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Old 03-28-2017, 12:59 AM
 
2,174 posts, read 4,377,309 times
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Austin seems like it has the most spam filled apartment craigslist listings that I've ever seen. Realtors and agents offering to find apartments for you absolutely spam craigslist with fake ads so it is very difficult to weed through all that garbage to find legit apt complex's with actual addresses advertising real apartments for rent. I've never seen a CL apt site that has this much spam, what a shame! Is there another site to use?
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:58 AM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,044,929 times
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in austin you should use an apt locator. They are free to you. You can also do austinhomesearch.com It is the MLS service and shows rentals.
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Old 03-28-2017, 09:57 AM
Status: "Springtime!" (set 7 days ago)
 
Location: Jollyville, TX
5,849 posts, read 11,846,136 times
Reputation: 10847
Craigslist is the last place I would use for finding an apartment. As Austin97 says, use an apartment locator service - they are completely FREE to you and are legit.
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Old 03-28-2017, 10:19 AM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,330 posts, read 17,986,506 times
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Craigslist is a real estate sewer in Austin. Stay off. AustinHomeSearch.com (mostly houses and duplexes though) and/or a Leasing Locator company. Most apartments also list their availability on the big national apartment search sites as well.
Steve
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Old 03-28-2017, 12:02 PM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,044,929 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by austin-steve View Post
Craigslist is a real estate sewer in Austin. Stay off. AustinHomeSearch.com (mostly houses and duplexes though) and/or a Leasing Locator company. Most apartments also list their availability on the big national apartment search sites as well.
Steve
I think I have seen some good inventory on hotpads, but I dont know much about it.
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Old 03-28-2017, 12:03 PM
 
Location: Austin
29 posts, read 27,597 times
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What type of place are you interested in renting? If you're looking for a SFH or privately owned condo or duplex, contact a real estate agent and have them set you up on an MLS or use Austin real estate | Homes for Sale Austin | Austin Homes | Austin real estate | Homes for Sale Austin | Austin Homes as mentioned above. There are other sites like Pad Mapper and Zillow that are worth viewing, but keep in mind the information may not be accurate or up to date. As suggested above, you may want to find a reputable apartment locator especially if you're looking at larger community developments.
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Old 03-28-2017, 04:09 PM
JH6
 
1,435 posts, read 3,202,338 times
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Padmapper is a decent search, it searches all the apartments, and puts them on a map.
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Old 03-28-2017, 09:36 PM
 
169 posts, read 184,935 times
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Padmapper and zillow for general overview, but Apartment Locators are awesome in Austin.
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Old 03-29-2017, 03:28 AM
 
7,005 posts, read 12,415,779 times
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I have a different situation because I have a dog mixed with an "aggressive breed" and was looking for preferred/major employer discounts, but I've found almost all apartment locators to be awful. Once you do your own research, you will learn how many good options apartment locators either refuse to tell you about or simply don't know about. At this point, I've become better at apartment searching than every apartment locator I've worked with, and I've worked with a lot.

When I was in San Antonio, most apartment locators would at least drive you around. In Austin, I've found that most apartment locators will either meet you at the apartment complex or will send you a list so you can go visit by yourself.

The best way to search for an apartment is to use multiple websites. I've used Zillow, Trulia, Realtor, Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com, ApartmentGuide.com, JB Goodwin, Forrent.com, Rent.com, Moveforfree.com, Umovefree.com, etc.

Once you find several apartments of interests, it's good to keep checking their websites because prices can drop significantly at any moment. I've seen the rent on apartments drop $200 in a couple of weeks, but you also risk a rise in prices when you wait. It's a gamble. You'll also learn which days of the week tend to have higher prices.
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Old 03-31-2017, 05:40 AM
 
2,174 posts, read 4,377,309 times
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I appreciate all the help folks, I'm going though the resources you have kindly provided me. After exploring these options I will have some follow up questions.

Also, for a 1 bedroom apartment, can you tell me what your heat/air bill generally runs on average over 12 mos? I'm sure higher April-Nov with AC. Do landlords generally pay water/sewer/garbage on apartment rentals or is that passed on to tenants?

Interesting about Craigslist here in Austin being so spammed by fake ads. Other parts of the U.S. that is THE primary source for apartment listings. I have owned rentals myself for 13 years and always used CL as my only source to find tenants, and it has always served me well.

Thanks so much!
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