Stone Oak is introducing a new benefits package for our residents and we want to give you a sneak peek of the benefits offered from being a tenant in one of our properties. Soon our tenants will receive a package with a variety of benefits including $1M in identity protection, rewards programs, credit building for paying their monthly rent, A/C filter delivery service and so much more!
Our property managers are working to finalize this package and we are excited to let you know more soon!
Healthy Living Tips
Check Your Carbon Monoxide Detectors
As the temperature lowers and we begin to crank up the heat and light our fireplaces*, ensure your CO detectors are working properly.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, extremely poisonous gas that causes 1,500 accidental deaths and more than 10,000 injuries each year. CO is slightly lighter than air and mixes throughout the atmosphere. It is a by-product of incomplete combustion, produced when fuels such as natural gas, propane, heating oil, kerosene, coal, charcoal, gasoline, or wood are burned with insufficient air.
*Prior to using fireplace each year, you will need to have it professionally inspected and cleared for use.
Changing the Filter on Your Dish Washing Machine
As the Holiday rush begins, so does the work that comes along with it. Get-togethers with family and friends mean forming new memories full of laughter, some great food, and even more dirty dishes! The appliance that cleans is often the last appliance that we remember to clean, and this is evident with the dishwasher. Unfortunately, the dishwasher that cleans our dishes does not simultaneously clean itself, leaving most of the dirt, debris, and bacteria building up in the dishwasher filter and causing our dishes to come out dull, grimy, and still covered with food particles.
If you have found your dishes are not as sparkling-clean as they once were, check your dishwasher filter. Chances are it needs cleaning. For step-by-step instructions visit this blog post.
To keep your dishwasher working at peak performance you will need to take care of it well! Be sure to always:
- Periodically run a dishwasher cleaning product
- Avoid using 'pod'-type soaps
- Be sure to scrape your dishes before putting them into the dishwasher
Maximizing Energy Efficiency
You should change the rotation of your ceiling fans twice a year to increase energy efficiency, putting less strain on your heating and cooling systems. Running a ceiling fan properly in the winter can help you save on your electric bill. When you change the direction of the fan, you change the way the air moves, more effectively heating or cooling a room.
You want your ceiling fan to rotate counterclockwise in the summer, pushing cool air down. On most fans, you can change the rotation using the directional switch on the motor—typically by turning the switch down. To get the clockwise rotation in winter, just reverse the rotation.
Wastewater Averaging Tips
We wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that most utilities do wastewater averaging from November to March or around that time frame. Therefore, to ensure you receive the lowest sewer average possible, please take the time to check: your irrigation settings, pool settings, and any other water consumption devices that may affect your wastewater average for 2022. You can find more information about this on your utility provider’s website or by contacting them directly.
Here is a list of Austin, Texas utility providers.
Your Role in Maintenance Requests
When you submit a work order, it's important to remember that you need to answer the phone or text when a vendor is trying to reach out to you! If you miss a call, please call them back. We need your cooperation in order to schedule a time for maintenance to be done on the house. Someone needs to grant access to the home, or we cannot make the necessary repairs you've requested.
If you submit a request for an appliance, please also submit a picture of the manufacturer tag along with as many details of what you are experiencing as possible. This will save time when processing your request.
Please keep these items in mind going forward when dealing with any maintenance issues in your home!
Holiday Hours Reminder
Stone Oak's offices will be closed for the upcoming holiday(s). See below.
Thanksgiving | In November, our offices will be closed all day on Wednesday the 24th & Thursday the 25th. We will have a limited crew on hand for Friday the 26th.
Christmas Eve | Our offices will be closed on Friday, December 24th.
New Year's Eve | Our offices will be closed on Friday, December 31st.
Thank you for being a resident of a Stone Oak rental property! Please don't hesitate to contact our staff if we can help with anything.
Send the Staff a Message
Login to Your Tenant Portal
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, submit the form at stoneoakmgmt.com/maintenance or call 512-617-6766 ext-5.
Maintenance time frames continue to be extended due to the pandemic. 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.
AppFolio Tenant Portal Information
