Though others may have found good luck with using RPM for their property management, as an owner unfortunately I cannot recommend RentSmart Austin.
We started renting our property in 2015, used a reputable real estate company to do the listing and leasing, while managing the property ourselves.
In August 2016, we hired RPM to take over the property management. They did not have to do anything to advertise the property at that time because one of the previous renters re-leased. The expectation is that they would manage the property, perform their regular checks to make sure it remains in good condition, and notate any interior and exterior issues that may surface so that they can be appropriately addressed in the best interest of the tenant and owner.
In August 2017, the tenants decided not to re-sign their lease. They were supposed to be out by September 1st, which would allow the property to be made ready for rental in September, still during prime renting season. RPM allowed the tenants to rent month-to-month until the end of first week of October. We walked the property as soon as the renters left. It was extremely dirty, lawn overgrown, interior and exterior of property damaged due to the tenants and their pets. Jon stated that their security deposit would be used to address the damages. Needless to say, this did not happen. RPM charged the tenants over $460 of their security deposit to clean the interior of the property, which was still dirty after the cleaning. The tenants were also charged $32 for 8 light bulbs, and $40 to mow the yard. The remainder of the security deposit, which included the pet deposit, was returned to the tenant. None of it was used to address the property damage or additional cleanup needed. Jon claimed that the interior damage was wear and tear and that the exterior damage did not appear to be from the tenants pets.
As for the re-leasing of the property, I would expect any property management company to be aware of prime leasing times and do what is necessary to term the rental contract appropriately and get new tenants in. I would also expect that the make ready cleanup, repairs, and advertising of the property be better than what was provided by RPM. I mentioned several times to Jon via in person, phone conversations, and through emails since the first week of October that the leasing pictures he had of the property (on the free rental websites) were terrible. He stated on multiple occasions that he would get new pictures when it was "sunny" outside. From October thru the beginning of December, Jon made no apparent effort to address the pictures or condition of the property. There was also no MLS listing of the property. Any owner knows that this is a huge benefit to getting the property visible to prospective renters.
There was flooring damage, broken blinds and doors, house siding and fence damage due to pets (there was evidence across the yard and fence of pets at that property plus confirmation from the neighbors), missing and/or broken screens and slider doors, broken shower bar, broken and missing sewer cap next to the garage, all of which I do not consider normal wear and tear. I have also spoken to others about this and this is not normal wear and tear and Jon and RPM should have taken care of these damages immediately with the security deposit.
It does not appear that any repairs were done after the tenant moved out. The security deposit should have been used to make these repairs immediately instead of sitting on the property in this condition. Two months of vacancy, security deposit returned to tenant with no repairs done, and no MLS listing for the property.
We will not be using RPM again nor will we be able to recommend them to anyone seeking property management services. Needless to say, we hired a new professional property management company. read more