YES.

We do not utilize vendors unless they provide us with a copy of their General Liability insurance.

YES.

We have to hold E&O insurance policy for 1,000,000 in coverage. Personnel dishonesty coverage is included with our General Liability insurance.

YES, WE REQUIRE THAT ALL OF OUR PROPERTY MANAGERS ARE LICENSED AND ARE MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.

As a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, you pledge to follow the Code of Ethics, which outlines our obligations to clients, colleagues, and the general public.
Established members must complete a Code of Ethics course once every two years. Click here for a copy of the Code of Ethics and Standard Practice www.texasrealtors.com

WE ABSOLUTELY DO!

We don’t mind paying a coop fee for area Realtors to lease our properties. This is one of our competitive advantages and many months we obtain over 50% of our leasing activity from outside Realtor showings. We enjoy working with them and go out of our way to make the transaction as smooth as possible.

WE DO, WITH FULL DISCLOSURE AND APPROVAL OF THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY.

In all cases, we follow the lease, payments due on the 3rd and late on the 4th (for most of our properties). We feel that during the height of this economic downturn we were able to “save” many honest tenants who experienced an unfortunate personal financial downfall. We work hard to come up with an “agreeable” payment arrangement and get them signed by the tenant. If the tenant breaks the payment arrangement, we then begin immediate action on the eviction process. Many times we are able to ask the tenant to leave peaceably which saves eviction and court fees. If we try to work with them, they usually respect this. Tenants that have “made it through” a difficult time and have caught up with their rent tend to be very loyal to our company and tend to remain as residents with us.

Please know it is harder to work with tenants through payment arrangements. The “easier” way is to file eviction and move on. We know pretty quickly who will abide by the arrangement and who will not.

WE DO NOT.

It is tempting, we must say to be “offered” special services from vendors who perform regular services on our portfolio, but it is also a huge conflict of interest. Our employees and independent contractors sign an agreement that they will not accept “freebies” from our vendors. If they do, it is grounds for immediate dismissal. It is just not good business practice.

WE DO NOT.

There was a time when we did. We do not any longer. The reason we do not is that things just happen with family. It is hard to keep perspective and normal business procedures when family comes into play. Pricing, scheduling, customer satisfaction, volume are all points of discussion in our business and it is much harder to iron out points of contention when a family is involved.

Again, who wins when you need those services for your property?

WE DO NOT.

This is an age-old struggle for many management companies. Maintenance can be a great determinant as to whether an investor’s portfolio is successful, or not! Our company has been on both sides of the equation; back in the late ’90s and early 2000’s we did have an “in-house” maintenance company. Now we “outsource” 100% of our maintenance to other vendors.

Our number one goal is attracting and keeping good tenants IN our properties. The personality strengths that it takes to be great at this primary function are; excellent communication skills and very attuned customer service skills. Now, take a look at what it takes to be an EXCELLENT maintenance tech and diagnostician; construction knowledge, detailed understanding of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, sewage systems, etc. It is rare to find an individual who can perform both of these duties at a high level! For this very reason, we decided to outsource our maintenance to a competent company that will go out and gets competitive bids for our owners. What we like about this is that we can also go out and get competitive bids for property projects in addition to the bids that My Labor Resource provides and this leads to our second point of why we do not make money on maintenance.

We simply have a fiduciary responsibility to our owners to represent you and keep your “needs” in mind at all time. If we make money on our maintenance, then WHO wins if your property suffers a series of repair needs? We then would have a “vested interest” in something breaking down and not be as motivated to go out and try to get separate quotes for those issues.