Reminder - We've moved!
As of July 8, 2022, our new address is:
14050 Summit Drive Ste113B
Austin, TX 78728
More information about our move.
Lease Renewals
If you will be renewing your lease, please pay special attention to timelines. We will work with you to ensure we have your renewal ready prior to your current lease expiration date but you do need to respond in a timely manner.
If you have an existing ESA, you must renew your profile with Petscreening.com annually in order for your furry friend to remain an ESA.
If you get any correspondence from petscreening.com please make sure to follow through with it. If you are considering a new animal then you must go through the process before the animal can be brought into the home.
Be on the lookout for important updates regarding your lease renewal offer.
Preparing to Move Out?
If you have an upcoming move-out, please be mindful of the following:
Be mindful of your required notice to vacate! The standard is 60 days but yours may be different, please review your lease for your unique notice to vacate requirement. If you do not provide proper notice, you may still be obligated to pay rent past the date you vacate! Please keep utilities on through the end of your lease regardless of the day you turn over possession* If you shut utilities off early you will be charged back for services plus potential administrative fees.
Please don’t forget to provide a forwarding address! If we do not have a forwarding address, it will cause a delay in you receiving your security deposit refund. Also ensure the address is correct by checking for reversed numbers, spelling, and typos. Please be sure to turn in cleaning receipts. You may email them directly to your property manager or email them to moveout@stoneoakpm.com. If you are leaving keys in our conveniently located dropbox, please be sure to label your keys with the property address. If you do not do this, we will not know which property the keys are for and you will be charged hold over rent.
Beware of Rental Scams
There has been an uptick in real estate scams over the last few years, so we want to make sure you’re aware whether you’re staying in your property or eventually looking for a new place. There are a lot of articles available with a quick search, so we’re not going to rehash the details. Rather, we want to make sure that if you experience any strange circumstances you report them to us. Specifically, if someone shows up at your door claiming to have set up a viewing of the property with no communication from us it may be a scam in progress.
On the other side of this be very careful if you’re in the market to lease or purchase a home to make sure you are dealing with a legitimate company or landlord.
We WILL NEVER ask anyone to provide payment using cash, gift cards, Paypal, Venmo, or cryptocurrency.
Water Leaks
With the recent rain after a long dry spell and high temps, we’re seeing a lot of requests for water leaks. This is usually caused by the soil swelling as it absorbs rain, and the pipes eventually give out if there is a lot of soil shifting around them. If you are seeing puddles or wet spots in the yard that can’t be otherwise explained you may have a leak. The same goes for a large jump in your water bill.
Checking for leaks can be done in most homes very easily. The sooner a leak is addressed the less expensive it will be. Here are the steps you can take:
- Make sure all the water in your home is turned off. This includes washing machines, dishwashers, ice makers, sinks, tubs, etc.
- Locate your water meter and check for a leak detector. You can see what that looks like on this leak-related page from the City of Austin, but other providers in Central Texas may have something similar.
- If you search Youtube for Water Meter Leak Detector there are plenty of videos that will walk you through the process with various meters
If you do detect a leak please submit a maintenance request.
If the leak is in the irrigation system, a running toilet, dripping sink, etc. that have a shutoff valve that isolates that specific part of the plumbing you can shut that off to reduce water wastage until it can be fixed.
If you cannot determine if there is a leak you can contact your water utility provider for assistance. They may come out and check for you, or help you through the process.
Please note that if there is no water leak and you submit a maintenance request you may end up being responsible for the service charge, so please make sure you have exhausted all options if you’re unsure about a potential leak.
The City of Austin has a leak bill adjustment option. You can check with your provider if they have something like this if you have a leak that caused a jump in your bill. The City of Austin process is to get the repair done and submit some info to them for an adjustment review. The details of that process for the City of Austin are on their website.
Foundation Movement
Another side effect of rain after a long drought is shifting foundations on homes. In many cases, this usually results in minor cracking in drywall and brick mortar among other things. If you see minor cracks then there isn’t much we can do, but if you see large cracks forming and growing around the home we may need to have it evaluated.
The most common request we get is that doors become difficult to open, close or lock, which is usually easily resolved by making some adjustments to how you use the door. Unfortunately, it is not practical to adjust the door because it would be a constant battle as we go through different weather cycles, and would become a never-ending cycle of adjustments. Here are some things to try before requesting maintenance.
- If you can lift, push, pull, or push down on the door with a small amount of pressure to successfully close, open, or lock the door then that is the simplest resolution to this issue. Once the weather changes the door will shift again and may end up going right back to where it was before the current change in how it functions.
- If the door cannot be properly secured with some minor shifting as you try to use it, then it may need some adjustment. If you are going to request maintenance make sure to provide as much info as possible along with photos. We may send some additional troubleshooting steps before dispatching a vendor.
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.
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
