Apartment Needed For Family in SW Austin (San Antonio, Round Rock: for sale, real estate)

[sjgray]

When did rents in Austin get so high? Wow. I have to find a 3 bedroom duplex or apartment in SW Austin. I have to stay in South Austin, but most of the schools aren't so good, so I'm focusing more SW. My budget is $1200 a month. I thought that would be plenty for a 3 bedroom, but it seems I was wrong. We need to move by the end of summer, and I'm stressed out trying to figure out where to move us to. I'd love suggestions. Thanks.

[daisy1323]

Hi sjgray,

We just looked at tons of 3-BR apartments in near SW Austin and almost all of them were above $1300. The most affordable apartments that also had nicer grounds and upkeep were: Monterrey Ranch and Lantana Ridge. I think they were right at $1300-ish.

Also, here are some apartments in the area that we did not look at but seemed like they might be less expensive: Gaines Ranch, Austin Trails and Southwest Trails.

We found it very difficult to get a comprehensive (and objective) list of apartments to look at so I compiled my own list using Google Earth. If you look at the area from the map, you can see structures that look like apartment complexes or office buildings pretty easily based on building grouping/parking lot/pools. When you zoom in close at the street level, you can then read the signs in the front of the apartment complexes to get their names. Then you can look them up and give them a call. We really found it to work well for us. Good luck!

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by sjgray

When did rents in Austin get so high? Wow.

In 2001. Today's rents are about the same as 2001. I own homes in Leander that still rent for less than in 1999.

It just seems like they are high because many newcomers don't know the historic context. Rents peaked in Austin in 2001, plunged after Tech Bust and 9/11, bottomed in 20005/06 (down about 25-35% from '01), and just last year, 2011, got back to the 2001 rates.

In 1999, a home in Austin rented for about 1% of the sales value of the home. For example, I sold one of my Cherry Creek 78745 rentals to a young renter couple for $92K. It had been rented for $950/mo.

Today that same house (off Westgate/Wm Cannon) would rent for a cheaper price, relative to sales value. The 1,400 sqft ranch house house would be worth about $175K and would rent for about $1,400, which is about 0.8% of the sales value instead of 1%.

If a "regression to the mean" continues, and rents realign with sales values at the same ratio that held stead from after WWII until the Tech Bubble, rents will keep rising to meet the 1% ratio of home values, at least in the median price ranges. That may take several more years, if not longer though.

So enjoy the continued cheap rents while you can. It won't last forever.

Steve

[Visceral]

Lived at Lanata Ridge about 8 years ago before moving to San Antonio. It's not bad, at all, or wasn't back then. Nothing fancy, but nothing ugly either. In fact, we are looking at using Lantana as a "lifeboat" to rent for 6-12 months until we find a home in Oak Hill we like. Elementary school is excellent and feeds into about the only AISD high school we'd even consider, Bowie. The fact we are considering an AISD school at all is amazing to me, to be honest. The district itself appears to be on the verge of collapse academically when compared to the outlying ones.

[looking2tex]

We are looking for a 3BR rental in North Austin/Round Rock/Cedar Park/Leander area and the $ are all over the place...
What does it mean when they are looking for someone to "manage" the property?? We see some homes advertised with what would seem to be an unrealistically cheaper rent (like $1400 instead of $1700) if you are willing to manage the property? Is this some kind of scam?

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by looking2tex

We are looking for a 3BR rental in North Austin/Round Rock/Cedar Park/Leander area and the $ are all over the place...
What does it mean when they are looking for someone to "manage" the property?? We see some homes advertised with what would seem to be an unrealistically cheaper rent (like $1400 instead of $1700) if you are willing to manage the property? Is this some kind of scam?

Stay off of Craigslist. It's a real estate sewer. Scamers steal photos and ad content and post it with cheap rent. Then the people drive by and call from our sign asking "is it really only $850/mo (for our $1,650/mo house), to which I reply "of course not, and you already know that or you wouldn't be asking. Stay off Craigslist".

The "management" is for home sitters to keep a home staged and looking good while for sale, in exchange for cheap rent. It's not a scam, but it's a hassle. You can be told to move with short notice. You have to keep the home 100% clean 100% of the time, and leave when someone wants to show it. Not a stable living experience unless you want that sort of "adventure". I think, for most, the hassle outweighs the cheaper rent unless you specifically need a short term stay and are willing to roll the dice.

Steve

[looking2tex]

Thank you for the advice. We have not been doing craigslist, but have been using hotpads.
We are trying to find something within the "exemplary" Walsh/Cedar Valley schools, ...There are some great prices for buying, but the leases are high imo.