How To Rent A Home

Available Rental Listings

• See our Available Rentals to find your next home.
• Lease signing determines who has priority to rent.
• Rent amount, deposit and lease term are determined by the lease agreement alone.
• Credit history, rental history and background checks may affect the lease terms.

How to View a Rental Property

• Your valid ID will be held in exchange for the property keys.
• You may sign-out up to 3 keys to be returned the same day.
• Keys must be signed-out no later than 4pm weekdays.The Saturday cut-off time is to be determined by staff.
• There is a $25 or greater charge for lost keys.
• Properties are for viewing and not for use.

Tenant Application Process

• The Rental Application Form, also called the Residential Lease Form, can be found here.
• There is a non-refundable application fee per adult living in the home. An adult is a person 18 yrs. or older regardless of school status.
• It generally takes 2-3 business days for the approval / disapproval decision.
  • The following documents are required:
    • Valid photo ID
    • Any Government-Issued ID
    • Driver's license
    • Military CAC Card
    • Passport
    • No Medical Cards
    • No School ID Cards
    • No Employer ID Cards
    • No Social Security Card
  • Proof of Income for last 30 days
    • Pay Stubs
    • VA Award Letter
    • Bank account statement
    • Alimony proved by court documents and receipts / bank statements
• The application must be legible and completely filled-out or could be rejected.
• Background checks:
  • Credit check
  • Criminal history
  • Rental history
• Approval is for a lease amount, not a specific property.

Section 8 Steps

Section 8 Steps

Lease Signing Process

• Lease signings are by appointment only.
• Tenants receive a copy of the lease.
• The following payments are received:
  • rent
  • deposit
  • administration fee
• The main lease holder(s) is required to sign the lease. This person is legally and financially responsible for the lease. Not necessarily all adults in the household are required to sign the lease.
• The tenant is responsible for coordinating with the Soldiers of Real Estate locksmith to rekey their home. A rekeying typically goes as follows:
  • The locksmith goes out to the home and rekeys the doors.
  • Two sets of keys are then provided to the lease holder.
  • One sets of keys goes to Soldiers of Real Estate.
• The lease is a legal, binding contract and cannot be altered without the expressed written permission of both parties.

Inspection Process

Available Rental Listings

• Lease Condition and Inventory form is due 10 calendar days after signing the lease.
• Tenant is encouraged to provide pictures of any alleged damage. In order for pictures to be considered valid, they must be submitted at the same time the Lease Condition and Inventory form is submitted.
• Lease Condition and Inventory form will no longer be accepted after 10 days. In this case, the tenant will be held accountable for all damages, new or existing, to the property.
• Lease Condition and Inventory form is very important because it will be compared to the Soldiers of Real Estate Move-Out Inspection report should the tenant move, terminate his / her lease or be evicted.
• Section 8 Renters: It is highly recommended that the tenant perform an initial inspection of the rental property using the same inspection form attached to the Housing Choice Voucher (Request for Tenancy Approval Information Packet). The tenant should not write on the form in the Housing Choice Voucher (Request for Tenancy Approval Information Packet), but instead should make note of any deficiencies on the Soldiers of Real Estate Lease Condition and Inventory form and notify Soldiers of Real Estate in advance of the Section 8 property inspection.

Tenant Payment Process

• Tenants can make Rent Payments Online.
• Rent is due on the first of the month.
• It is late if it is not received (or placed in the dropbox) before midnight on the 4th calendar day of the month regardless of whether this day is a working day or holiday. For example, if the 4th is a Sunday, then the payment must be placed in the dropbox by 11:59PM Sunday night (or 12AM Monday morning). Mail is considered received on the date that it is delivered by the post office, not on the date that it is postmarked.
• Late payment penalty is 10% of the total rent due plus per day starting on the 5th calendar day of the month.
• A rejected payment will result in a fee plus the late payment penalty as stated above.
• Forms of payment accepted:
  • Online (One-Time Payments)
  • electronic check (ACH Debit)
  • debit / credit card
• In-person/Dropbox
  • money order
  • debit / credit card
  • cashier's check
• Automatic payments (Recurring Payments)
  • allotments (through employer/bank)
  • automatic payment (through employer/bank)
  • ACH debits (through bank)
• In order to set-up automatic payments, tenant may request a voided check from Soldiers of Real Estate
• No cash payments are accepted.
• A processing fee is charged for electronic check and debit / credit card payments.

Maintenance / Work Order Process

• Work orders may be submitted in-person (in the office) or by Submitting a Work Order Online
• Work order form must be fully completed
• Tenant must not have a current balance due
• Tenant is responsible for basic maintenance which includes, but is not limited to:
  • Pest control after the first 30 days of a new move-in
  • Replacing air conditioning filters
  • Replacing light bulbs
  • Any damage caused by tenant, visitors or occupants
• The work order approval process and scheduling of a maintenance technician takes 1-2 business days.
• The maintenance technician will contact the tenant to schedule the repair.
• Tenant will pay a minimum amount (or higher) service fee for missing their scheduled maintenance appointment. The service fee will be based on the minimum amount, the cost of fuel and the maintenance technician’s time.

Copies of Lease and Other Documents

• 4% processing fee for credit and debit cards payments
• $10 per copy of a tenant's Residential Lease Agreement
• $5 per copy of an Inventory and Condition Form
• $3 per copy of a Pet Agreement
• $1 for first sheet faxed and 25 cents for additional pages (e.g., 3 pages faxed for $1.50)
• 25 cents per single-sided copy of any other documents

Renter’s Insurance

• Soldiers of Real Estate does not provide renter's insurance. It is the tenant’s responsibility to obtain insurance appropriate to replace any lost or damaged property which may result from fire, theft, etc.
• Learn more about Renter's Insurance from the Texas Department of Insurance.

30-day Pest Control Rule

• If a work order is submitted for pest control concerns after the first 30 calendar days following the initial lease signing (new move-ins), the work order will be disapproved.
• After the first 30 calendar days, it will be the tenant's responsibility to provide pest control services.
• Only new move-ins are allowed up to 30 calendar days to submit a work order for pest control purposes. Tenants renewing their lease are not allowed an additional 30-day window when they sign their lease renewal.

Emergency Contacts

• If a tenant has a concern that involves criminal activity or domestic disturbances, the tenant should contact the local police department or call 911.

Illegal Pets

• An illegal pet is any animal on the property that is not specified in a Pet Agreement.
• If a tenant is found in possession of an illegal pet, he / she will be charged an initial fee plus an additional penalty fee for each day that the pet remains on the property.

Long-term Occupants

• If there is NO homeowner’s association or restrictive covenant, a tenant cannot have a guest in his or her home for more than 30 days without being in violation of his / her lease agreement.
• If there is a homeowner’s association or restrictive covenant, then if the rules of the association or restrictive covenant define a long-term occupant as a guest residing in the home for:
• Less than 30 days, then the association or covenant rules apply and any guests remaining beyond this time restriction will cause the tenant to be in violation of his / her lease agreement.
• More than 30 days, then the 30-day rule applies and any guest remaining beyond 30 days will cause the tenant to be in violation of his / her lease.

Property Inspections

• Soldiers of Real Estate may conduct inspections of the property at any time.

Being A Good Neighbor

• Criminal, nuisance, noisy, dangerous, business and other activities indicated in the lease agreement are prohibited.

Lost Keys

• Copies of Keys: If tenant has at least one copy of the original keys, he / she is responsible for making any additional sets of keys at his / her own expense.
• Rekeying Process: If tenant loses all keys, he / she is responsible for having all doors / locks rekeyed as follows:
  • The tenant must use the locksmith indicated at the top of their Residential Condition and Inventory Form.
  • The tenant is responsible for paying all fees associated with rekeying the locks.
  • The tenant is responsible for providing one set of the new keys to Soldiers of Real Estate at his / her own expense.
  • Therefore, when a property is rekeyed, three (3) new keys are made, two for the tenant and one for Soldiers of Real Estate.

Renewing, Moving or Terminating Your Lease?

Transferring to a Different Soldiers of Real Estate Property

• The process is the same as the one used by new tenants, except that the application fee is waived.
• Tenants who have a poor tenant history may be denied a transfer request.

Terminating Your Lease

• Tenants are obligated to make all rent payments through the full-term of their lease agreement.
• The billing cycle extends from the 1st through the last day of the month.
• Tenants should renew their lease at least 30 days prior to the end of the lease.
• If a tenant intends to end their lease, the tenant is required to provide a 30-day notice. The 30-day notice must encompass a full billing cycle. For example, if the tenant provides a 30-day notice on the 15th of the month, he / she will not have reached the 30-day requirement until the last day of the following month. He / she will be required to pay the full rent for the current month and the following month.
• If a tenant does not renew his / her lease before the end of the lease term, the lease will be automatically converted to a month-to-month agreement at a higher rent amount. 30-day notice of termination will still be required.
• Any tenant not providing a 30-day notice of termination will be required to pay the full rent amount due for the following month.
• A Notice of Intent to Vacate form must be completed and signed. This should be done in person. If the tenant cannot come to the office to complete the form, he / she can download and print Notice of Intent to Vacate here. The form must be completely filled out, signed and returned to Soldiers of Real Estate either in person, by fax or email.

Move-Out Inspection

• Must be completed before the end of the lease term.
• Tenant will schedule the move-out inspection to occur before the end of the lease term.
• Tenant’s possessions must be removed from the property before the end of the lease term and before the move-out inspection is conducted.
• Tenant does not have to be present at the move-out inspection, but the tenant must surrender the property keys either at the time of the inspection or beforehand.
• The tenant should provide copies to Soldiers of Real Estate of all receipts for any moving-related property cleaning services at the time they surrender their keys.
• Once the move-out inspection is conducted, any possessions left on the property are considered to be abandoned.
• The Move-Out Inspection Report will be compared to the tenant’s original Lease Condition and Inventory form (and any pictures the tenant attached to the form) in order to determine if any damage has occurred to the property during the tenant’s lease. The tenant will be financially liable for damage found on the Move-Out Inspection Report which was not previously reported on the Lease Condition and Inventory form.

Deposit Refund Process

• Soldiers of Real Estate sends the Security Deposit Itemization form and any remaining deposit balance to the tenant’s last known address. This is why the tenant should place a valid address on the Notice of Intent to Vacate.
• The Security Deposit Itemization form will indicate whether the tenant will receive any portion of his / her deposit. It will also indicate whether the tenant owes money for costs incurred beyond the deposit amount. This is considered to be a bill and is subject to collections if not paid in full. Failure to provide a valid forwarding address on the Notice of Intent to Vacate does not prevent the tenant from being held liable for costs beyond the amount of the security deposit.
• Items deducted from the deposit include, but are not limited to, costs incurred for:
  • Damages to the property
  • Removing abandoned property
  • Replacing lost keys
  • Unpaid utilities
  • Cost of cleaning
  • Outstanding balances (rents, fees, pet charges, etc.)
  • Any other costs that are the fault of the tenant
• Soldiers of Real Estate will normally mail the Security Deposit Itemization form and any remaining balance of the deposit 30-days after the end of the lease or 30-days after the return of the property keys, whichever occurs later.

Debt Collections

• Once any tenant debts have been turned over to collections, the tenant is responsible for coordinating directly with the collections agency to resolve the debt.

***The information listed above is only a guide and is subject to change. State/Federal law, the tenant's lease agreement, owner preferences and standard industry practices are the ultimate authority with regard to leasing property.