Early 30's couple looking for a rental .. which area? (Austin: hardwood floors, apartment complex)

[emeraldcitymer]

We are a couple in our early 30's looking for a rental to likely live for the next 1-2 years in Austin. We don't necessarily want to be in the heart of the downtown area but are open to it.

What we definitely want:
- a pool
- hardwood, tile or concrete floors
- some character or charm in the neighborhood, some personality would be great
- we need a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath for under $1700 .. we could go higher but would prefer not to
- maybe a few places we could walk to a great coffee shop, a local restaurant, a park, a yoga studio, etc.


My boyfriend works at home and I am not sure where my position will be, so that is not a factor yet. We are very active and like to go running, hiking, boating, take walks, play tennis and golf. I like neighborhoods with trees and parks if possible. We are going to be adopting a dog. At first we had wanted to rent a smaller house, but as I started to look at listings I realized that SFH rentals were few and far between (?).. Maybe I am wrong.. and it would probably be difficult to find one in our budget with a pool. Let me know if I am wrong on this! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[centralaustinite]

A pool is not likely with your budget unless you are living in an apartment complex.

Also hold off on the dog! The rental market is red hot and you are competing with dozens of other people for every listing, SFH and apartment. Get a locator if you are going the apartment route. good luck

[emeraldcitymer]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

A pool is not likely with your budget unless you are living in an apartment complex.

Also hold off on the dog! The rental market is red hot and you are competing with dozens of other people for every listing, SFH and apartment. Get a locator if you are going the apartment route. good luck

We are definitely open to apartments/ townhouses to get a pool. What can we expect to find in the $1700 a month range? Think we need to up our budget? We did find a broker we will be working with, but I want to have an idea of neighborhoods ahead of time. Price isn't our biggest factor in our search, so if we have to up to budget to get something we will.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

A pool is not likely with your budget unless you are living in an apartment complex.

Also hold off on the dog! The rental market is red hot and you are competing with dozens of other people for every listing, SFH and apartment. Get a locator if you are going the apartment route. good luck

Agree with this.

And I don't see a pool likely on that budget unless you're fairly far out.

[emeraldcitymer]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

Agree with this.

And I don't see a pool likely on that budget unless you're fairly far out.

What would you say a 2/2 townhouse "not far out" with a pool will cost per month? Don't get so hung up on our budget because we can go up if necesssary. I have no idea what to expect with pricing. I was under the impression Austin is medium cost of living and was expecting rentals to be a bit lower than where I am coming from (Seattle) but maybe I am wrong.

[centralaustinite]

Townhomes of any size are uncommon in Austin. I do have a friend who lives in one, 2/2 with a community pool, pretty close in north central, older complex built in the late 1960s, rent is about $2400. But the biggest issue availability, none are available, and they tend to go to friends of current tenants, people known to the landlord etc.

[emeraldcitymer]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Townhomes of any size are uncommon in Austin. I do have a friend who lives in one, 2/2 with a community pool, pretty close in north central, older complex built in the late 1960s, rent is about $2400. But the biggest issue availability, none are available, and they tend to go to friends of current tenants, people known to the landlord etc.

Ok, so help me out.. are we living in a shack in the hood an hour out on a $1700 budget? I live in a beautiful neighborhood in downtown Seattle across the street from the water for less than this. I guess I am just surprised that the rental market is more than Seattle. What are our options and what does our budget need to be to get a 2/2 (apt if necessary) in a decent neighborhood in Austin? What areas should we be looking at that fit our lifestyle?

(also willing to give up pool if we can find a cute bungalow with hardwood floors with a yard in central austin for a decent price) I see homes like this for under $2000, but I don't know if this is a particularly good neighborhood. http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/4467001329.html

and another in the hyde park neighborhood

http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/4471328830.html

[Moonlady]

No, $1700 won't mean a shack in the burbs. However, your wants are walkable areas which are mostly in the city core - hence more expensive. As someone pointed out, there aren't a lot of townhomes in Austin in general. If you're willing to live in an apartment, check out the Arboretum area. It's a more walkable area but not too far if you want to go downtown for entertainment. There are some nice complexes along Jollyville Rd. Just be careful when looking because some ads will say "Arboretum" area that border on the 78758 zip code which is not Arboretum and not the more desirable area.

[Moonlady]

Actually, I missed the last part of your post - yes those areas are more central and offer the bungalow style of living (definitely older places) if that's what you want. Hyde Park in particular is a desirable Central location.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by emeraldcitymer

Ok, so help me out.. are we living in a shack in the hood an hour out on a $1700 budget? I live in a beautiful neighborhood in downtown Seattle across the street from the water for less than this. I guess I am just surprised that the rental market is more than Seattle. What are our options and what does our budget need to be to get a 2/2 (apt if necessary) in a decent neighborhood in Austin? What areas should we be looking at that fit our lifestyle?

(also willing to give up pool if we can find a cute bungalow with hardwood floors with a yard in central austin for a decent price) I see homes like this for under $2000, but I don't know if this is a particularly good neighborhood. Awesome - 2 Bedroom Single Family Remodeled House with Fenced Yard

and another in the hyde park neighborhood

Updated 2-2 bungalow on corner lot

I have a sneaking suspicion that neither house is available now. Those are pretty good areas, depending on commute issues. I missed the sq footage...I'm thinking 1000-1100 for either; but the first one looks to be nicely updated. Just to give you a rough idea, probably half of that rent amount quoted will go to property taxes. I do like the new A/C mentioned in one...big plus around these parts.