Owner FAQs

Answers for owners of homes at The Barracks Townhomes, Charleston Mills, and University Heights.

Have a question that isn’t covered here? Email us at info@arenagrp.com.

Getting started

We’re a full-service student housing property management company in College Station, Texas. We handle leasing, maintenance, rent collection and reporting, so your investment property can be truly hands-off.

  1. Email info@arenagrp.com, and we’ll meet you at the property, if possible, to walk it and review our services.
  2. We create and sign a property management agreement.
  3. We collect reserve funds and the property keys.
  4. We add your property to our Pre-Leasing Tracker and start finding qualified tenants.

Yes. Email us at info@arenagrp.com and we’ll put one together for your property.

One year minimum. After the first year, it renews month to month.

Yes. It’s the greater of $500 or the management fees that would have accrued for the rest of the lease term.

Yes. You’ll need a policy with at least $100,000 in liability coverage, with The Arena Group listed as an additional insured. Most insurers don’t charge extra for that.

Yes. Most properties need a reserve of $250–$500 per unit, tied to the maintenance approval limit.

Fees

We keep fees transparent and up front. Your management fee is set in your Leasing and Property Management Agreement, with a minimum of $50 a month, including months when the home is vacant. Beyond the management, marketing and leasing fees, we only charge for out-of-the-ordinary events, and every fee is spelled out in your agreement.

Yes. It’s 50–65% of the first month’s rent for new leases and 25–50% for renewals, depending on the property.

It covers getting your home ready to lease: property inspections, account setup and your owner portal.

The eviction filing fee is $375, which covers our time and standard court costs. About 1% of our rentals ever reach eviction, litigation or another non-routine dispute.

Getting paid and reporting

Owner distributions go out by direct deposit on the 13th of each month, or the closest business day if the 13th falls on a weekend or holiday. Funds usually arrive in 1–3 business days. You’ll also get an email with your owner packet, which includes your owner statement, delinquency report and a 12-month cash flow report.

Yes. Every owner gets a 24/7 owner portal through AppFolio, with real-time rent and expenses, financial statements and scanned copies of every bill and invoice. You’ll get a registration link by email or text. After that, log in anytime at the Owner Portal, and AppFolio’s owner help center explains how to use it.

All three are in your owner portal:

  • Statements: under the Statements tab.
  • Lease documents: under the Documents tab.
  • 1099: under the Documents tab, posted by January 31 each year.

Yes. We pay utilities and HOA dues. Mortgage, insurance and property taxes stay with you.

Leasing and tenants

Strong branding attracts high-quality tenants who will pay a premium, stay loyal through college, and become cheerleaders for our communities. Our marketing includes:

  • social media management
  • paid ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
  • website design and management
  • collateral and merchandise design
  • on-campus activations
  • email marketing

Resident events and “surprise & delight” moments make our communities part of a student’s identity at Texas A&M, not just a place to live.

Every applicant goes through credit and criminal background checks and must have no felonies. Guarantors need a credit score of 600 or higher.

No, and be cautious of any company that does. We hold high standards for tenants and set competitive rents. We’ll never slash rent or accept unqualified tenants just to fill a home faster.

TAA (Texas Apartment Association) leases for every home. All homes are smoke-free, and every lease prohibits smoking.

The deposit is 1.5 times the monthly rent. We hold it during the lease and return it to the tenant at move-out unless they’ve damaged the home. Damage beyond normal wear and tear can be charged against the deposit, though the deposit won’t always cover all of it. Repairs needed because of the home’s age, or for normal wear and tear, are an owner expense.

Every turn includes three kinds of work:

  • Normal wear and tear. It can’t be charged to the tenant’s deposit, but it has to be fixed for the home to lease well.
  • Tenant damage. This can be charged against the deposit, in full or in part.
  • Functionality issues, like sticking doors, windows that won’t open or loose handles. Owners sometimes learn to live with quirks like these, but tenants usually won’t. Fixing them keeps tenants happy and renewing, so the cost can surprise owners when issues have gone unrepaired for years.

Each community has set lease dates, and if tenants don’t renew, our team completes the turn in the window between leases:

  • The Barracks Townhomes: August 1 to July 16 (a 15-day turn)
  • Charleston Mills: August 1 to July 19 (a 12-day turn)
  • University Heights: August 10 to July 31 (a 9-day turn)

Utilities stay on while a home is vacant, for repairs, showings and protection from Texas weather. The owner pays utilities during vacancy.

Yes. In individually owned homes, tenants are responsible for all utilities.

No. Individually owned homes are leased unfurnished.

Rarely. Our staff handles tenant issues in-house.

Maintenance

During business hours, tenants call our office directly. We screen each request to confirm it’s urgent and the landlord’s responsibility, then send our in-house maintenance team as soon as possible.

Emergencies, like a flooding kitchen, are handled immediately. We aim to address routine requests within two days.

Our team handles general handyman work, including basic plumbing, electrical, punch-out and day-to-day repairs. Larger or specialized jobs go to trusted third-party contractors.

  • In-house work: $50/hour for standard maintenance and $95/hour for specialized labor, plus materials at cost. There’s no trip charge and no minimum.
  • Outside vendors: their bills carry a 10% vendor coordination fee.
  • Large replacements: long-lived items, such as roofs, HVAC, water heaters and appliances, are capital expenses.

Our vetted vendors come with discounted pricing. If you’d like to use a vendor who isn’t on our list, there’s a $75 vendor screening fee.

Repairs under $250 are completed without owner approval. Anything over $250 needs your approval first.

Quarterly. We check detectors, appliances, HVAC, air filters, tenant responsibilities and the overall condition of the home. Smoke detector batteries are replaced once a year.

Not beyond normal turn work, such as paint, carpet and drywall. We’re happy to recommend and coordinate trusted vendors for bigger projects.

Still have a question?

Email us at info@arenagrp.com and our team will get back to you.