Anyone here from San Marcos or has lived in San Marcos and rented? (San Antonio: wood floors)

[Sally_Sparrow]

I asked a similar question in the Austin forum, since SM is closer to Austin but I didn't have much in the way of replies.

We're 99% certain we'll be moving from SA to SM this summer. I am a full time student at Texas State. My wife is still a student at SAC but is ready to transfer in the fall and it was either UTSA or Texas State. All things considered, she's planning on Texas State as well so that we can move and no one has to commute. We're ready for a change.

Our concern / challenge though, from what we have seen so far, is that we might face some difficulty in finding a rental that is geared towards a family and not the typical student. By that I mean not rented "per bedroom" with individual leases. It's just not affordable that way and we need a 3 or 4 bedroom.

I'm making a list of possible apartment (complexes) that rent things the way I am used to; the entire 3 or 4 bedroom place for one price, but there aren't many. We'd prefer a duplex or house or even mobile home. I am just stressing about it now, worrying that we'll have a hard time when it comes time to move and not be able to find a place at all. We can't move until July at the earliest.

So I thought maybe someone here had some tips, if you've lived there or know what the rental market is really like. Maybe it isn't that tight after all, maybe that's just the impression the apartment people want to give with their "Hurry, last one left!" kind of advertising.

I've also heard nothing good about the high school there.

[Olive Le Chat]

I registered here on this forum to answer your question because I went through quite an ordeal 15 years ago to find a rental home in SM when I was there. I was terribly picky and dead set on finding a cute little rental house in the historic district. It took me about 9 months to find one. I ended up just going down the phone book calling every real estate agency asking if they had rental properties in the historic district. (I found one on Blanco Street, a 3 bedroom 2 bath, for $600 a month circa 1995). I think one of the best search options is using a site like Zillow or Trulia that allows you to map search. I did a quick search now and there are lots of rentals all around the campus that are individual houses or duplexes. Some of them really cute with wood floors...aahhh memories

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Olive Le Chat

I registered here on this forum to answer your question because I went through quite an ordeal 15 years ago to find a rental home in SM when I was there. I was terribly picky and dead set on finding a cute little rental house in the historic district. It took me about 9 months to find one. I ended up just going down the phone book calling every real estate agency asking if they had rental properties in the historic district. (I found one on Blanco Street, a 3 bedroom 2 bath, for $600 a month circa 1995). I think one of the best search options is using a site like Zillow or Trulia that allows you to map search. I did a quick search now and there are lots of rentals all around the campus that are individual houses or duplexes. Some of them really cute with wood floors...aahhh memories

Well thank you for registering for that purpose!

Something in the historic district would be ideal (especially considering we currently live in a San Antonio historic neighborhood) but I am not setting my sights that high! I can't be picky at this point, with the need for a 3 bedroom that also accepts pets (and our larger dog is 60 pounds)... I am just so worried, I see things available now in my search, but we cannot move now. Wish we could but we are bound by a lease here that ends in August. We might be able to pay double rent to get out of here a bit faster but even doing that we can't possibly move until June or July. I'm just afraid they will all be snapped up by the time we can move.

I do have a related question for you though, maybe you'll know, maybe not. Will the city bus allow us to easily get to and from campus? I know the Texas state shuttle is ideal but if we end up living outside of the route area for the school shuttle, we'd like to hopefully have the CARTS (?) option.

[Olive Le Chat]

The school shuttle picked up just one block from me on San Antonio street but I only used it a few times because I was impatient on the frequency and found it easier, albeit painful, to just ride my bike up that dreadful hill to Old Main. I never utilized the CARTS option.
Yes, the timing can be frustrating if you need something in a few months but its availability is now. We ended up just paying an extra months rent when we found it in July just so we could have it. Perhaps you could call the rental agencies and ask if anyone's lease will be opening up this fall? I guess I just kinda got lucky. It was from an individual who had a few little old houses that he leases and the timing was right. Also, renting with a pet can be difficult to find in any case. I would think that you would be a preferable tenant as you are a family. Perhaps you can find an owner who will negotiate.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Olive Le Chat

The school shuttle picked up just one block from me on San Antonio street but I only used it a few times because I was impatient on the frequency and found it easier, albeit painful, to just ride my bike up that dreadful hill to Old Main. I never utilized the CARTS option.
Yes, the timing can be frustrating if you need something in a few months but its availability is now. We ended up just paying an extra months rent when we found it in July just so we could have it. Perhaps you could call the rental agencies and ask if anyone's lease will be opening up this fall? I guess I just kinda got lucky. It was from an individual who had a few little old houses that he leases and the timing was right. Also, renting with a pet can be difficult to find in any case. I would think that you would be a preferable tenant as you are a family. Perhaps you can find an owner who will negotiate.

Here's hoping. I guess am just going to try not to stress too much about it I guess, since I can't do anything about it for a few months anyway.

And those hills in general are either going to save me or be the death of me, not sure yet which!