To the tenants who are moving into a new home – congratulations and we’re glad you’re here! Specialized Property Management is happy to welcome you to your new home, and we want to do everything we can to ensure your rental experience with us is a positive and comfortable one.

Because there are a lot of questions and a lot of details that are often involved in a move, we want to provide you with an easy resource as you’re preparing to move and once you’ve already started settling into your new home.

Here are a few items to help ensure a successful stay – please be sure to contact us at any point if you need any help or have any additional questions.

Moving In and Your Inventory Form

Your leasing agent will provide you with a resident manual with all the information you need to enjoy and care for your new home. Keep this resident manual close; it will often answer any questions that you have and it will save you a lot of time and effort if you remember to refer to your manual before calling or emailing us.

You will also receive an inventory and condition form when you move into your property. This is an important form that we need you to fill out completely. It will allow you to document the move-in condition of the property. We deliver rental properties that are clean and in outstanding condition, so if there’s anything that isn’t working or doesn’t look right, we want to know about it. We’ll also use this form at the end of your lease when you’re preparing to move out. We expect you to return the property to us in the same condition that it was received, and this form that you complete will allow us to compare the condition now to the condition in the future.

So, it’s in everyone’s best interests to pay close attention to the property condition and the condition form. Please go through your new home in great detail as you complete this form. Be sure to take pictures of any issues or problems that you note on the form, and email the form and photos back to us within five days of your move-in date.

This form will stay with the leasing department until the end of your lease draws near. If you see anything that needs maintenance during this process, please submit a separate maintenance request through the website provided in your Resident Guidelines letter. We will be sure to take care of any problems that you notice right away, and we appreciate you sharing as much detail as possible so we can be responsive and thorough.

Taking Care of the Home

We want you to enjoy your new home, and keeping your property clean and well-maintained will help you love living there. Our team is here to work with you anytime you need maintenance or repairs. As you know, tenants are responsible for keeping the property clean and tidy as well as setting up all utilities and caring for the landscaping. You should have opened up utility accounts before you moved in, and paying those monthly bills will be your responsibility. The landscaping is also up to you, unless your lease agreement says differently. Please be sure to keep the lawn cut and the bushes and trees free of any debris, weeds, or overgrowth.

Tenants must also complete minor and seasonal maintenance issues that you would take care of at any house that you lived in. These responsibilities include changing the light bulbs when they burn out and replacing the furnace filters and refrigerator water filters. We make sure that your property complies with all of the necessary regulations and requirements in the Texas Property Code. As tenants, you are also responsible for complying with state and local laws and codes as well as any HOA rules and regulations.

Before you move in, the owner of your property will be responsible for ensuring that the rental property is thoroughly clean, safe, and ready for occupancy. We will work with your owner to make sure the home has been re-keyed since the last tenants move out. We understand the requirements for deadbolt locks and peepholes in the exterior doors. We are also careful to provide the right types of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home. If your property is in an HOA or a condo association, we will be sure to provide you with a copy of those rules. It’s your responsibility to comply with them, and any fines or violations will be directed to you.

Paying Rent on Time Every Month

Paying rent is one of your most important duties as a tenant, and we are here to help you stay committed to on-time payments. We provide a number of different ways for you to pay, and your lease agreement will outline how to pay and where to pay. The most popular method of rental payments is our online system. Once you have access to your online tenant portal, you can use it to pay rent every month or to schedule upcoming and ongoing rental payments.

Our tenants appreciate this because it’s secure, convenient, and a great way to ensure you don’t miss a payment and face a late fee.

Your leasing coordinator will provide you with the credentials you need to set up and log into your private resident portal where you can pay rent each month via a checking account or your debit or credit card.

Requesting Maintenance

When routine maintenance or a general repair is needed, simply submit your request online or call our maintenance hotline to submit a ticket. Most of our tenants enjoy using the online maintenance reporting system; it’s convenient, efficient and can be done at any time of the day or night and from any location. It also gives us a written record of when the request was made and what we did to take care of it. This is useful in our reporting and documentation efforts.

We recognize that submitting an electronic request isn’t always convenient or possible, especially if there’s an emergency at your property. If you have something that needs immediate attention, please call our hotline so we can dispatch someone to take care of the matter right away. Emergencies usually involved leaking water, fire, and any type of weather incidents such as a tree crashing through a window or part of the roof flying off.

At Specialized Property Management, we are committed to responding to your maintenance needs quickly and professionally. We ask you to be diligent about reporting the things that are broken or failing at your home. Leaving maintenance unreported will only be inconvenient for you and will lead to further problems that will be more complicated and more expensive to fix. Even if something seems minor, go ahead and put in a maintenance request so we are aware of it. Keeping communication open between tenants and management will help everyone have a more pleasant rental experience.

Moving Out of Your Property

You’re still in the process of moving into your home, so it may seem premature to be thinking about your move-out date and process. However, we believe that every successful move-out starts when a tenant is moving in. We have a specific process that, when followed, will increase your chances of having your full security deposit returned to you. We ask that you leave your property clean and in the same working condition that you are receiving it right now. During your tenancy, you can work towards this goal by paying attention to the cleanliness and repair of your property.

When it is time to move out, Specialized Property Management rewards residents for on-time rental payments and for taking care of the property during your stay. After you move out and we have verified that there is no property damage or any other outstanding issues, we will offer you a printed and electronic record of your payment history. We are also happy to provide you with a letter of recommendation upon request. This can help you in your effort to purchase a home or in renting your next home. We appreciate our tenants who work hard to pay rent on time, follow the lease agreement terms, and care for the property. If we can help you find a new rental home, we hope you’ll talk to us about what you’re looking for and where you’d like to live.

Get to Know Your Resident Manual

As we have mentioned, your leasing agent will give you a Specialized Property Management resident manual with all of these items and more. Please keep this manual handy for easy reference throughout your tenancy.

Thank you for choosing a property managed by our talented and responsive team. We hope you enjoy your new home and if we can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact us at Specialized Property Management.