We are pleased to present the following background information for your consideration.

History of Success

Over the past twenty years, PYRAMIS has grown to become one of the most successful professional fee management firms in San Antonio. PYRAMIS currently manages single family units in the San Antonio/Bexar County area.

Always involved, always innovative, PYRAMIS has been recognized as a leader in the property management profession. In addition, Craig Acord's work in producing a single family management manual in conjunction with a Regional Management firm received national recognition by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) of the National Association of REALTORS®. This won first place in IREM's Forms and Brochures Contest at the 1986 Midwinter Education Conference.

Service Plus Management

PYRAMIS Service Plus Management System is a philosophy: a philosophy based on two basic tenets. First, as a company, as a team, and as individuals, we will always do what it takes to meet our responsibilities, and then go one step beyond. This Service Plus is extended to our clients (owners) and to our residents. We believe that we are a service organization, and we are ready to earn that title every day. Secondly, we believe that this is a people business.

This is the "secret" of our success, and we're proud of it. This loyalty and service commitment is openly extended to our owners; they are not just the guys who pay the bills. We see the owner as the business partner with whom we share common goals. All aspects of our management system, from daily bookkeeping to leasing, from meeting the plumber in the middle of the night to collecting rents, and evictions are based on our philosophy of service plus. We want to extend this service to you.

The following section explains the many benefits and advantages of a full-service, professional property management company.

Property Presentation

 

• We present your property to the largest available rental market.
• We are always aware of current market conditions. This allows us to rent your property at its maximum value.
• We use a broad range of advertising media, including signs, flyers, brochures, radio and newspaper classified ads.
• We are members of the San Antonio and Austin Board of REALTORS®. We share our vacancy listings with other members.
• We list vacancies with home-finder agencies, independent leasing agents and the military housing offices.

Tenant Screening

 

• We lease only to qualified, responsible tenants.
• We are experienced in judging credit worthiness. We have designed a point system similar to what NATIONS BANK of Texas uses to qualify its loan applicants.
• We do a thorough credit and reference check before the lease is signed. This includes checking history with the credit bureau, verifying employment, and checking all appropriate references including past landlords.
• We take time with each new tenant to explain the benefits and responsibilities of leasing from us.
• We provide you with protection through the use of proper lease agreements, deposit forms, late notices, and other legal documents.
• We take fair, appropriate security and pet security deposits.

Property Protection

 

• Our comprehensive screening procedures assure you of desirable tenants.
• We maintain and update an inventory of all the personal items that are part of your property.
• We perform spot checks and upon client request announced, routine inspections.
• Our key-control procedures protect you and the tenant against unauthorized entry.

Maintenance

 

• We provide qualified, reasonably priced personnel who will get the job done right.
• We are maintenance experts. Since we deal with this daily, we know what repairs should cost and how long they will take to complete.
• Maintenance work is controlled and supervised. Because of the large volume of work we give local firms we have the necessary recourse to correct poor performance.
• We help avoid costly repairs through routine, preventative maintenance inspections.
• We protect the value of your investment by maintaining your property at current neighborhood standards.

Accounting Services

We pride ourselves on our thorough, accurate record-keeping. Our computer system allows us to provide services that would be difficult or impossible with a conventional, manual accounting system.

We do all the bookkeeping chores for you. Our computer system keeps complete, accurate records of every income and expense that affects your property. Our convenient monthly cash flow statements provide you with a full, itemized record of all transactions.

Key Points:

 

• Every transaction affecting your account balance is recorded and explained. Accounting is done on a single-entry cash basis with an income and expense ledger maintained for each property-just as if your property has its own checking account.
• Copies of all invoices are kept on file throughout the year. These are provided each month as backup to your income statement
• As required by Internal Revenue Service regulations, we prepare and submit a 1099 MISC form showing the total gross rent income that we collected on your behalf during the year. A copy of this form will be sent to you with your January statement.
• Investment Assistance
• We have a large pool of willing, potential investors, including other property owners and our tenants.
• We keep abreast of current market conditions and active investors at all times.
• We can help minimize your selling costs by arranging to exchange properties with other clients.
• Selling to your current tenant frequently reduces our cost of the sale. This savings can be passed on to you. In addition, the sale required repair work requested by a current tenant is kept to a minimum.
• We can help you spot undervalued properties... often with a mortgage payment lower than the rent for an immediate positive cash flow

Real Estate Investment Analysis to assist you in evaluating income-producing property. It includes a ten-year cash flow/ sensitivity analysis that allows you to project the before-tax and after-tax consequences of ownership and resale. With it, you can evaluate how different mortgage terms, depreciation options and assumptions about income, expenses and improvements interact to affect the quality of your investment. Related to the sensitivity model is a lease analysis that helps you project the total annual gross rent you will collect each year from your investment property. Use it in situations where you have leases with CPI's or fixed rent increases that may occur scattered throughout each year. In addition, we can include an annual income-and-expense statement, a loan amortization model and an internal rate of return. This is all that is needed to perform a complete property analysis.

Insurance

In addition to your normal homeowner's Fire and Extended Coverage insurance policy, we require you to maintain an "Owner, Landlord, and Tenant" (OL?) liability policy as well. This coverage protects the tenant, you, and us against a wide range of losses caused by unintentional hazards or unsafe conditions on your property. If you do not currently have OL? coverage, we can arrange to purchase a competitively priced policy for you.

Mortgage Payments

If you wish, we will make the mortgage payment on your property for you. This additional service is offered assuming that we have cash on hand to cover your payment.

You must supply us with the necessary mortgage payment cards or coupons provided by your mortgage company. Arrange to have the cards sent to us directly or forward them as you receive them.

The payment will be deducted from your account balance automatically at the first of the month.

Rent Collection

All rent is due on the 1st of each month and is considered late if received after the 2nd of the month. Late notices are sent on the 6th, and eviction proceedings are initiated if the tenant does not make immediate arrangements for rent payment.

Management Fees

Our monthly management fee is payable when the rent payment is received. It is automatically deducted from your account at the time the rent payment is posted. We do not have a set fee... our fees are based on the difficulty of the assignment and number of properties being managed.

However, since one of our jobs is keeping your property occupied, we will not take our management fee as long as your property remains vacant.

Vacancies

Vacancies are expensive for both of us. We make every effort to keep our vacancies to a minimum. We are members of the local Board of REALTORS?, and we use various leasing agencies. We maintain an extensive computer database of the features that make your property special. This enables us to quickly produce an attractive listing of your property to be given to prospective tenants and local leasing personnel.

Key Points:

 

• Our computer system enables us to monitor our lease expiration dates carefully. We never allow our leases to lapse into an automatic month-to-month extension. Any lease going into a month-to-month classification will incur an automatic increase in rent until a new lease is signed.
• This also gives us the opportunity to re-negotiate their rent on a lease renewal.

Leasing

We want good tenants just as much as you do. We pride ourselves on the quality of tenants we are able to attract. Our extensive tenant screening and leasing procedures help to insure this.

Key Points:

 

• Applicants are required to complete a Rental Application and to provide credit information and references. A credit check and past rental history is made of every prospective tenant. In addition, we report to the credit bureau . We explain to all applicants that prompt rent payment will help maintain their good credit rating.
• An application fee is taken at the time the Rental Application is made. This is an act of good faith by the tenant and covers the cost of the credit check if the applicant proves to be unqualified to lease your property.
• Once a tenant's Rental Application has been approved, an appointment is made with the property manager to sign the actual Lease Agreement. We have found that this extra personal attention to the tenant's needs greatly reduces misunderstandings and eliminates many potential problems. Also, this gives us a chance to answer any questions and to carefully explain the tenant's responsibilities as well as our company policies and procedures.
• Before your property is released to the tenant, we make a thorough move-in inspection using the Property Condition Report. We find that this helps develop a good working relationship with the new tenant. At the same time, it gives us one more chance to encourage our tenants to take pride in their leased home.

Security Deposits

As an additional protection, appropriate security deposits are always collected upon completion of a Rental Application by a prospective tenant. The amount of deposit is based on the monthly rental rate and the creditworthiness of the tenant applicant. Applicants with pets are required to pay an additional deposit.

All security deposits are kept in a special escrow checking account, as required by state real estate regulations, until they are either refunded to the tenant upon the successful check-out inspection of your property, or are forfeited to cover damages caused by lease violations.

Property Inspections

Our main job is to protect your investment property. We do this in two different ways: We make frequent drive by inspections on the various properties we manage. Exterior inspections are very important, because a property that is well maintained on the outside is normally being taken care of on the inside too. In addition, when a special request is made, preventative maintenance inspections of the interior of the property are performed.

Key Points:

 

• The right for us to make routine, announced inspections is part of the tenants Lease Agreement. Tenants are always notified in writing of a pending property inspection. The inspection is conducted with the tenant present. We use the same Property Condition Report that was used when the tenant checked in. We compare carefully for discrepancies, missing items, and additional damage. At the same time we check for preventative maintenance items that are your responsibility.
• Tenants who are doing a good job receive a special letter congratulating them on the pride and care taken in their home.
• Tenants who are doing a poor job are also notified in writing of the items that must be corrected by the tenant immediately. We follow-up with a second inspection ten days after the tenant has received this report. If the tenant has not shown good faith by providing proper maintenance or making requested repairs, we will begin proceedings to correct the problem at the tenant's expense.

Repair and Maintenance Services

Timely, competent maintenance is the key to protecting your investment. Our goal is to provide you with this important service at a reasonable price using only the best qualified personnel.

In addition, it is our aim to prevent major repair bills. We accomplish this through constant supervision, routine inspection, and regularly scheduled maintenance, and by selecting those tenants who will take pride in their leased home.

Members of:

• San Antonio Board Of Realtors (SABOR)
• Texas Association Of Realtors (TAR)
• National Association Of Realtors (NAR)
• San Antonio Apartment Assocation
• Texas Apartment Association
• National Apartment Association
• Institute Of Real Estate Management (IREM)
• Tenant Tracker

Professional Designations:

• Real Estate Broker's License
• Certified Property Manager (CPM)
• Accredited Residential Manager (ARM)
• Certified Environmental Assessment Consultant (EAC)
• Associate in Applied Science Degree (AAS)
• Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (BFA), Ohio University

Consultants:

• Gayle Kemble, CPA, Fisher, Herbst, & Kemble, P.C.
• Karen Bradley, Vice President, Compass Bank
• Michael O'Ddell, Houston Law Firm of O'Dell, Paris & Dugger
• David Fritche, Law Offices of Fritche & Associates (Real Estate Specialty)
• Jim Deegear, Law Offices of James Deegear

Questions or Problems:
info@pyramiscompany.com
webmaster@pyramiscompany.com
© 1996 - 2008, Maverick Designs & Pyramis Company

Last Modified: April 21, 2008 aca