Owners Newsletter - March 2021

                                                                                           

EVICTION MORATORIUM RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium, which Congress extended through March 31, 2021, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas last month. The judge’s ruling favored a group of landlords and property managers that sued the government because they believed the CDC’s eviction moratorium exceeded the federal government’s constitutional authority. The government’s defense claimed that evicting tenants directly affected interstate commerce, which can be regulated by the government. However, in the judge’s opinion, real estate is inherently local and residential buildings do not move across state lines. The judge stated that the CDC’s order threatened to encroach on Landlords’ rights under state law. Updates to follow.

RENTAL MARKET – Demand for rental housing remains strong. Our occupancy rate for single-family homes and multi-family dwellings continues to be close to 100%. I expect this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. Properties are generally renting within a day or two of becoming available and we routinely receive multiple applications on properties within hours of becoming available. As such, rent rates continue to increase on both available properties and for those properties where existing renters are renewing their lease contracts. 

A/C CHECKS AND SERVICING – We have started our annual servicing of air conditioning units for those owners that have requested this preventative maintenance. The importance of this service cannot be over emphasized. The number one cause of system failure is the lack of preventative care and maintenance. The service we offer includes checking the wiring, housing, and fan relay of the inside unit. The fan motor, housing, blower wheels, air filter, thermostat, plenum, attic ducts, evaporator coils, and drain lines are also checked. The outside unit coils, wiring, fan motor, blades, Freon level, and pressure are checked as well. The cost of this service is $65.00 plus tax and does not include parts should a repair be necessary. If you wish to have your property added to our list, please e-mail our maintenance department at repairs@HunterRentals.com. Whether your home’s HVAC system is relatively new or getting up there in years, this preventative servicing will help ensure your home’s system is ready for the hot months ahead and in most cases, extend its life expectancy.

FEBRUARY’S FREEZE – Last month’s historic Arctic event had Texas in below freezing temperatures for ten consecutive days with lows in the single digits and for a period, temperatures near 20 degrees below zero. Area lawns and landscaping took quite a bit of punishment. Luke Hawthorne, the owner of Emerald Lawns, stated that the lethal soil temperature for St. Augustine grass is 23 - 29 degrees F and for Bermuda grass, it iss 17 – 23 degrees F. In addition to lawns that have suffered, numerous shrubs, plants, and trees have been impacted as well. It is still too early to accurately assess the totality of landscaping damage, so experts are recommending that we wait several more weeks (or months, in some cases) to determine vegetation losses. 

David Gerke

Broker