FAQ

Our Commitment to You

Communication:

• Our office hours are 10:00AM - 5:00PM , Monday – Friday
• We are closed on weekends and holidays
• Telephone messages will be returned within 24 business hours
• Email messages will be responded to within 24 business hours (please be sure to send emails to info@sunshinerpm.com)

We know that prompt communication is important to guarantee these standards!

We close our books on the 16th of the month, email you a link to your Owner Portal on the 16th of the month as well. We will also transfer funds the same day your owner report is sent. However, delays can occur, and we must allow for holidays and weekends. Your owner portal will enable you to access each monthly statement and all receipts in a PDF format 24 hours a day.

Management statements include a detailed statement showing each transaction for each property, and all invoices.

This is important as most property management companies do not provide copies of invoices. We believe you should be fully aware of every expense at your property!  

• The biggest key to a property being well cared for is acquiring a well-qualified tenant. We find that well-qualified tenants are motivated to take care of the property and adhere to our policy guidelines.
• We perform property walks on all assets 3x a year to make sure the tenants are in compliance with the lease and our company guidelines. During our walks, we are reviewing appliances, air filters, flooring, walls, blinds, unauthorized pets/occupants, and reviewing the exterior of the home. We are also reviewing landscaping. Once completed our team uploads photos to the owner portal and sends you a copy of the inspection.
• Having an experienced maintenance tech makes maintenance repairs, cost effective and we get fewer calls.

WHERE IS MY PROPERTY LISTED?

We list on the local MLS and the listing(s) automatically syndicate to the following sites: 

• Local Board Website

• Apartments.com

• HAR.com

• ListHub

• Realtor.com

• Zillow Rentals

From our online website where your home is listed as well, at www.sunshineresidential.com, your asset is automatically syndicated to the following sites: 

Apartment Advisor 

Apartment List 

ApartmentLove 

Apartments.com 

Dwellsy 

EveryApartment 

Homes.com 

HotPads (Zillow Rental Network) 

Hunt  

MyRentersGuide 

Off Campus Partners 

Realtor (Realtor.com Network) 

Rent College Pads 

Rent. (RentPath Network) 

Rentable 

Rental Beast 

Rental Source 

RentalAds.com 

Rentals.com (RentPath Network) 

Rentler 

Show Me The Rent 

Trulia (Zillow Rental Network) 

Uloop  

Zillow (Zillow Rental Network) 

Zumper

Residents are required to perform basic maintenance on your property. Some examples are : 

• Replace burned-out light bulbs,
• Change HVAC air filters,
• Fill water softeners,
• Change smoke alarm batteries and so on. 

Additionally, we expect them to be able to tighten a loose door handle, push the reset button on the garbage disposal, or reinstall a window screen that may have fallen off. Residents are usually responsible for lawn care unless they are on a property where an owner provides that service. Lawn care is mowing, trimming, watering, and keeping flowerbeds weed-free. When repairs need to be done outside the scope of the resident's responsibility, one of our in-house maintenance technicians or sub-contractors will be sent to the property. 

Our maintenance staff is available 24 hours a day, and we guarantee their work! 

Through years of experience and we have learned  that the better the condition of your property, the better the tenant you will attract. The better the quality of the tenant, the less likelihood of your property being intentionally damaged.

This means that the property should be:

• Move in Ready Clean - you would move in with your family.
• Walls should be painted if they are dirty or marred.
• Carpeting and flooring should be cleaned or replaced as needed.
• Appliances should be up-to-date and working.
• Window coverings, such as 2” blinds on the windows.
• The property should be in good repair inside and out (everything works).
• Lawn and beds should be in top condition and mulched (curb appeal is critical for first impressions).

This is not a complete list, but you get the idea. Your property should be a place someone would be happy to live and call their home.

Curb Appeal is everything.  If the yard, entrance area, and interior look sharp and inviting, the client will be more intersted in leasing your home. A quality resident is motivated to take care of your home and will leave it in good condition. This means lower operating costs for you!

We want you to be kept informed of the status of your property should a vacancy occur. We do that in several ways:

1. Before the Tenant Vacates: You will be notified by email when a Notice to Vacate is sent to us. If above-normal repairs are needed, you will be made aware of these repairs by the property manager, along with cost estimates. Normal turnover items will be “handled” by us as quickly as possible. Such items as turning on utilities, getting the yard mowed (if needed), pest control, minor maintenance, and so forth. Quick decisions are necessary to get your house on the market and leased!
2. While on the Market: When the property is actively listed on the market, we will email you weekly updates on Mondays each week.
3. When Leased: Once the property is leased, you will be notified by our office manager. This notice will be emailed and will give you the specifics of the transaction (date leased, lease rate, length of the lease,..).

If a resident needs to vacate a property early, we explain that they are responsible for the balance of the lease payments until the property is leased again, a reletting fee (85%) equal to one month’s lease payment, and all costs associated with that turnover. 

Unpaid expenses are turned over to a collection company and will affect their credit rating if not paid within 30 days of breaking the lease.

We will also represent you in court for any evictions. An attorney is always advised but we have years of experience in eviction court and can assist you with this process. 

Our property management fee is 7% of the gross monthly rent, with a $150 per month minimum. If your property is vacant, there is no monthly fee. We make no money when your home is vacant so we work hard to lease it.

Our operating costs are based on the service level needed to deliver the quality of services you should expect to receive from a full-service management firm. If you are considering saving costs by going with a less experienced firm that does not provide a full spectrum of management services to protect your asset or is not transparent with their costs, you will be getting what you pay for. Why risk it?

If you have more than 1 unit or refer others to our company, we offer a 6% management fee for properties 3+, etc.

Also, unlike other property management companies:

• We do not charge you an Account Set Up Fee.
• We do not charge you a monthly Vacant Property Advertising Fee.
• We do not charge a monthly Wire Transfer Fee.
• We do not add an Administrative Processing Fee (markup) to vendor invoices.
• We do not charge your tenants bogus monthly Service Fees.

The leasing commission is 80% of new residents’ first full month’s rent. From this, we pay all the agents involved (listing and leasing) in the transaction, all costs associated with listing your property in the Multiple Listing Service, listing it on our Web site and all the additional property leasing sites, preparing all the lease documents, and performing a required lease orientation with your tenants.

A lease renewal of $200 is administered if we successfully retain your current resident and execute a lease renewal contract. Renewing the lease agreement is always our goal. Why should you pay a lease renewal fee? Property turn-overs are one of the most expensive events at a property. A turn-over can easily cost you thousands in lost rent, the lease commission, mortgage payment, make-ready maintenance costs, utilities, lawn care, pest control, rekey, and so on. If a company charges nothing to renew the lease, they may be tempted to allow a property to turn over and charge you a leasing commission. What's their incentive not to? Incentivize the property management company to give excellent service to your tenants and to keep them in the property.

On average, our tenants stay with us for over two years! That's two years of no turn-over costs and no interruption in cash flow. Keeping a tenant in your property should be a priority. A long-term tenant saves you money!

Austin (North, South, East and West)

Leander

Liberty Hill

Lakeway

Manor

Hutto

Georgetown

Pflugerville

Round Rock

Houston

Katy

No. We do not make any exceptions for this and this is exactly why we do property walks.

Yes as long as they are a licensed and qualified vendor to do the work requested on your asset. 

Per Texas property code, we must use professional vendors.

Yes we do. However, we require owners to hold an additional insurance policy and they must adhere to ALL property code regulations. 

No exceptions are made for this. 

Federal Fair Housing laws are demanding, and the fines for mishandling this are high.

We take Fair Housing laws very seriously and reserve the right to select and approve the applicants. If an owner refuses an applicant because of discriminatory practices, we immediately cancel our property management contract. 

For your protection, let us make this decision for you.