TexCen Realty

It can be difficult to do your homework before renting a house or duplex. But I wish I had because this was a nightmare…
We have emails and pictures documenting how dirty, bug infested, and the overall condition the unit was in at move in. At move out we were mailed a check for $ 39 on a $ 1500. The big thing is our property manager lied to us and did not have the capability to tell the owner they were wrong. Texcen realty works for the owner of the property and I get that, but they should be able to use common sense and decency. Never move in to the windrift duplex.
Main example needed in this situation is, we moved in and there were roaches found. We asked for something to be done and they did have an exterminator come. 4 months later the roaches were back, we asked them to fix it and were told to deal with it. We then asked them again and again to fix it. The only response being that it was our problem. At move out the owner and property manager came to the unit to inspect it. I told them face to face that the unit had roaches. I explained that it’s an infestation and not just one or two. They told us to have it sprayed at move out and we would be good. I didn’t want to deal with it and I paid for it to be sprayed.
We then get the deposit back and it shows we were charged $ 150 for exterminator. I showed them the pictures of dead roaches at move in, an email asking for something to be done after move in, a text message from the exterminator that I paid for saying that «this is a total infestation and it’s been there for a long time». I have everything documented in emails and provided it to texcen realty.
Here are other examples including being charged $ 150 for trash in the bins. I sent a picture showing the bins being full when we moved in. Charged $ 175 for the carpet being ‘dirty’. I sent them pictures of a vacuum being full of hair and carpet stains at move in. Nothing
We fought and loss because they know that a couple hundred dollars isn’t worth it for the renter, and they had our money already so what’s it to them? I even called and spoke with the owners daughter, only to hear fake apologies over the phone and no returned calls.
Basically this is the worst experience I have ever had. I felt completely hopeless after they screwed us over. If you are ever deciding between two places to rent and texcen realty is in the mix. Go with the other place.

Thanks for your response, but we did fill out a «move-​in» form which we hurriedly got back to you by the short deadline-​unfortunately, missing a few things out from the craziness of moving. Although, I am sure you all were quite aware of the prior problems of the house anyway. Again, I felt like $ 600+ was taken out of our deposit unfairly for the main reasons: over charging for cleaning when the house was cleaned from top to bottom at move-​out-​and yes, with a few left cob webs in the corners and underneath the stove-​still does not constitute a $ 300 cleaning fee, over-​charging for structural damages like stripped hinges in doorways and paint that had been painted over so many times, it was bound to crack and wear off. All these things were documented in an email that was sent to management during our lease of issues that needed to be addressed and were obviously priorly rigged or not fixed properly the first time. The Horrendous pest problem that obviously was a past problem not fixed and yet we were charged for. We had a few sprays around the house from your recommended pest control company which hardly fixed the problem, but may have angered them further and made them invite the rest of their friends. Roach baits are great temporarily, but the issue was far worse and needed much more attention then a few baits would handle. The siding on the house was beginning to rot with several holes around the house and a gaping hole in the chimney, that was fixed after we had already moved in and after my complaint. The attic was already infested with these roaches, mainly because of structural neglect and yet we were not warned. At one point, I had to completely take out and clean all my belongings in the closet because I found numerous of roach droppings on my clothing. I would hear scurrying under my bed some nights and on the walls of our bedroom and even had multiple ones fly across our living room at us. With two kids, we had to move due to health concerns. We Trust the management company to do right by the tenant and that we are moving into a safe, clean environment. Hopefully, you are not taking advantage of future tenants by leaving these ongoing problems for others to pay the price for over and over again and the owner is not charging top Austin rental prices for a shady money-​making, neglected, roach haven. Glad to hear that you have a «How to get a 100% of your deposit back» information form, but unfortunately this doesn’t help us now.

After posting a bad review about TexCen Realty, I was contacted by David, the owner, who looked into the issues I had posted about. All issues were quickly resolved. The hot water heater has been replaced, the tiles have been fixed. Thank you very much to TexCen Realty, and to David for helping us feel more at ease in this house. For the first time in nearly three months we don’t have to argue over who gets to take a bath or shower!!! Thank you!

I rented an apartment through this company and though the apartment and any repairs that needed to be done happened on a pretty decent time schedule, I would never ever use them again. Things like our dishwasher being old and occasionally flooding the apartment, happens but it shouldn’t. Each time they would send out a handyman to fix it, and then it would happen again eventually. Seems like it would have been cheaper just to put a new one in that didn’t do it, but what do I know.
The reason that I wouldn’t use this company and caution people against it, is that one of their team members/​my old landlord was an absolute psycho and nightmare. He was fine in the beginning stages but when I had questions about the lease he wouldn’t get back to me. The move in date was quickly approaching in a matter of days and I started to get more and more anxious. I finally got a hold of the owner of the company who assured me that the gentleman I was working with would get in touch with me shortly. Boy did he ever! He called and threatened to pull the lease and not let me move in as it was in his right to do so under such and such Texas law blah blah blah. He came unhinged. Threat after threat later, we reached what seemed like an amicable agreement that I would no longer call his big bad boss and get him in trouble so long as he would return my repeated calls/​emails. Seriously. It was one of those moments that I wished I had recorded and posted online so people could get a grasp of what a lunatic this guy is. He’s an absolute liability and I really feel bad for the people that have to deal with him without a warning. I waited for over a year to write this because I was so scared that if I did post something honest, he would retaliate in someway, even though I’m no longer a tenant. Realizing how sad that is, I decided not to care. His name is Joe Davis, good luck everyone.

I have worked with David Mozingo and the TexCen Realty team for over 10 years now. David truly understands the real estate market, transactions, and cycles. He is professional and offers a wealth of knowledge to his clients and team of experts that work under him. I recommend David and TexCen Realty for real estate sales and property management!

I would not recommend trying to work with this company at all. TexCen was selling a home, and working with them was a complete and utter disaster. Before we finally reached an agreement price, they would take days or sometimes weeks to even respond about a counter. Then when the final price was agreed on and we were told the offer was OK, they came back with even more things that they wanted from what was in the offer they said was OK. Working with them has made my first purchase of a home a complete disaster. I would not recommend trying to sell your house with them, after reading all the other comments on here, I see exactly why people said what they did. STAY AWAY! I wouldn’t want to work with these people if I was a buyer or a seller!

Joe Davis manages 7 rental houses for me and does a great job. He keeps vacancy and expenses low, and he just recently sold one of my houses as well. I recommend him.

I live in «La Fiesta»
The place is affordable and the property managers are good.
a guy named Joe Davis manages my property.

This gets an EEK for charging tenants unnecessarily high move-​out costs without even attempting most cost-​effective options, though I would give a specific individual (LaDonna) a YAY, so please be sure to read through both parts.
EEK:
If you own pets, I would not recommend renting any property managed by this company. Instead of replacing one section of carpet and cleaning the rest of the house (which I anticipated as I did not have the funds to do so at move-​out), the decision was made to replace carpet in the entire house — when it was not necessary to do so — and charge me above and beyond my security and pet deposits for it.
My $ 200 Target-​bought carpet cleaner had no trouble removing the dirt and any odors in the downstairs areas, where the highest traffic existed (it broke, though, a month before my move-​out). A professional carpet cleaner should have had no problem cleaning the rest of the house, which had less traffic and where the animals usually did not tread. And, as we all have experienced, our professional opinions can sometimes prove incorrect, so having multiple (more than two) companies review the home and then actually having the house cleaned would have proven that it did not need entirely re-​carpeted. Also, had they replaced even the entire downstairs carpet and cleaned the upstairs, it would have come to less than the $ 1700 re-​carpeting costs I am being charged for — I priced the downstairs square footage for installation of carpet and padding plus hauling off old carpet using home depot’s website ($ 1250), and I asked their professional carpet cleaner what the cost for cleaning the entire house would have been ($ 355). This is why, if you cannot afford to do some of the cleanings at move-​out, PLEASE get estimates, in writing, from multiple individuals, so that you may present that information to the property manager (or landlords later, if necessary).
If you do rent from them and own pets, and you are in the same situation of being unable to pay a carpet cleaner because you’ve had to put out new deposits for a new rental home, please be sure to take lots of photos on move-​out day, and again, I would highly recommend that you have several professional carpet cleaners give you their professional opinions and estimates, in writing, of what portions of the carpet may need replaced, lest you end up in the same scenario where the property manager decides to just redo everything at your expense.
YAY:
If you are looking for a place to rent (or own), LaDonna is an excellent resource (she was NOT the property manager of the property I just moved out of); she made time to meet me in evenings and on the weekends to show me properties from all over (not just ones managed by TexCen), and she made sure that realtors who wanted to show the house I was currently in arranged times in at least 24hrs in advance so that I could put my pets back and/​or be there when strangers came to view the house.
She was quick to respond to emails, phone messages, and text messages, and she even sent me a note in the mail at my new rental thanking me for allowing her to assist me in finding a new place to live.
SIDE NOTE:
On a side note, you can use the county tax appraisal site to locate the owners of the property you rent. This is NOT a suggestion for harassing anyone — please do not do so!!!
If you have a very negative experience, AND you have tried — multiple times — to work out issues with the property manager (of any realty company) according to the terms set forth in your lease agreement, you may wish to write a brief letter of complaint — and I emphasize the need to be cordial and professional here, so perhaps having an attorney or other professionals review it to be sure it is factual and appropriate versus emotional or slanderous — and mail it to the landlord.
It is highly probable that some landlords have no knowledge of what is actually going on, instead entirely trusting their property managers to fairly deal with any problems that may occur. Mailing a letter to the landlords would be a last resort option, but if you have tried multiple times to come to a common agreement with the realty company, without any luck, a respectful letter to the landlords regarding the matter may at least bring to their attention the need to re-​examine the company and/​or individuals managing their properties.
Good luck.

The last two property management companies that I rented from were an absolute nightmare. I was beginning to think every rental in Austin was managed by slumlords until I rented from Texcen. My property manager is Greg Stahl and he is always easy to get a hold of, friendly and quick to solve any problems. Our rental house is nice and well maintained, it was actually clean when we moved in (which last two rental houses were not). Have been very happy with this company as a renter.

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE SLUM LORDS. My husband and I were in a pinch and hurriedly rented a house from these people. We have been dealing with a rodent infestation, continually complaining, since moving in and they will do nothing about it. Told me it is my responsibility, despite what the Austin Tenant’s Council has to say. HOW CAN WE ELIMINATE THE RODENTS WITHOUT THE LANDLORD REPAIRING EVERY EXTERNAL ENTRY POINT!!! If the house wasn’t such a dump I’d consider fighting it, but it’s just not worth it. I just want OUT. House repairs included taping over a broken door and painting over the repair. Their handy man tried to fix our front door which wouldn’t lock by hammering a hole into the busted door jamb with a screwdriver. They clearly want tenants who will not complain and just accept half-ass*ed repairs while living in squalor. I also complained that my hot water heater looks like it is about to blow (cracked and covered in rust) and they NEVER EVEN RESPONDED! Guaranteed unpleasant experience.
I wish I could give them NO STARS and then forget the past 11 months.
Wonder if I will be getting my deposit back. Somehow I doubt it.

I’ve lived in the same rental house for a year and a half, and have nothing but the best things to say about this company and our property manager Mandy in particular. In the first year we had broken ceiling fans in the middle of summer, prowlers on our property, dead animal smell, and every request was handled promptly, graciously, and humanely. We were even put up in a hotel for a week while handymen were at our house everyday fishing squirrel out of our wall. When there isn’t a crisis, I still appreciate little things like having my rent automatically withdrawn so it was always on time without my having to worry about it. The best part is just feeling taken care of, and knowing there’s someone to call who will treat you like a person, not an expense.

TEXCEN REALTY = NIGHTMARE
Be careful with these guys managing your property. It has been a nightmare having these manage my properties. Since Joe Davis had been managing my properties, it has been an endless amount of avoidable expenses, lack of communication etc. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his continued negligence and lack of communication has caused me thousands in expenses. Most recently, I sent them $ 825 for A/​C repair which they pocketed and cancelled my agreement with them. When I email Joe after 6 weeks of the contract cancellation about where my tenant’s deposit money is, I get no response. I have since found a much better solution for property management in Austin, drop me a message and I will send you the reference.