Everything Austin Apartments

Got my own domain

2009-03-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Probably should have posted this long ago...but our apartment locating website is now live. I really think it is the best way to find an apartment in Austin

The blog is over there as well. Had contents on it for weeks.

Enjoy

Less Condos, More Apartments

2009-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

At SoCo Lofts (3801 South Congress) that is. The developers have decided to make all of the residential units apartments instead. The increase in supply should continue to help renters...especially the ones at St Ed's nearby.

Hat Tip - Stephanie Zellous

Vacancies up, Rents up

2009-01-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Its true.

The city-wide occupancy rate at the end of 2008 was 91.4 percent, the lowest level since 1994.

City-wide average rental rates increased slightly from $945 to $962 a month. It was because several high-rent properties opened in downtown and the West Campus area, according to Capitol Market Research president Charles Heimsath.

He expects occupancy to drop by another 2 percent and rental rates to fall by 5 percent by the end of this year.

Its the first of the month

2009-01-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

and we all know what that means....

Thieves are stealing your rent check.

Lisa Carmona said somebody stole her rent money. It consisted of several hundreds of dollars in money orders.

She placed her rent money in her apartment's drop box and her apartment claimed they never received the payment.

Still, someone found a way to spend the money orders made out to the apartment.

"They cashed two of them and right now I'm in the process of trying to find out who and where it has happened it," Carmona said.

Carmona said the ordeal got her kicked out of her apartment.

"I had my copies of my money orders here saying that I had the money and I know I turned it in and I was forced to leave my home," Carmona said.

Carmona filed a police report and she hopes to get her money back.

A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department said crooks can alter money orders as well as steal routing numbers from personal checks. They urge consumers to check their mailboxes on a regular basis, pay bills electronically and keep a close eye on their checking accounts. You should also deliver rent payments in person.

Free Tree Recycling in Austin

2008-12-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Tree recycling tends to be more helpful for apartments since we don't have curbside pick up for most of us

Trees will be chipped into mulch that residents can take at no charge.

The recycling will take place Monday, Dec. 29 – Saturday, Jan. 10 at two locations:

Austin Community Landfill
9900 Giles Road
Located at the intersection of Giles Road and Highway 290 East in Northeast Travis County
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sunday: closed

Williamson County Landfill
Located on the west side of 1660, between Highway 79 and Highway 29
Monday – Friday: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – noon
Sunday: closed

Original Story

Getting Landlords to fix your Austin Apartment

2008-12-20T00:15:00.000-08:00

A woman, in Mission Hills apartment, claims she has a severe rat problem and the management isn't doing enough to fix it.

You can read about the story here (video too), but that won't be the focus of the post.

If you aren't getting the response you think you deserve on an issue in your apartment there are some steps you can take to help move things along.

1. If you have an issue that threatens your health or safety, give management a written request for repairs. Use this form from the Austin Tenants Council as a guide

2. Be sure to keep a copy of the letter and send it by certified mail (e-mail is not proper notice under the Texas Property Code).

3. Call Austin Tenants’ Council’s telephone counseling line at (512)474-1961 if you still don't get the action you are looking for.

What else have you done to get a lazy landlord's attention?

Robertson Hill apartments are sold

2008-12-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

An unnamed investor bought the Robertson Hill Apartments, a new 290-unit apartment complex at 9th and I35.

The complex has been developed by Martin Fein Interests. Robertson Hill has been part of the increase in construction of residential buildings in East Austin in recent memory.

Hal Holiday and David Aaronson of Houston-based Live Oak Capital brokered the sale on behalf of the owner, Robertson Hill Apartments LP.

Original Story - Ignore spelling error in the title.

Austin apartments get some bailout money

2008-11-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

From the Austin City Council that is.

The Austin City Council agreed to use $710,350 in bond money to lower some rents at an apartment project planned for South Austin. The city has invested about $800,000 into the project. They also gave the developer, Post Properties, a public street, valued at close to $300,000.

In April 2007, the council agreed to use bond money (and $397,000 in waived fees for infrastructure and engineering costs) to "buy down" the rent of 30 apartments to about $666 . The council said they wanted to see lower-cost housing dispersed citywide and not just relegated to East Austin.

Then this summer, Post asked for $800,000 more, saying it couldn't lower the rents without it. In negotiations, Post backed off that request and asked instead that the city waive provisions about tenants' rights and Section 8 clients, city Housing Director Margaret Shaw said.

The apartment project will replace the older, low-rent Stoneridge apartment complex on South Lamar Boulevard. It used to cost about $600 per month to live at the Stoneridge Apartments, what many consider the last affordable apartment complex near downtown.

Original Story

All in all, seems like a good deal for the developers. If the waivers are permanent, I don't think there is anything stopping them from asking for more money later and saying they will have to raise rents if they don't get it.

It is not known when the project will be completed. So at the end of the day, the city has spent a million dollars to get 30 lower than market apartments at some undefined time in the future. Good deal if you can get it.

Tired of people from California....Here come the New Yorkers

2008-11-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has an article recommending downtown Austin as an 'appealing second home location.'

This may not be cause a mad rush from the Empire State, and may not do too much to counteract the overbuilding going on downtown, but it almost definitely means the efforts to Keep Austin Weird will get more and more difficult.

Gables Great Hills sold to Greystar Real Estate

2008-11-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Gables Great Hills has been sold by Gables Residential to Greystar Real Estate in South Carolina.

Built in 1993, Gables Great Hills has a unit mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

Patton Jones, who helped broker the deal, said "Mid-1990s construction is popular with multifamily investors due to the ease at which you can upgrade this property type and seek increased rents."

Gables Great Hills is located at 11266 Taylor Draper Ln. in the Arboretum area.

It will be interesting to see if they can really raise rents in this environment.

Statesman confirms: Its a good time to rent in Austin

2008-10-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Our regular readers already know that Austin apartment occupancy is down and rent is not growing very quickly.

A few days later, the Statesmen said the same thing.

They did add a few new facts. This is only the second time in 15 years that occupancy has gone down in the third quarter. Significant because that is when students are moving in, and so it is especially unusual when occupancy goes down.

The advice is the same. Landlords should try and sign people to longer leases. Renters should go for shorter leases and negotiate for more concessions. Many complexes are already offering free months of rent.

They conclude that rent will actually decrease 3% when you include discounts.

Princeton and Stony Creek Apartments Sold

2008-10-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Princeton apartments and Stony Creek apartments, containing 222 units, were purchased by M3 Multifamily, LLC, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company, and sold by San Antonio Alternative Housing Corp. No. 4, a Texas non-profit organization.

The Princeton apartments were built in 1963 and remodeled in 2007. They contain 90 units and are located at 4411 Airport Blvd. The Stony Creek apartments contain 132 units and are located at 4911 Manchaca Road.

Original story here

Austin’s apartment rent growth slows as vacancy rises

2008-10-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

Bad news is your rent is probably going up.

Good news is your rent is going up slower than it has in a while.

Austin’s annual rents increased just under 1 percent in the third quarter, down from a 5.6 percent increase in the third quarter 2007. The apartment vacancy rate has increased from 5 percent to 6 percent in the last year. Meanwhile, developers are delivering 8,000 new units this year. This all means that in the immediate future supply will continue to exceed demand.

The significant inventory of unsold houses and condos also puts pressure on housing prices and makes it more difficult for apartments to raise rents. Efforts by the federal government to instill confidence in the housing market will likely lead to even more renters being pulled out of apartments to occupy homes.

This would be the time to push for concessions if your lease is about to come up for renewal.

The complete report is here.

Can You Recycle at Your Apartment?

2008-10-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Apartments with 100 or more units are required to offer participation in the city's recycling program.

If you want to recycle and your apartment doesn't offer the option the first step should be to try and talk to management. If you aren't satisfied with their answer you can call 311 and lodge a complaint.

Residents who live in smaller complexes may drop off recyclables at places such as Ecology Action in downtown Austin.

KVUE News report

Should you live at Hardrock Canyon?

2008-09-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

10300 Jollyville Road
Austin, TX 78759
(866) 534-9224 ext. 8830

Hardrock Canyon has 1 and 2 bedroom apartments available from $704-$1509/month. The sizes range from 629-1582 sq ft.

Hardrock Canyon is built on 60 acres of heavily wooded canyons. It was developed so that most apartments look out over the canyon or into the woods, giving everyone who lives here a sense of privacy and a heck of a view. Each apartment has a built-in wine rack and book shelves. They also have a carved stone fireplace surrounded with tiled hearths and counters trimmed with exotic woods. Hardrock Canyon definitely has a high-end ambience.

Hardrock Canyon has a dog park and allows certain breeds up to 95 pounds. 7-13month lease terms are available.

If you tell the leasing office you were referred by Rent.com you will be eligible for $100 Reward. You can also see more pictures, pricing, availability and floorplans for Hardrock Canyon Apartments at Rent.com

Other Reviews: Yelp review of Hardrock Canyon

If Hardrock Canyon isn't exactly what you are looking for feel free to check out other Arboretum Apartments.

If you have any other questions, send me an email or leave a comment. If you have ever lived at the Hardrock Canyon, please leave a comment about what you thought or what future renters should know.

World's Grossest Apartment?

2008-09-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

This made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. The article comes to us from an Australia newspaper, but the apartment is in good ol' Houston, Texas.

Gross Apartment Story

Here is the landlord's story
"We had a resident who had an outstanding balance for over a month and no one could get ahold of her. The Bookkeeper went inside after so many tries to leave a note and this is what we found"

You can see the rest of the gross apartment pictures. Seriously, it is nasty.

You haven't even heard the really gross part yet....

"There is suppose to be 2 cats living here but we cant find them"

Ugh.

Should you live at Riata Apartments?

2008-09-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

12300 Riata Trace Parkway
Austin, TX 78727 (map)
(866) 720-6923 ext. 5570

Riata Apartments has 1-3 bedroom available from $760-$1850/month. The sizes range from 656-1554 sq. ft.

The Riata has a whole lot of amenities including an 11,ooo sq ft gym, over 3 miles of jogging trails, 9 separate pool areas, indoor racquetball courts, sand volleyball courts, and business center. They also have an authentic bocce ball court and poolside fire pit. They also arrange monthly activities such as poolside happy hours with live music, wine tasting classes, book club, and professional development classes. You can check out model homes and the common areas in these pictures of Riata.

This can be a blessing and a curse. You do pay a premium for all of this and it can be worth it if you take advantage of it. It can be difficult for people with a full time job or class load and a social life outside of their apartment complex to take use everything you pay for. You will have to decide for yourself if the rent premium is worth it

This is a pet friendly apartment. They allow 2 pets per apartment up to 75 lbs. It also includes a full service dog park.

If you tell the leasing office you were referred by Rent.com you will be eligible for $100 Reward. You can also learn more specific information about pricing, availability and floorplans for Riata Apartments at Rent.com

Other Reviews: Riata Apartments on City-Data.com, Riata Apartments on Yelp

If the Riata isn't exactly what you are looking for feel free to check out other Arboretum Apartments.

If you have any other questions, send me an email or leave a comment. If you have ever lived at the Riata, please leave a comment about what you thought or what future renters should know.

Should you live at Arboretum Oaks?

2008-09-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

9617 Great Hills Trl
Austin, TX 78759 (map)
(866) 542-1848 ext. 6230

Arboretum Oaks has 1 and 2 bedrooms available from $629-$900/month. The sizes range from 600-1000 sq. ft.

All of the units have fireplaces, 9 foot ceilings, built-in bookshelves, icemakers and washer/dryer connections. Some units have dry bars, and reserved covered parking. You can check out model homes and the common areas in these pictures of Arboretum Oaks.

They allow pets up to 40 lbs and have 3, 6, 9, 12 months lease terms.

If you tell the leasing office you were referred by Rent.com you will be eligible for $100 Reward. You can also learn more specific information about pricing, availability and floorplans for Arboretum Oaks at Rent.com

If Arboretum Oaks isn't exactly what you are looking for feel free to check out other Arboretum Apartments.

If you have any other questions, send me an email or leave a comment. If you have ever lived at Arboretum Oaks, please leave a comment about what you thought or what future renters should know.