How far in advance should I apartment hunt? (Austin, Leander: subletting, apartment complex)

[ZenParty]

Hello all,

I will have one week in Austin to search for a place. I will be moving in Sept 1st.

My question is, given my desired move in data, when should i book my one week apartment searching trip to Austin?

[eichlerfan]

I came a month before our move to Austin to search for an apartment. I did do my homework first, so I knew what I wanted and what area I was looking in. I found a place on my first day out looking and it was the third place I looked at. Good luck with your search.

[Tondo1984]

I need to move apartments (within aus) in that time frame too, and I searched in early May and basically got treated so rudely by the apartments, since they said it's far too early, they can't guarantee prices, yadda yadda yadda.........but I just wanted to see what they look like.

If you want to see available units, and get prices guaranteed, they all said to come back in July, and they can possibly hold them for 60 days.

Good luck!

[LeeCD]

I'm moving to Austin next week.. I took a slightly different approach.

Well since you have a week to look for places, you should be alright, I didn't have as much time when I visited.

I'm subletting with some roomates (I'm 23 myself) for 2 months. That way, I can feel the city out, and really see where I want to spend the next year living

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by ZenParty

Hello all,

I will have one week in Austin to search for a place. I will be moving in Sept 1st.

My question is, given my desired move in data, when should i book my one week apartment searching trip to Austin?

Classes at UT begin August 25, There will be a huge influx of students prior to that date looking for places to live. If I cared much about where I lived I'd try to get a commitment to it in July.

[ZenParty]

Thanks for the response. I was guessing July would be a good time frame. I think I'm also gong to call the places i'm interested in and ask them when they think I should try visiting.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Classes at UT begin August 25, There will be a huge influx of students prior to that date looking for places to live. If I cared much about where I lived I'd try to get a commitment to it in July.

It depends on where you want to live. If you're going to be central, near UT or downtown, then you could pick one of two strategies in dealing with the mid-July to mid-August wave of influx.

1) Try to beat it - come in June and pre-lease at full market rate, ahead of the wave and have more to pick from.

2) Come late and pick up a bargain. Any UT area apartment or condo owner with a vacant unit Sept 1 has no choice but to cut the rate. You can pick up a great deal from a panicked owner/manager.

If you don't plan to be central, none of this matters. Renting in Leander, or deep South Austin is not dependent on students, so you can come look about 30 days prior to your move date. I wouldn't come sooner than 30 days or later than 15 days before your move date.

No matter what you do, hire an experienced Apartment Locator, If you're going to be central, you want a "campus locator" because they know the nooks and crannies and hidden gems of the central neighborhoods. If you are not going to be central, a suburban locator will be more familiar with the apartments on the outer areas.

Good Luck,

Steve

[Don Groff]

I do not focus on apartment locating but I do occasionally help clients in their searches. This week i was helping a student find an apartment for under $600 in the NW Austin Area. I found several and some had immediate availability while others did not. It really depends but with your schedule I think you will be fine. Again I do not specialize in Apartment locating but I can give you a guest pass to take on your search and if you present that to any apartment complex I can rebate part of your rent up to $500. It's free money that I give to all my clients. All apartment complexes pay a commission so if you do not use representation the companies just keep this money. You can contact me through my profile if you would like some additional information.

Good luck in your search.

[Unclemeat]

We had very mixed results with apartment locators. Used a few of them, but none of them seemed to want to look any further than price/area and other basics. IE - we had to worry about whether places would accept a specific size/breed of dog that can often be an issue, yet it seemed the people searching for us just looked at whether they took any dogs and it was up to us to find out they wouldn't allow the breed in question.

So, do some looking on your own too... check the big apartment websites (rent.com, etc). Also, in larger complexes, prices fluctuate rapidly depending on demand, so if you find a place you like 2 months out, keep an eye on it as the price could change between then and closer to your move date. Most big places also have a 30 day satisfaction thing where you can get out of your lease, so if you're willing to eat double moving expenses, there is some room for error.