Chris Warren Realty

Stuart was our agent and cant speak enough on how helpful he was. We rented a home with them for over 2 years in Cedar park. We decided to move into Austin and of course used Stuart and Smart Source Realty for our New Home. During the process of closing out our Home we had a discrepancy in the deposit that could have went against us. However Chris the owner and Stuart went to bat for us and the end result was fair, just, and honest. We are very Happy to recommend them.

I rented a house, and signed a lease agreement in which payment and request for repairs is supposed to go to Chris Warren Realty as the property management company. I received a random email saying they are no longer the property managers. That is fine, except despite numerous emails, they won’t give me any contact information for my landlord. It has been three weeks since I requested my dishwasher be repaired, and now it’s coming on the first of the month, and I don’t know who to pay. The contract states Chris Warren Realty. Why. Why won’t they just tell me who the landlord is so I can take this up with her?! Terrible. I’m assuming the landlord fired them due to their failure to communicate and make repairs in a timely manner.

I came to Chris Warren Realty when Karl Jennings moved from my previous property management company to Chris Warren real estate. Karl and I have worked together for a long time and he is a great property manager!
When there is a problem with the property, he investigates it thoroughly, gets several quotes and then makes a recommendation to me. I always trust his judgement, knowing that he is making the best recommendation to save me money for the short and long term.
He is proactive in communication and always extremely responsive when I have questions.
Chris Warren Real Estate has a very good online statement system for their monthly statments.
Karl was my real estate agent when I sold these two properties. He did a great job negotiating the best sales price for me. He handled the sale and ensured a smooth closing process.

Chris Warren at Smart Source realty just sold my house and helped me buy my next house.
First of all, he sold my house for free. I know, right?!
Secondly, he is an awesome Realtor. In today’s market, where consumers have access to all homes in MLS online, what is the most important thing your Realtor can do for you? Advocate.
In negotiations during both selling and buying, Chris really went to bat for us. We got the best possible outcome in both scenarios, entirely because of Chris’ ace negotiating skills. I was shocked and impressed at the results he got, and couldn’t be more happy.
As an added bonus, Chris is easy going, fun to talk to, and he really makes stressful decisions fun!
Thank you, Chris!

I also strongly recommend against Warren realty. After renting my property twice, one time bringing in his own agent to rent my property. After difficulty with damage to my property with this agent, I ended up in small claims court. Amazingly, Chris testified against me and his own agent (the one I worked with). Lack of character and lack of any loyalty should be a serious red flag. Don’t work with this company.

I had the similar experience like Chloe.
I hired Stuart Mencher from Chris Warren Realty in 2009.
It went well initially. Stuart was able to recruit a tenant in the slow season of September fairly quick. I signed a 9-​month lease with the tenant hoping to re-​list the property for lease in a better time, as the tenant was going to buy a house.
The truth about Stuart at Chris Warren realty unveils when the lease ends…
1) It took Stuart 10 days after the tenant moved out, to get the house cleaned and yard mowed.
2) Stuart did not even go check how exactly the work was done. The back yard was a jungle.
3) The house sat there for 3 months. There was traffic, but nobody wanted to rent it
4) Throughout the duration, it was hard to reach Stuart, really difficult. He usually returned my call in 1 or 2 days, if he happened to return the call.
5) Feeling bizarre, I went out to the house and found out the back yard was a big problem.
6) Stuart declined to be responsible for his own mistake. I paid out of my pocket to get the yard back to what it is supposed to be, for $ 200.
7) In a couple of days, the house was rented out. The tenant specifically mentioned that the yard is one attraction.
This is how much Stuart at Chris Warren realty cost me:
1) 3.5 months vacancy
2) sky high electricity bill ($ 400 for a month — the house was put on a commercial account and A/​C turned on all the time)
3) $ 200 to repair the yard, which is supposed to be paid by previous tenant
4) I had to pay him 80% of a month rent for getting me a tenant. I probably can recruit the tenant a lot quicker, if I did it myself. Anyhow, it was the common commission structure.
5) A garage door remote control — apparently he didn’t do inventory check.
The conclusions:
1) Stuart at Chris Warren really DO NOT care his property management customers
He ever made a remark, which I regret not pay enough attention, «property management is easily, you just get a computer, hire a person, to collect rents and do some paper work». Of course, it is easy if he does not do what they are supposed to do – manage the property.
2) Stuart was not capable/​professional. He didn’t even perform the basic check on the house and inventory.
3) It seems like their side goal was to let you spend more money on repairs as they run a handy man company.
I will never do business with Chris Warren Realty. I’d recommend the same to anybody.

I was recommended to Chris Warren Realty after my last property management company was a nightmare. I thought chris warren realty would be a better experience and initially it was, but in the end, they only care about taking your money whether you are a tenant or a home owner.
The charges and fees are ridiculous. They take 80% of one month’s rent for finding new tenants but on top of that they charge 7% of the monthly rent so that comes out to 87% for finding tenants which anyone could have found on craigslist themselves.
My recommendation is to skip Chris Warren realty and either manage the property yourself or if you can’t, find a friend to help manage your property or find someone you know and trust to manage the property. Skip the property management companies. You can do a better job yourself or with people you know and save yourself alot of money and heartache/​frustration in the long run.