FAQ

When you decide which house that you want to apply for, go to the listing for that particular property and click Apply Now.   Rest assured that an application for any particular property can be applied to ANY and ALL properties managed by Lion Realty.   

The approval standards are as follows:

1. Proof of income of three times monthly rent. 

2.  Credit Score of 650+.

If you can’t be approved by those standards, you will need a co-signer who does.    The approval alternative is a triple security deposit. 

The Security Deposit is equal to one months’ rent, assuming you or a co-signer meets Lion Realty approval standards above.   If not, a security deposit of three times one month’s rent will be required.

The Security Deposit is due at lease signing.   First month’s rent is not due at move-in. 

In most cases, you will sign an individual bedroom lease.  For a limited number of houses, a single house lease will be required.   On a single house lease, five resident signatures are required with up to five co-signers if necessary.

You can determine which kind of lease is required by the price on the listing (we promise not to charge you $3,000 for a room, nor we will rent you an entire house for $550). 

If the house is available, you can sign a lease as soon as you have a group of roommates that have been approved through Lion Realty.  

We usually require full group of roommates that have already chosen to live together in order to lease a house.   Some exceptions can be made to this policy.  For example, if you have a group of four roommates but are interested in a five bedroom house, we may allow you to sign four leases and give you a period of time to find your fifth roommate.  The caveat is: if you can’t fill the fifth room within the allotted time, we will fill it for you. 

Yes.  Often times (like the example above), Lion Realty will act as a matchmaker to pair roommates together.   Please contact us if you are just looking for a room by yourself, or if you have a group of two or three.   There is a good chance that we have another group waiting for someone just like you!

Utilities are separate for all Lion Realty properties.   However, the utilities will already be set up in the name of the owner or manager.   No worries for you!   When you move in, all you need to know is the wi-fi password, and the day that the trash is picked up (Tuesdays). 

 The term utilities includes:  Trash, internet, water, waste water, gas, and electric.   The exact cost of utilities consumer will be billed to you on a monthly basis, in arrears.     

Your first month rent payment will not have a utility amount (because you haven’t used any utilities yet), and your final utility payment will come out of your security deposit. 

That depends.  

The first thing to be aware of is the fluctuation.   There are two main seasons when it comes to utilities:  Winter and then The-Rest-of-the-Year.   Prices will be higher for 3-5 months out of the year, and lower rest of the time. 

It also depends, which property are you in?   Typically the multi-family properties are cheaper than the single family homes.   Trash and Utilities might be split by eight people instead of five.   The units are usually smaller.   3837 Linda Vista for example, the price per room averages around $40. 

Also, how well do you conserve?   What do you keep the temperature at in the winter?  Are you leaving the doors and windows open on accident?   How many showers are you taking?  How long of showers are you taking? 

The typically utility bill will look something like this for a five bedroom house: 

Trash: $35.  Internet:  $65.  Utilities (water, waste water gas, electric):  $200.  Total $300.

Utility Bill per room:  $60

Now $60 would be more of a Rest-of-the-Year kind of number, you might expect it to go up to $75 or so in the Winter months. 

You will have a tenant portal where you can set up FREE direct bank ACH payments.  It is extremely simple and convenient.   Alternatively, if you insist, we can accept Cashier’s Check or Money Order dropped off at our conveniently located off at: 1825 Austin Bluffs Pkwy Ste 101. 

The pet policy is determined on a house by house basis.   Under no circumstances are puppies or kittens allowed in Lion Realty properties.   Violations of this policy will be discovered (we have methods for that) and will met with swift and severe consequences.    So if you don’t want an eviction on your record, it would be wise to follow the rules. 

If an ADULT, NON-AGGRESSIVE BREED pet is allowed at a particular property, they will have to be approved prior to lease signing.  (In other words, you can’t say:  “We are thinking about getting a pet later”.  The specific pet must be available for a pre-lease interview).  The price will be $30 a month pet rent, per pet, and an additional $300 refundable pet deposit.