Owner FAQs

We specialize in single family homes, duplexes, 4-plexes, condos and town homes.

Our service area is New Braunfels, San Antonio, Cibolo, Schertz, Seguin, Canyon Lake, Universal City & surrounding areas.

Yes. We are licensed REALTORS®

• Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce San Antonio Board of REALTORS® 
• Four Rivers Association of REALTORS® 
• Texas Association of REALTORS® National Association of REALTORS® 
• San Antonio Chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers 
• New Braunfels Chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers 
• National Association of Property Managers

Michelle Haag, Principal Broker, is the General Manager for Reliance Residential  Realty. She has been a licensed real estate agent since 2005 and received her Broker  License in 2012. Michelle is a 2014 graduate of the Texas REALTORS® Leadership  Program, a 2011 graduate of the Leadership of New Braunfels program and was the 2014  Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2017 Member of the Year for the Women's Council of  REALTORS® Hill Country Chapter. She is also a certified mentor for the Buffini &  Company, Peak Producers program. Michelle is a 2004 graduate of Texas State  University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication with a concentration in  Public Relations. She acquired her Texas Real Estate license in 2005 through the San  Antonio Board of REALTORS® and her Broker license through Champions School of  Real Estate in 2012.

Mary Ann Crumpton, Director, GRI, RMP®, REALTOR®, has been in real estate since  1985 and is a licensed Broker. Mary Ann has been awarded the Residential Management  Professional designation (RMP®) from the National Association of Residential Property  Managers. With our highly trained and skilled staff, we offer a 100% commitment to  bringing the highest standards of professionalism and ethics to the property management  profession.

Our Property Management team consists of: 

Mary Ann Crumpton, GRI, RMP, Director 

Danielle King, Property Manager 

Anna Jackson, Property Manager 

Diane O’ Gorman, Administrator 

Robert Evans, Leasing Agent 

(Owner’s appreciate the small office atmosphere and personal service we deliver

Renting homes is a merchandising rather than a selling effort. Many Tenants find their homes by inspecting the outer appearance of properties in neighborhoods where they desire to live. The placement of signs with our company name and telephone number is one of our best means of attracting potential Tenants. We also acquire Tenants through the Multiple Listing Service, internet web searches, other real estate companies, military housing office, rental agencies, walk-in business, and referrals from satisfied clients.

“For Lease” signs are normally placed on a rental property forty-five (45) days prior to the property’s availability date. For a new property, the sign is placed on the date the unit first comes under our management or, if necessary, when the property is in showing condition.

Properties are posted on “Homes.mil” which is the major source for our military Tenants.

Your property data is entered in both San Antonio & Central Texas Multiple Listing Services giving access to over 9,500 REALTORS®. We pay a leasing fee to the agent who brings us a qualified Tenant, whether the agent is from our office or from another company.

We regularly receive referrals from our current and past Tenants, friends of our Tenants, and from other companies’ agents.

Our properties are posted online at ReliancePMPros.com, Realtor.com and many others & are updated regularly.

Even the best properties will not lease quickly if overpriced. We make sure your home is priced according to current market conditions.

Even the best properties, priced well, will not lease quickly if they are not in top condition. Properties must show well and have “curb appeal". We make sure, your property is presented in a clean and attractive condition.

We do not allow potential Tenants to take keys and view property on their own. We have motivated leasing agents who personally show your property. They must register every showing through our realtor showing service. With this service, we receive showing feedback that is shared with you for the most updated information.

Undesirable neighborhood, it does not show well, or the rent is not competitive. If one of the last two problems appears to be a factor in marketing your property, we will make suggestions to correct them. We do our best to keep all properties rented since our income is based on a percentage of the rental income.

• Monday is the busiest phone day. 
• Renters visit three to five properties before making a decision. 
• It usually takes two visits for a renter to make a decision. 
• Over 70% decide to rent in the spring or summer. 
• 80% of the prospective Tenants use the Internet.

This is one of the most important aspects of the successful management of rental property. We look at an applicant's past behavior and assume their future behavior will be the same. An applicant must demonstrate a history of being a good, responsible Tenant as well as meeting our financial criteria.

After a prospective Tenant has been shown a property and has expressed a desire to lease it, our Rental Application must be submitted along with a non-refundable Application Fee. The non-refundable application fee is retained by the company to defray the cost of processing the application. Upon approval of the application, the Security Deposit becomes due and payable within 24 hours.

We subscribe to Online Rental Exchange, the nation’s premiere Tenant performance reporting company.

ORE verifies the true Owner or agent for the property. We communicate with current & previous Landlords and ask detailed questions about the applicant's past performance.

ORE provides us with their exclusive scored retail credit report which tells us the applicant's current and past performance in meeting their financial obligations. It also tells us their monthly debt and shows their previous addresses (which we compare to addresses listed on the application). An applicant must have acceptable credit to qualify.

salary, and prospects for continued employment. An applicant needs to earn at least 3x’s the monthly rent in gross income to qualify for rental.

ORE has access to public records that tell us if the applicant has ever been sued for eviction. They also provide us with eviction & criminal background checks. If accepted, the applicant’s in-processing includes a detailed explanation of the lease, lease signing, collecting pro-rated rent, and providing the Tenants with a copy of our detailed Tenant Handbook. Our detailed Tenant Handbook further explains our Lease Agreement and provides information about rental payments, lawn care and maintenance, animals, service calls/emergency repairs, check-in/out procedures, lease renewal and termination, utilities, security deposit, etc.

All leases are in writing and normally cover a period of one or two years. Longer leases are approved after discussion with the Property Owner. With the Owner’s approval, during slower rental periods, we accept leases for less than one year in order to have the lease expire during a more active rental period. On occasion we may elect to place a Tenant on a month to month or 6-month rental lease to accommodate sale of the property by the Owner, a Tenant’s pending departure, or moving the property into a more active rental period.

ReliancePmPros will perform an occupied property evaluation three (3) months into the tenant’s lease AND at the time the lease is renewed. The walk-through is to assess the condition of the home to ensure the Tenant is maintaining the property.

The Tenant(s) is sent a lease violation notice along with a deadline to cure any lease violations. At the Landlord/Owner(s) discretion if a problem persists, we will decide based on that specific situation to make the necessary repairs and charge the Tenant(s) or, send the Tenant(s) notice of breach of lease and proceed with eviction.

If payment has not been received by the 4th day of the month, the Tenants are notified of  the non-payment of rent are sent a Three (3) day Notice to Vacate & Late Notice with the  option to cure the breach of lease by paying the full rent. Whether or not we eventually  have to proceed with a formal eviction depends on the specific circumstances. It is usually  financially better, for all involved, if a solution can be worked out. If the Tenant has  experienced a one- time event which caused them a financial hardship, and we have had  no previous problems with them, we will normally give them a chance to catch up. 

If the Tenant has demonstrated an ongoing pattern of late payments, broken promises  and/or evasiveness, eviction is the best course of action. Each case is unique, and we  make our decisions based on what is best for you and the property in the long run. We  always proceed with the legal notices required for eviction regardless of any other factors.  We will simply postpone the actual filing of the eviction if the Tenant is showing favorable  effort toward resolution. Evictions in Texas are a simple legal matter as there is no way a  Tenant can prevail in court if they have not paid rent, and the Landlord has properly  executed the notices and filing. Full evictions, when necessary, can usually be completed  in three to six weeks. 

In the absence of any special considerations unique to you or your property, our rule of thumb is: If something may cause a potential interruption in your ordinary cash flow (loss of Tenant or major repair), we will let you know about it right away. Otherwise, non emergency items will be notated in your monthly statements. Of course, we encourage you to contact us anytime you have a question or wish to discuss somethin

Tenants may email or go to our website to report their requests. For emergencies, they may call our 24- hour emergency phone to contact us after hours. After receiving a repair request, we will contact the Tenant and ask them questions to help us determine the exact nature of the problem before sending a service technician. We make sure it is not something the Tenant can fix themselves (ex: reset button on the disposal, tripped breaker etc.) before your money is spent on a service call. After determining that it is a legitimate problem, we will send the appropriate service vendor to make the repair. Our Tenants are informed that most repair requests will be handled within 1 to 5 working days. Items such as air conditioning, no hot water or heat, receive highest priority and are usually attended to the same or next business day.

We do not! We do not employ, nor do we profit from any maintenance companies we  use. They are competitive in price, competency, and reliability. We have access to “all around” maintenance technicians who are skilled in a wide range of home repairs  including air-conditioning, light plumbing and electrical. We save our Owner’s money by  using these technicians for the majority of multi-trade and make- ready tasks. Another  benefit of using these technicians is the opportunity for checking out the general condition  of the property. 

We believe we have developed a very sensible approach to handling maintenance and  repairs, and that you will realize cost savings that other property management companies  simply cannot deliver. 

We will reserve $300 per property in your account so that there are always funds to pay the vendors quickly.

This is the greatest fear of newest ‘s. We promise in writing not to do that. Ordinary  maintenance and repairs of less than $300 are paid out of your reserve account, and you  will see this in your monthly Owner statement. If we think a repair might exceed $300, we  will attempt to contact you immediately. 

If we are unable to reach you, we will initiate the repair work even if it is higher than $300 in the following cases: (1) the health or safety of a Tenant is an issue, (2) in instances  where there is only one option to consider or (3) the property will incur damage if  immediate action is not taken. We will let you know the situation as soon as possible and  what we are doing to complete it. Leaving a Tenant waiting in 90+ degree heat or without  hot water, or a leaking roof while we try to contact you for permission to do the obvious is  not something we want to do. 

We already have very qualified and reasonably priced vendors that we have used for many years. If a company you prefer wants to be added to our vendor list, they can contact us, and we will interview them and let them know what documentation and references we need. However, we cannot guarantee that your favorite company will be sent on all service calls to your property. Our concern is always to resolve repair problems in the timeliest way possible with the best available vendor at the time. We cannot keep track of a pre-established roster of which vendors are assigned to certain properties - it would be very cumbersome and inefficient and would not achieve the best service to you, the Tenant, or your property. Our professional reputation, both with Tenants and Owner’s, is largely, if not entirely, determined by how well we handle maintenance. So, we follow a practice that is most likely to insure the best possible response and resolution to problems.

We prefer that the Owner does not use a Home Warranty Company to make repairs at their property. The logistics and communication problems we have encountered with past attempts to use Warranty Companies are not acceptable for the level of property management service we strive to achieve. Often, they will leave Tenants hanging without heat or A/C for days while they go through their "second opinion" process. Because some Owners purchased their home with a home warranty, we will try to work with the Warranty Company until it expires. Please read the fine print in your service contract to ascertain what repairs are covered.

We can manage your home with a pool, but you must allow it to be serviced a minimum of every two weeks by a full-service pool maintenance company, at your expense. This is another one of those areas where time and experience have taught us well. As a pool Owner, you know it can get out of hand very quickly if not diligently maintained. The Tenant should not be entrusted with this very important responsibility. It is best to include the pool maintenance in the rent.

We process Owner funds by direct deposit between the 7th and 10th of each month. You  should receive your statement (via email) no later than the 10th. If you have not received  your statement by the 10th of each month, please contact our office, but calls prior to  the 10th will just delay the processing of your statement. Your cooperation is  greatly appreciated.

Yes! We deposit your proceeds directly into your bank account.

We can pay your Insurance, Homeowners fees, etc. There must be sufficient cash flow from the property to cover such expenses, and we must set up an additional reserve fund for this purpose which will allow us to make prompt payment for you without waiting for the rent to arrive.

The statement includes all income and expenses for the accounting period. We request that any unpaid balance be brought current within thirty (30) days. Accounts in arrears more than thirty (30) days could incur 10% interest on the unpaid balance.

Our management fee is a percent of the monthly rent depending on the size, location, and number of properties. There is no monthly fee if the property is vacant.

In order to have our managements competitive in the rental market our leasing fee is 50% of the first month's rent (capped at $1,000) for NEW Tenants. We list our rental properties in two(2) Multiple Listing Services which is accessed by several thousand real estate agents. This should greatly help minimize the vacancy time of your property on the rental market.

They are not! Our fees are very competitive! We realize you can find a cheaper property manager, but price should not be the determining factor in deciding whom you hire to manage your property. The ultimate cost of using a property manager is determined by many things other than the fee they charge, namely, the efficiency and way they handle problems. Our services, systems, experience, and expertise we offer are a very good value at the fee structure we have established.

There is a $200 set up fee. We do not charge for long distance calls or mileage, nor do we mark-up maintenance costs as some Property Managers do. The only other expenses you should incur would be for services which fall outside the normal scope of our Management Agreement and for duplication of services.

Example (1). When an Owner wants to use a company like Sears to deliver a new stove  to a vacant property, and we must meet Sears at the property, there is a service fee of  $50 per occurrence. 

Example (2). If the Owner is refinancing the property, and we must meet the appraiser or  other person at the property, there is a service fee of $50 per occurrence. Owners often  ask us to do things that are outside our normal management services, and we try to  accommodate our Owners whenever possible. 

Yes! Our sales agents are well trained in the sale or purchase of residential investment property. In fact, some of our agents have received advanced designations such as Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR). They would be happy to assist you in either the purchase or sale of residential or investment properties.

Yes. We use the Texas Association of REALTORS® Property Management Agreement. The Residential Lease Agreement we use is available for your review at any time.

If the property is managed by ReliancePmPros all security & animal deposits received from Tenants are held by Broker in a trust account. If a property comes into management with a Tenant already in place, and Tenant originally paid Owner the security deposits ReliancePmPros will require the Owner to transfer the deposit to ReliancePmPros.

Generally, the security deposit is 100% of one month’s rent plus an additional $200.

As the Owner of the property, it is best that you avoid direct communication with the Tenant and refer all inquiries to our office. We maintain a diplomatic relationship, between you and your Tenant.

Yes. In fact, we recommend Owners view their property at least once every two years. Owners should give ReliancePmPros at least three- or four-days’ notice, so we can make arrangements with the Tenants. Often the trip to view your property is tax deductible! Please check with your tax preparer.

We can start the process immediately. Contact us so we can find out more about you and your property to see if we would be a good match for your wants and expectations. Please contact us if you have other questions or wish to discuss letting us handle your property.