Between Houses - Month Long Family Living (Austin, Texarkana: extended stay, apartment complex)

[Aggiemundo]

Hey all,

My wife and I have just sold our home and have to be out in late June. Unfortunately, our new home won't be completed until early August so we'll be without a home for a month plus. We have a two year old and a three month old which makes matters more difficult.

My wife doesn't work, so shipping her to her parents home in Texarkana is an option for us, but I'm trying to determine if there are any month long lease places in Austin that would accomodate a familly of four without all of us losing our minds and end like a scene from the Shining. ;-)

Does anyone know if any extended stay places or apartments have two bedroom places that can be rented for this period of time and aren't ridiculously priced? I f I were just to get the cheapest extended stay single room place in Austin for just myself (assuming they're shipped to family) how much would I be looking at costwise? Thanks!

[Topaz]

We were in a similar situation recently and tried two different options. By far our best experience for our family of four was with an extended stay property owned by Marriott. My husband has also stayed in them for months at a time and he recommends Marriott. It ends up being less expensive than an apartment when you factor in the utilities being included. Marriott has several extended stay options branded a bit differently...they are all described on their Web site.

[centralaustinite]

Try googling Austin Temporary Housing and also AusTexRentals.

No direct experience but I found them when researching what to do with my own family if we end up in this situation between selling our current house and buying another one.

good luck!
s

[south side chap]

I would check out VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner). I think that most everyone on there would do a deal for a whole month's rental, and being owners they are in a negotiating position. You won't get stuck in a tower block as with some extended stay places, and every time we've done it its worked out perfectly although 10 or 12 days was the longest period that we booked.

[pilotskid27]

I have a friend who was in a similar situation recently. Her husband was transferred to CA, and she wanted to allow her daughter to finish out the school year here before they joined him. This resulted in a need for a child-friendly home for 6-8 weeks.

She did a search on craigslist and found a place where the owner was on an extended trip to Europe and didn't want to leave his home obviously vacant for that length of time.

It was a win-win for both parties. I never would have thought of this route, but it worked for her!

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by Topaz

We were in a similar situation recently and tried two different options. By far our best experience for our family of four was with an extended stay property owned by Marriott. My husband has also stayed in them for months at a time and he recommends Marriott. It ends up being less expensive than an apartment when you factor in the utilities being included. Marriott has several extended stay options branded a bit differently...they are all described on their Web site.

If you REALLY want to milk the Marriott deal - sign up for the Marriott credit card and the Marriott Rewards program. Stay at a Residence Inn and charge the whole thing to the Marriott card - you'll get extra points - (then you can just pay it off in full or use another card to transfer the balance). At Residence Inn, they have a FULL breakfast everyday and Monday thru Thurs nights, they have "happy hour" with free food and beer. Most nights you can make a meal out of the happy hour food (they grill burgers, they have pasta night, sloppy joe night, grilled chicken night, etc.) Take a piece of fruit or two at breakfast for snacks. Then all you have to do is get something for lunch. The Residence Inn has full kitchens, so you can get the few groceries you need for lunch or whatever. Ask if they have a long term rate when you book - like monthly - it may be less than nightly.

After you're done with your time there, you'll probably have enough points for a few nights of swank somewhere and you and spouse can get away and celebrate your new home.

[Aggiemundo]

Great ideas all and much appreciated! For the just me staying in Austin option I've got a Crossland Suites room that is ~$35 a night (1100 a month), but its not a great place, and I really expected to find better rates on a one room place. I'll try some of these other options. Thanks!

[new2aus]

you could try CWS Housing (I think that may be their URL). my employer used them when we relocated to austin for my job. they put us in an apartment and it came furnished and included cable, electricity and internet. my temp housing benefit was for 60 days, but we ended up extending a month because our house wasn't ready. i think we paid something like 2,300 for that extra month (including everything) for a 2br at a fairly new apartment complex in round rock at la frontera. hope that helps.

[jenkirk]

Ask your realtor if their brokerage has access to the apartment database. They have fully furnished rentals for very small terms - 1 month to 3 months. I subscribed last year because I had a customer in a similar predictament. (I no longer have access, or I would help.) There is no commission for apartment locators for those short terms, but I would think they would still help if your realtor can't.