TENANTS

At Cornerstone Property Management, we ensure your property gets maximum exposure to attract potential tenants. Once you sign the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR-2201) Residential Leasing and Property Management Agreement, we’ll promptly place a sign in your yard and a lock box on your door. Your home will be featured not only on our website but also across prominent sites like Realtor.com, MySA.com, Automated Housing Referral Network, Homes.mil (for military relocations), Craigslist.com, HotPads.com, Yahoo.com, and over 30 additional affiliate sites. Unlike many property management companies, we provide the added advantage of listing your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Our licensed real estate agents will handle all leasing activities, so prospective tenants won’t need their own agent to view your property.

At Cornerstone Property Management, we prioritize fast and efficient handling of maintenance requests to ensure tenant satisfaction and preserve your property’s value. We keep maintenance expenses down by utilizing licensed and insured handymen for minor repairs whenever possible. For more specialized issues, we leverage our network of dependable and reasonably priced service providers, including experts in HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and cleaning. Additionally, we have established relationships with vendors specializing in roofing, foundation work, and other significant repairs. If you have preferred vendors or a home warranty, we're happy to coordinate with them directly. Most repair costs are initially covered by us and then detailed on your monthly accounting statement.

Property inspections are crucial for keeping your home in top shape. They help identify potential repair needs, ensure tenants are taking proper care of your property, and allow us to better understand your home.

We approach tenant selection with the utmost seriousness. Partnering with a national screening company, we evaluate applicants based on six key criteria: rental history, credit history, credit score, employment verification, debt-to-income ratios, and a search of the terrorist database. In addition to these thorough background checks, our leasing agents conduct personal interviews and screen each applicant carefully. Choosing the right tenant is crucial, as renting to someone who doesn’t meet our high standards can lead to increased work and costs for both us and the homeowner. Proper tenant selection is essential for maintaining the health and performance of your rental property.

Our management fees are designed to be clear and transparent. We collect a leasing fee from the first month’s rent when setting up a new tenancy, and unlike many other companies, we do not charge any renewal fees. This leasing fee covers agent commissions, as we do not profit from tenant turnover. We also apply a monthly management fee based on the rent collected, so if your property is vacant, no management fees are charged until it is leased. All advertising and marketing costs are included in our management fees, ensuring your property is rented out promptly with no hidden expenses. Additionally, we guarantee that owners will receive their monthly statements electronically by the 10th of each month, allowing for reliable financial planning.

To simplify communication, we provide owner statements and payments electronically. This approach not only helps us keep your management costs down but also gives you convenient access to your information from anywhere, anytime. We ensure effective communication through phone, email, and traditional mail.

To determine the appropriate market rent, each property undergoes a thorough evaluation considering various factors. We compare your property’s size and features to recently rented properties as well as to those currently available on the market. Although our property management team conducts detailed research and offers valuable insights into market rates, the final decision on how much to list your property for is ultimately up to you, the homeowner.

Security deposits are held in a Trust account by the management company, in accordance with Texas Real Estate Commission regulations. To clarify, the security deposit is neither the tenant’s nor the owner’s money, and it is not considered part of the manager’s funds. Essentially, the deposit is allocated for the property itself. If the property sustains damage, the funds are used for repairs. If no damage occurs, the deposit is returned to the tenant. (Please note, this overview does not cover all aspects of the Texas Property Code regarding security deposits.)

We utilize the Texas Residential Lease as our primary governing document. This lease is thorough and fully compliant with the Texas Property Code. Cornerstone Property Management prepares and manages the lease agreements to ensure consistency across all our rental contracts.