I had the displeasure of working with Steve Crossland both as a tenant and then we decided to buy the home we rented so as a buyer as well. Both experiences were rather unpleasant and I would recommend using anyone else for realty services. As a tenant Steve is extremely passive aggressive to a childish degree and trying to request any maintenance work the few times we did in the two years we rented was always a hassle and an ordeal. He was so unpleasant to talk to I avoided it most of the two years we rented and luckily only had to do so a few times. During the buying process our realtors worked with him and through him the buyer and we had several delays due to him not getting paperwork ready in time and they complained to us several times how unhelpful he was during this process. They had worked with him before but never had the issues with communication and gettings things in on time like they did during our process. read more

I've been meaning to write this review for awhile, as I had such a horrible experience with Steve as a renter. Similar to other reviewers, I've never been so disrespected. Steve is extremely rude, was extremely difficult to work with, was very belittling, and mansplained to me the role of a property manager when I have myself owned and rented out a house before. He tricked me into thinking that he was the kind of property manager that cares about working with people and their circumstances, which was one of the reasons I chose that house. He was very hard to work with when I had to relocate home to Colorado for a few months for brain surgery (and what I was asking was not a lot, not even to end the lease.) When the lease was over, I reached out for a scanned copy of the deposit check and he never got back to me. When I followed up over a week later to ask more sternly for the copy I was entitled to, he presumptuously assumed I was asking because of roommate issues and told me to leave him out of it. He was belittling, presumptuous, rude, and unprofessional. And this is on top of his general lack of help with maintenance requests and overall unhelpful attitude with inquiries over the 2 years renting from him. I'm praying he doesn't respond to this review and attempt to gaslight me or justify his poor behavior as he's done with other reviewers here. Do not rent from him if you want to be treated respectfully or professionally. read more

I wish I had wonderful things to say about them as everyone else, but my first and only encounter with them has left me with a sour taste. I filled out a contact form and asked if they could help me rent out rooms in home. I got a response asking where the home was located, and after I responded that it was in Round Rock, I got another response saying they don't handle Round Rock. As far as I understand, the description here in Yelp states Austin and the surrounding areas, isn't Round Rock a surrounding are? In addition, the map provided here in yelp clearly shows the Round Rock area included in the red shaded portion of serving locations. Needless to say, this was very disappointing. The worse part was that after I told Steve I lived in Round Rock, he then stated he had just noticed I was asking about roommates, and not renting out the entire home. I was pretty clear in my first communication, why not start by telling me you don't provide this service? Would have saved us both some time. I gave them one star because he did refer me to another service that could assist me with renter screening, but the deceiving of the service area, plus the lack of noticing my initial question referred to renters of rooms, and not renters of the entire home, was, in my opinion, a complete service snafu. UPDATE: Please notice the LACK of professionalism from Steve with his response to my review. Since he did not get his way to force me to change his review from MY personal experience with him, he is now posting my personal business on the net for everyone to see that I am unemployed. Steve, stating personal information about a customer is not only laughable, but bordering on invasion of privacy as well. You are just supporting your bad customer service by telling the world information I shared with you and you only, especially exposing details of my personal life. Thank you for supporting my point. read more

Steve and Sylvia have managed my rental properties since I became an accidental landlord in 2005. During the screening process Steve stood out as being knowledgeable, professional and experienced. The Crossland Team have been an excellent choice in savings of time and money, but more importantly handling legal, maintenance and tenant issues with zero unpleasant surprises. I receive monthly professional statements on-line, prompt responses for ad-hoc queries, market analysis for investment options, and enjoy reading the well informed blog entries. The Crossland Team has exceed my expectations and I heartily recommend them. read more

Steve has managed our rental properties in Austin since we left a year ago. We've been very pleased with his services. He is thorough, thoughtful and has taken care of everything for us. We just get an electronic statement in the mail and the rent via EFT, without having to spend any of our time trying to manage our properties from far away. Recently, both properties needed some of the inevitable upkeep - a dying tree and a dead AC - Steve proactively took care of it by making very reasonable decisions at very short notice. We've recommended Steve to other friends in the same position and they've been pleased with his services as well. We haven't engaged him for real estate brokering services but imagine that his care and attention to detail will go a long way there as well. read more

Current Tenant in Leander with a broken A/C - First, THANK YOU STEVE for such a quick response to our repair request. I submitted it around 10:00 p.m. Sunday night and you responded by 7:30 a.m. the next morning. Second, I wanted to tell you that I thought both the representative who checked the old unit yesterday and the reps that installed the new system today were all very polite and worked efficiently with little or no disturbances to me or my family's regular routine. Also they left no mess at all and you can only tell they were here by the new thermostat that sits on the wall where the old one was along with the shiny new unit outside on the A/C slab. I just wanted to thank you for the speedy response to the issue and to let you know the Service Wizard company did a great job. I know the temps are starting to cool off but having two children in the house when the temps are in the 90's is just not fun. I still can't believe we got an entire new HVAC system in less than 48 hours from the time I put in the service request on Sunday! We always appreciate how quickly you respond to any issues we have at this property. read more

We tried contacting Crossland Leasing & Management several times to view a house we fell in love with on Zillow (10911 Sierra Oaks). We even drove by it first. We were unable to make the online times, so tried calling. After trying a few times in an hour or two and getting a recording, we finally got someone. He sounded super irritated, asked when our move-in date was, and informed us that the house would not be available by the time our move in date was (one month out), so they would not show us the property. He then abruptly asked if there was anything else he could help us with, and hung up. The icing on the cake is we both keep getting emails saying the rent has been lowered, because the PROPERTY IS STILL AVAILABLE. We both emailed again, trying to set up a time to see it, and they went unanswered. The sad part is, we would have signed a lease early, to lock down a place we loved. I feel bad for the owners, who have their house sitting empty on the market because this team is so terrible. read more

My wife and I own a house in Austin but live in Seattle right now. I'm in the real estate business so I know a good manager/broker when I see one. We are so lucky we found Crossland to work with in Austin! Steve is an outstanding property manager. He is fair to tenants and owners alike. He has created leases which are fair and protect everyone involved. His high standards for maintenance and repair of the house make sure the tenant has a nice, well maintained home. And yes, he does hold both sides to the details within the lease (and why should they not be...we all read them and sign them agreeing to the terms). We are always comfortable knowing Steve is taking great care of our house in Austin. And that we are working with someone who truly wants to provide the best home for the renter, as well as make sure the property owner is getting fair market rent. Thank you Steve! read more

We've been tenants at one of Crossland Real Estate's managed properties for about a year and a half now. We're very pleased to be working with Steve as the property manager. He's been polite, and always helpful whenever we've needed him. Most recently, our air conditioning went out, and Steve had someone there the same day we reported it. When it was determined the unit needed to be repaired or replaced, the unit was replaced altogether. The installation was fast, and we were back in cooled comfort in no time. Steve is very responsive, and always professional. Can't say enough good things about Steve and Sylvia! read more

Joe Gage has sold 2 of my Austin properties, and he was very professional. He handled all aspects of my sale expertly, even helping to facilitate the roof repairs for both properties. I would use Joe again in a heartbeat! read more

I have lived in Austin most of my life, and finally scraped together the pennies to purchase my first home. Being very frugal with my money, I spoke with a handful of real estate agents, many who were noticeably eager to "earn my business." Joe Gage stood out from the crowd with his calm demeanor and absolute priority on understanding my goals. My second concern once moving forward, was having a either a "salesman realtor", one who is more interested in making the sale or alternatively the "lethargic realtor", one that doesn't follow through after you take the initial steps with them. These are the things you can only learn about your realtor as you spend time searching for a home and visiting them. I can say without a doubt, Joe was neither of these things. Joe helped bring my dreams into a reality. He was with me every step of the way, and made sure that we were looking at properties that matched my long list of criteria. If you are looking for a home in the Austin Area, give Joe Gage a ring and at least consider him along with the other agents you have talked to. If nothing else, talk to him so you can set a good benchmark for the "gold standard" in real estate purchasing. But I will say that I would be surprised if you can find a better agent that has his level of experience and expertise in the Austin market. read more

Crossland Real Estate/Property Management has been so good to my roommates and I from the time we applied to current-day three years later. Maintenance (for renting a home) comes asap, nearly the same day sometimes. Our rate has been fair over the last three years, especially for the location in South Austin. We are very grateful and am excited to renew for another year! Keep up the great work and making the residents happy Mr. & Mrs. Crossland! read more

I worked with Joe Gage of Crossland Properties to buy an investment property in Austin. The circumstances were extra challenging because I live in the UK and I was buying the property in my self directed IRA. Joe was patient, reliable and communicative in walking through all the specific requirements and constraints. I would highly recommend Joe for any real estate needs you may have. He is honest and straightforward and always keeps his clients needs as his priority. He also found a reliable property manager to manage the property! read more

My wife and I had a wonderful experience using Julie Stokley when purchasing a house in Austin. Julie is very friendly and made us feel like we were her only client. She returned calls quickly and got us more information than we asked for. She guided us through the inspection process and was there for both inspections. We found her to be very informed and experienced with the Austin market and honestly we feel we could not have found a more professional person to get the purchase closed. Edward and Mary C. read more

FAKE REVIEWS? Mr Crossland, it looks like you received a negative review, and then tried to bury it with positive reviews. 13 Positive reviews in one week? Were all of these customers or just your real estate friends? This is not how yelp works. Is this the same lack of integrity that prospective customers would receive from you. I am VERY disappointed. -=-=ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW=-=- Unprofessional and unpleasant demeanor. General lack of realistic market knowledge and trends. Probably better suited as a property manager, but lacks the proper people skills to be effective as either a listing or selling agent. Argumentative and combative. Definitely would NOT recommend, especially as a listing or selling agent read more

Steve Crossland is a respected thought leader in the property management industry. I enjoy listening to him speak at property management conferences and always appreciate his perspective. read more

Crossland Real Estate helped me with my first home purchase four years ago back in 2007. I was first drawn to them based on their blog which I found to be really helpful to read as a first time home buyer. After working with both Steve and Sylvia I found that they were both professional and personal throughout the entire process. Sylvia was my primary contact through the entire process. She personally took me to several homes and eventually we found something we liked. During the negotiations, she kept me informed pretty much on the minute as things were happening. To be honest, I am not sure if she got me the best price but she did give me all the right info to make me happy with the purchase. Before closing, Steve visited the house during the inspection to provide his opinion which I thought was nice. We hit a little "snag" with my lender. I put that in quotes because in my opinion it was more of a lack of communication from the lender. I could understand and appreciate Steve and Sylvia's concern but the closing date and deal was never compromised. Ironically I refinanced with the same lender last year and they did botch my deal for real. Perhaps they do know something I don't :). After I bought the house, Steve and Sylvia have kept in contact with me as recently as this past spring when I asked for a CMA on my house. I suppose it serves a dual purpose in being caring about their clients and maintaining a good network in Austin for future clients. Nevertheless I think it shows some dedication to write handwritten Christmas cards two years after you buy a home. I've since bought a 2nd home in Austin. I didn't use Crossland Real Estate because they didn't have many transactions in the area I was buying (I think its great that they post that info on their website). However, after talking to and interviewing several agents, I can say Steve and Sylvia are a bit smarter than most and definitely care more than the average real estate agent in Austin. read more

Wish there was a lower star rating than 1. This company is garbage..scum of the earth. I filled out an application to rent a house three weeks to a month before my projected move in date. They took my application fee along with my roommates money ($150 total).. So we waited and waited.. All of us have great renters history btw. Heard nothing after a couple of weeks so I emailed them.. No response. Called and left a message. No response. They just took our money (probably others as well) and waited for for their ideal applicants to fill the house. Do not work with this company. They are crooks. If we still lived like we did in the 1800's and got our water from wells, this company's well would be poisoned and they would no longer exist. read more

I highly recommend Sylvia as a realtor for buying investment properties in the Austin area. She was uniquely qualified to help us buy a good property in a good stable rental area. Being a property manager herself she has excellent firsthand knowledge of both the real estate and rental markets. With excellent communication, being remote, we actually did the entire transaction from CA from start to finish. The blogs they post and update on their site always has useful information to me as an investor. I have referred friends and will use them in the future all my real estate needs. read more

Steve Crossland initially helped me to get my home in the market for rent. He did a great job and moved very quickly. This was my first time using a property management company to take care of my home. I had a lot of questions and he was very knowledgeable. He was prompt, patient, frank, and honest. I then soon later decided to sell the house rather than rent it out, which he was able to do also. He prepped the house for sale and had it listed within days. The house sold in 24 hours with competitive offers over the asking price! The transaction was done via phone and email and went smoothly. I couldn't be happier. I highly recommend the Crossland team! read more

I have never been treated with such disrespect in my life. I have been looking for a home to lease in Austin and unfortunately came in contact with Steve. Rude rude rude. read more

I hired Steve to manage a residential rental property for me. The property was a rental for 2 1/2 years with the same tenant. Steve took care of all repair issues and found reasonable reliable contractors to do the work. It was a big relief not to have to manage the property myself. The real test was the close out of the tenant. Steve was very responsive as he knew I was putting it on the market and time is money. I felt he made every effort to mitigate the issues to protect the owner and at the same time be fair to the tenant. I would recommend Crossland to manage any residential property I would own. read more

My husband and I have bought 4 homes, sold 3 of them, and relocated out of state 3 times. So we've worked with a handful of realtors. However, Steve and Sylvia are by far the best realtors we've ever worked with. When we recently relocated to Austin, we had already sold our house in Florida and were living in a small rented vacation home here in town. At the time our son was 3 years old and I was 8 months pregnant with our daughter. My husband runs his own business and was working out of our tiny rental. Needless to say, we were under a lot of pressure and desperate to find a home very quickly. We were focused on finding a home in Northwest Austin, which is a great area for families but also sometimes pricy and competitive. Even though Steve came up with plenty of homes for us to view, it was still challenging to find the right house at the right price. But Steve worked tirelessly and continued to find more houses for us to look at day after day. He also kept our spirits up when we were feeling hopeless about finding the right home before our baby arrived. Steve and Sylvia always made us feel like we were their top priority and they were immediately available to help us with whatever we needed. I'm pretty sure that our time sensitive situation caused us to be fairly high maintenance clients for them! We did finally find a home we liked and closed the deal in time for us to move in just 2 weeks before our daughter was born. It was a crazy, stressful, hectic experience to say the least. We are so grateful that we found Steve and Sylvia to help us with our relocation and home purchase here in Austin. They are truly good hearted, dedicated, hard working people and they will always have your best interests in mind. I would definitely recommend them to friends and family (and I have!). read more

Sylvia and Steve did a great job of guiding me through the home buying process from start to finish. As a first time home buyer I needed lots of help. Sylvia was always patient and fun to work with. At first I thought I wanted to buy a duplex but after looking for some time I switched to searching for a single family home. My first home under contract fell through after some issues on the seller's side. Sylvia and Steve's expertise was invaluable during this process. In the end we found the perfect house for me. I highly recommend Crossland Real Estate. read more

As a service provider to many property management companies, I had many choices for my investment. I could not be more pleased that I chose to work with Steve with Sylvia Crossland. Sylvia represented me in the purchase of my first rental property 9/13. She was very knowledgeable of the market and all processes. I felt we got the best price for a really great property. She was very attentive to all my questions and concerns. The house did not close until the end of October, which is not the best time to lease properties due to holidays....but....Steve leased the property, at the price I wanted before Thanksgiving for 18 months! Now this is all good, but the real test is when the unexpected comes up......tenants purchased a home and needed to vacate early....due to Steve's ability to find well qualified tenants and execute a lease that protected my interest.....there was no loss of income to me and yet again, Steve leased the house within a month to yet another qualified tenant for even more money, i could not be more pleased with the service provided by Crossland Real Estate. My only wish is that they would service my other property in San Marcos:) I highly recommend Crossland Real Estate. Ginny V read more

Sylvia was the ideal realtor for my family. She was great to work with: collaborative, a crisp and clear communicator, and a constant professional. Most importantly, she knows how to get your home sold and achieve your goals. In the end it's about results, right? We sold our home in less than 30 days, with several showings. Other realtors we interviewed before her were just not going to work due to lack of knowledge and professionalism (cheesy marketing, off-putting personalities.) By contrast, Sylvia was down to earth and a pleasure to work with. She stays on top of the Austin real estate market... she understands it well, shares her knowledge, and does what she says she will do. I would hire her again in a heartbeat if we were still in the Austin area. read more

I recently completed purchasing a home with Joe at Crossland. He is as good as it gets. I had an unfortunately lengthy process (6 months) due to a less then satisfactory realtor selling my home in Maryland. Throughout the entire process Joe was more than helpful and pleasant. His advice and understanding of the market is top notch. I would recommend Crossland (if I personally know you I would insist) if you are in the market for buying or selling a home. In an industry where customer service is the name of the game, they have taken everyone to school. read more

I stayed with the Crosslands for 7 yrs because of their honesty, good judgment, and congeniality. When I wanted to purchase a house in 2006, I searched the internet for a month to find a realtor, and found Steve's blog. His investment transparency and knowledge in the market (especially the Southwest area) won me over. Being a first time buyer and haven't even been to Austin yet, they walked me through all the details and provided suggestions for homes through email. Once I was ready to buy, I flew over, took a look at a handful of homes, and decided to choose a property that they believed would be a good investment and I would enjoy living in. Fast forward 2013, turns out the house was a great investment. Price, house size, lot size, neighborhood, amenities, and location all contributed to numerous bids 10% over asking within the first day on MLS. Also, I followed all of Sylvia's suggestions for sprucing up the house and hired contractors to fix up the rest. Her ideas really made a difference, I didn't even want to sell the house after it looked so nice. I truly appreciate all their help (e.g., suggestions, concerns, investing - as if they were buying the house) and the way they conduct business in such a friendly way. And it was very nice that they kept in touch every year with an email, card, or gift. Yes, it's good business, but who does that any more?... good people. Thanks Sylvia! Thanks Steve! read more

I had a home to sell in Austin and Steve was the person who I trusted to get the job done. I was doing this sale while in Virginia and Steve managed the whole process, with a very challenging property that needed a lot of work. From his initial work on improving the property, to the listing, and final sale, he was absolutely terrific. Very thorough in his work and quick as well. I appreciated his knowledge of the market in Austin and advice on listing the house. We sold it for more than we had hoped for and had multiple offers the day we listed it. I can say that Steve worked with my best interest in mind at all times. Thanks so much Steve. read more

I've bought two houses with Sylvia and Steve's help. Folks like myself who can "do it all online" have a very hard time with the justification that realtors should get paid what they do (3% per transaction), even though it comes from the Seller's transaction, you know you're paying for it somehow, and so when I bought my first house I thought, if we're going to pay, there's no reason not to have the best realtor in town, and I think I found the best in town with Sylvia and Steve (and I've talked to a LOT of realtors). Since buying my first house and having gained what I feel was enough knowledge to even do a second one without an agent, I still went back, and here's why: The contract: Sylvia sat down with us the first time and made sure we fully understood the standard sales contract in as much detail as we wanted before we even went looking at the first houses. Showing properties: Sylvia has a great instinct about properties and more than enough knowledge to very quickly see potential issues (physical and otherwise) about all the properties she shows. Sylvia picked up on things that you might otherwise not hear about until you're halfway through an inspection you've paid for. Local knowledge: Sylvia and Steve both have fantastic knowledge of the Austin area, as they've been working in Real Estate here for many many years. This goes to knowledge about neighborhoods, common problems with houses, schools, the Austin MLS, and dozens of other items that impact a home's value. Honesty and integrity: The best part, by far, of working with this team is they're always focused on your best interests. Steve and Sylvia will never hesitate for a moment to tell you information you need, even if they're not obliged to, even if it is not in their best financial interests, even minor items that may kill a sale unnecessarily. They will not ever pressure or suggest you make offers over market value just to close a sale (and we walked away from several offers due to price - cases where other realtors would have pressured to just go a bit higher to close the sale). Attention to detail: They will stay on top of your transaction from start to finish and make sure it goes smoothly. They'll attend your inspection, and discuss with you and the inspector in detail anything found. They'll attend your closing and assist with anything there. Contacts: Steve and Sylvia know the go-to people if you need others involved in your transactions. I asked for their referral for a home inspector (they did not attempt to force a referral on me either, I had to ask) and a few other professionals, and every time they've referred me to some of the best professionals I've ever worked with. For these reasons, they'll always have my referral. read more

I interviewed several realtors before choosing Steve Crossland. He provided excellent service and offers valuable market data that help my husband and I choose the right house for us. The Crosslands we also fantastic at helping us through the Texas house buying process. We will be using them again to sell and buy our next house. read more

Steve and Sylvia have been great to work with. I bought a house, sight-unseen with Sylvia, and then turned it over to Steve to manage as an investment property. As advertised, the process has been turn-key: the rental income hits my bank account every month and the entire process has been smooth and low key. read more

I am from out of town and it's really important to find someone who has extensive knowledge in rental properties in the Austin area. I am really glad to have Joe Gage as my agent. He was very thorough in finding the type of properties that I was looking for. He was very professional and helpful in the whole process. I bought the single family home in 2014 which turned out to be a great investment. I would highly recommend Joe if you are looking for a realtor. read more

Sylvia both professionally and ethically marketed my home which sold in less than two weeks. She goes beyond the bounds of just listing and waiting for a sale offering kid glove service. I would highly recommend her to represent both a buyer and a seller. read more

We have been tenants with Crossland for almost a year now. While moving in we discovered a few things that needed repair and everything was tended to in a timely manner. On Friday of SXSW we woke up to a burst pipe and the floor of one of our bedrooms was soaking wet. We contacted Steve by email and received a phone call from him immediately. He arranged for a plumber to come that day as well as a water extraction company. We were so impressed by how quickly and efficiently the matter was resolved. We are very happy with Steve and his company! read more

I just completed an RE sale transaction and was represented by Sylvia Crossland. She did a great job and I highly recommend her to anyone looking for an agent in Austin! read more

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Julie Stoakley in our investment property search. She's an investment property owner herself, and fully recognizes the unique characteristics of single- and multi-family rentals, and the economics behind that decision. Over the course of the past two months, Julie proved time and again, her professionalism, attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile. Halfway through our search, we changed our parameters from investment property in Austin to investment property on Lake LBJ. Some realtors would have taken that as a sign that we weren't serious, but Julie adapted quickly to our needs and we eventually found the perfect condo for both our personal use and short-term rentals. Always patient, Julie navigated us through some tricky waters, kept in constant contact and negotiated shrewdly on our behalf. We would recommend her 100%! read more

I wrote a review of Joe Gage back in 2015 when he helped me acquire two properties in Austin area. Recently I hired Joe again to sell one of these properties. I just have to give him another 5-star reviews. Joe is very thorough and methodical when it comes to real estate transactions. The first time I met him, he struck me more as a college professor or an accountant rather than a real estate agent. He knows the local market inside out and the price he recommended was spot on. The house was put on market for less than a week and we received 4 offers. We decided to go with the cash offer at the offer price. It can't get any better than this! The whole transaction was super smooth and Joe provided valuable guidance along the way. If you want to buy or sell a house in Austin area, give Joe a call and you won't be disappointed. This is someone that you can trust and will work hard on your behalf. You can't go wrong with him. read more