Take pictures and video of the property prior to move in with the tenant. You will be shocked how many times you hear "why did you keep part of my deposit? I left it nicer than when I got it" even when there are holes in the wall and a dog chewed the carpet up. This is especially true if you have students. So many times I have had a mom call me yelling because her kid would never not leave a house in pristine condition. I always say, let me email you the before and after pics so that we are on the same page and both know exactly what we are discussing. Strangely I almost never hear back after that.

• When a prospective tenant comes to look at the place, peek inside their car windows. How clean they keep the inside of their car is almost always an idicator of how clean they will keep your place.
• Give them a checklist when they move in of everything you will look at when they move out and ask them to report any issues in writing. If they don't document problems up front, they can't claim it was like that later on.
• November, December, and January are the worst months to find new tenants.
• Always write a termination clause into your leases for you and the tenant. It gives you the ability to tell them they need to move out without providing a reason.
• It is sometimes useful to get a home warranty and allow the tenant to be an authorized person on the account so the tenant can deal with minor maintenance issues more quickly than you might be able to.
• To reiterate what everyone else has said, do not ever cut a tenant some slack on paying rent on time. Allow them to pay late is like feeding a stray cat - they'll do it over and over again.
• Get templates for all the forms you might need before you need them, especially forms related to eviction, and make sure you understand how eviction works nbefore you ever have to go through that (and pray you never do).

Can anyone recommend a property management company in College Station?

For me, it is key to market and have the house rented 6 to 8 months before the lease is up. I rent to students and if you miss this window, you will have to drop your rent drastically. If you wait 2-3 months before the lease is up, it can be difficult to rent. I try and have the house rented in November or December when the end of the rent is always late July.