From Iowa, Issues finding a place in South Austin. (West: appointed, apartment complex)

[tstwahine]

So quick story short. My S/O was offered a position at a company in Austin and decided to take it. Sadly we had a very short lead time for when he would be starting (4/2/12) and with the rental scene being what it was in his short trip to Austin to try and square a place away he didn't find anything that fit, so he ended up with a short term rental.

I am not in Austin right now (I have never visited) as I am a student and in the medical industry so picking up and leaving is not an option at the moment, so sadly I can only help from "afar".

We have looked at so many places (me online, him in person) and just ended up disappointed or the places that seem like a good fit have been snatched up right beneath us (they weren’t kidding when they said the rental market in Austin is nuts).

A bit about him. He is 29, in shape (likes to run, spend time outdoors, run the dog), not a big time partier (prefers to hang out with a small set of friends for a beer or two, live music would be nice), but hates huge crowds. He absolutely HATES traffic. He grew up in Georgia and Illinois so he isn’t that used to it (I’m from southern California so just about nothing bothers me). So being part of the downtown scene is not a priority, that's what a cab is for.

He will be working for a company on S. Mopac as an Electrical Engineer and would love to live close to work or right off the greenbelt that leads to it. He is primarily looking at South Austin, although he doesn’t understand why it’s so popular as it seems to him (and me from pics) to be a bit run down…. And the traffic is atrocious (from what he has told me, and what I have read on the forum).

Why is it so desirable?

So… this is our last ditch effort before having to settle.

Ideal situation: Rent less than $1800, he wants to save so it would be really nice to stay under this number.

- Close to his work (essentially where S. Mopac intersects with 360) is a must.
- Townhouse or condo, house is fine as well.
- 2 bedroom would be ideal, but 1 bedroom (+ den even better) is okay.
- Wood or tile floors, dust allergies are bad (mine). Plus it keeps things cooler.
- 2 car garage, but 1 is okay
- Small yard for the dog.
- Shopping not a necessity but a grocery store being close would be nice
- Prefer to lease from a private entity not a corporation.
- Allows Pets. We have been really surprised by the breed restrictions in Austin for Huskies. We have a 5 year old Husky/Australian Shepherd mix (43lbs). He does not bark nor is he aggressive, perfect inside and the first 3 years of his life were spent in a 2nd floor condo so he knows the drill, but then again we are responsible owners and exercised and trained him well.

Initially he looked at places that were huge apartment complexes touting dog parks and what not but he found them to be less than impressive.

Any suggestions on websites he could use or locations to look at in particular? His work provided someone who finds places for employees but they were all huge complexes, something we would like to avoid.

He has his short term lease through the end of April so we are in a bit of a time crunch. Our house goes on the market in 2 weeks so he does have plenty of time with regards to our stuff being moved down there.

Sorry for the length but getting desperate.

On a positive note he loves the weather and the tacos there!!

[waitressinthesky]

Coming from southern California, I was surprised to find complexes allowing dogs at all. Shrug. There are some apartment complex owners who allow ALL dogs... only one or two that I know of, though. That will really limit your options. (I should know, I have a dog that is at least a quarter pitbull.) Even had a few private owners not wanting to rent to me because of my 100-percent docile, friendly dog.

[cm4]

Not sure what the area is called, but off Westgate behind the Central Market south is worth a look. It would be close and have what you describe in a small home.

Looking at a zip code map, it's the northwest quadrant of 78745.

Austin, Texas Zip Code Boundary Map (TX)

[Aquitaine]

We had the same experience in South Austin. We thought for sure we'd end up there initially based on what we'd heard, but when we went to look at places, the areas inside "Austin proper" were either out of our price range, run-down, or else in the middle of a bunch of strip malls and with nothing really in walking distance.

There are several decent apartment complexes near the infamous "Oak Hill Y" (the intersection of 290 and S. Mopac, not far from 360 and S. Mopac) but the dog combined with very low vacancy rates make it unlikely that you'll find much. You can probably find a house to rent further down 290, out in the hills, but your morning commute will be pretty bad. You could also look for a house to rent in Circle C, which will give you proximity and a yard, but you'll still find some owners who won't want dogs.

Finally, if you want an apartment, you will almost certainly be leasing from a corporation, even if it's a small one. A property owner with a four-unit apartment is still going to incorporate. The only time you're likely to find a non-corporate landlord is if you rent a house, and even then it's dicey. I assume your preference is more "small corporation" than "mega distant corporation" rather than "not a corporation at all" though.

We weren't too impressed with Westgate/Sunset Valley (though Sunset Valley has some perks if you're looking to buy a house due to its tax situation) but there was also not a whole lot available there when we looked.

[cm4]

FYI... Oak Hill Y is where 290 and 71 fork past Wm Cannon.

[tstwahine]

I will forward him the info about oak hill... he definitely does NOT want to commute. Initially he thought closer to downtown would be a possibility until he actually experienced the traffic (he currently has to commute near St. Edwards for a 4 day course and he hates it.

The dog thing really is that big of an issue isn't it, anyone know why? Even with excellent references from our previous Condo Association? Are they pretty bad about cats? We are leaving the dog with his dad for the next 6 months while he finds a place and sell our house.

And yes, it would be smaller corporate entity. I didn't realize out here that if someone even owns a duplex they have to be incorporated. Strange, but I'll roll with it. We are very active people so to be honest we prefer to spend more time outside and less time in the car.

I didn't expect it to be so frustrating!

Thank you so much for the replies so far.

[Aquitaine]

I don't think they have to be incorporated (at least, I'm not aware of anything that says they have to be) - just that most landlords will incorporate. It's very easy to do and offers a limited amount of protection so that if you go bankrupt (as some property owners have done in the last few years!) the most they can take is what the company owns. There are exceptions though...but that's a little bit off-topic. It's also entirely possible that a duplex owner wouldn't bother, even if I'd advise them to bother.

Not wanting to commute is a very good idea and I would sooner sacrifice one or two things in terms of the place I might want to live than have to commute more than 30 minutes or so.

I don't think you will find as many issues with cats. Most cities are pretty tough on dogs just because the likelihood that a rental unit will be damaged is significantly higher, as is the probability that neighbors will complain. From a landlord's point of view it's just never a good idea. Everybody says that their dog is well-behaved but the minute you have more than one dog in a building, you get dog poop in the hallway and barking at night and one owner pointing the finger at another owner. Not pretty. As population density increases, dog openness decreases.

Don't get me wrong -- I love dogs. But with a rental market as tight as Austin's, if I owned a rental unit, I'd probably rule them out as well, just on the basis of having lived in rentals for 12 years until quite recently!

[cm4]

Just clearing up some location details... Oak Hill would be a commute, but about 10-15 minutes.

The area that Aquitaine described (Mopac/290/71/Southwest Parkway) is very short distance. He could probably walk or have a 5 minute car commute.

There are also some apartments on a street called Monterrey Oaks, about a half mile away from Mopac/290/71.

My recommendation is to dig around Sunset Valley for a house or duplex.

[Trainwreck20]

The dog thing definitely makes it more difficult, both to find a place that allows pets AND for us to identify places based on the other criteria - since most of us will not know if a place allows dogs.

Hopefully it is not Cirrus Logic, they are moving downtown in about 3 months....commute will increase enormously.

You might try Davis Place Townhomes, off Escarpment and Davis. All the links are realtor type sites, so I can't put them here, but not too hard to find some info on them. They generally sell for 225-250k, it looks like, so you might be able to rent one for $1,800. I know nothing about dog restrictions, however. Location is pretty good for groceries and general shopping, while still being a quiet, relatively new and well kept area.

[G Grasshopper]

If his work is off of Mopac, I would for sure go for the Sunset Valley area, rather than the Oak Hill "Y". The traffic there is always terrible, and I imagine it would not be appealing to him. Plus, Sunset Valley is closer to MoPac (Route 1) and to a lot of services.