Austin Rental Market – 2010 Update

January 26, 2011

Average and median rents for homes in Austin continued to rise in 2010, but still remain lower then the peak in 2001. Hard to believe, but rents in Austin are still lower than 10 years ago. As indicated by the graph above, rental rates in Austin topped out in 2001 with the Tech bubble and [...]

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What exactly do you pay your Austin Property Manager to do?

December 16, 2010

I remember the day clearly, Wed April 14th, 1999. I received a call from one of my property owner clients. He was working on his income taxes and he was angry, not at the IRS but at me! Even though he received a monthly statement showing all income and expenses on his property, adding it [...]

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What Happens with Early Termination of the Lease?

December 5, 2010

Most leases in Texas are written for initial fixed terms, usually 12 months. Renewal periods are also usually written for a fixed number of months. During these fixed terms, the tenant has agreed to remain in the property and pay rent through a certain date, and the landlord is obligated and required to allow the [...]

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Why All Landlord-Tenant Communication Should be in Writing

December 4, 2010

One of the biggest challenges I have as property manager in Austin is convincing tenants that it’s in your best interest, as well as the landlord’s, to have all communication with your landlord or property manager in writing. By “all communication” I mean matters that affect your lease and/or legal rights, such as repair requests, lease changes, [...]

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What Happens in Austin Eviction Court?

November 15, 2010

I was unfortunately in eviction court a couple of weeks ago because one of my tenants decided to stop paying rent. Evictions in Texas are handled by County JP Courts (Justice of the Peace). These courts are similar to the entertainment “Judge” shows you see on TV, minus the (intended) entertainment element. But it is [...]

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Austin Rental Market Update – Aug 2010

September 23, 2010

The Austin rental market remains strong, and rent values continue to rise overall. Let’s start with a look at the historic rental value graph. Going back to 1999, the YTD 2010 average and median rental rates still remain below the peaks of 2000/2001. The big dip in rental rates in Austin following the peak in [...]

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Can You Still Make Money Investing in Austin Real Estate?

September 7, 2010

As someone who’s bought and sold a bunch of rentals, and helped other investors buy, sell and manage investment property in Austin for a number of years, I’m about to ask a question that might seem counter to my professional mission of being in service to real estate investors. Is rental property investing in Austin [...]

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