Free Apartment Locating Vs. Free Apartment Magazine Publications- the Real Lowdown

Let’s talk about apartment locators versus apartment magazine publications. Are Apartment Locators really Free? The Answer is Yes Apartment locators in Texas are a Free Service. Apartment Locators get paid by by aparmtent communities out of their advertising budgets. It is much easier and more efficient for an apartment community to pay a Real Estate agent to bring them people than it is for them to use other advertising mediums etc.

Many apartment communties use paid advertisers such as the Apartment Guide, Apartments.com, etc as well. However the problem with these types of publications are plenty. For one these types of magazines are paid per subscription. Therefore will NOT speak with you about your Apartment search, cannot advise you professionally as to what you may want to look out for or what questions to ask the leasing agent when inquiring about their property. They simply want you to pick up their magazine and look at their out of date pricing info and go to as many apartment communities as possible and tell them that their magazine is what brought you in. Then the apartment guide or whoever’s sales people go into the office when it is time for them to renew and ask what percentage of their monthly traffic was there because of their magazine. Then at that point the publication’s sales people get the apartment communities to resubscribe with ease based on the percentage number of traffic created by their book.

The problem for the consumer with these types of publications is that A. The pricing info is usually months behind and inaccurate. B. They have no mention of any types of specials and in some cases void out more valuable specials that the apartment community may be offering hence why they offer typically a $300 rebate to their users. C. There is no advantage to a consumer to use one of these books to search for an apartment then just going out to look at them and driving around stopping at apartment communities without one. To find the right apartment you need detailed info on pricing and availability. These two factors in leasing change frequently.

Typically I will try and contact properties for a client as close to their move in date as possible in order to maintain the integrity of the info I get. As pricing and avaiability are subject to change at any time. But don’t get me wrong using an apartment locator can be the best experience of your life or the worst experience of your life. The biggest problems that clients have mentioned to me lately about their previous apartment locator experiences are as follows; I have had several; clients tell me lately that they have gone out with apartment locators who have tried to push $1200 apartments on them when they ask for $1000 options..?? This boggles my mind. I have no idea why anyone would do that other than trying to boost their own commisions. If someone starts showing you units outside your pricrange it should be clear at that point that there is a problem. Another problem that runs rampid with apartment locators in this city is the fact that there are so incredibly many of them and the fact that a large percentage of them are just people who were failing at life and decided to get their Real Estate Licenses. Many of these people have no intentions of doing this as a career and absolutely no idea what they are doing but are rather supplementing their time between classes as they go to school. Then effectivley the consumer ends up with a complete moron and usually ends up picking an apartment that is far from what their best option may have been.

When soliciting an apartment locator ask them how long they have been in the business or better yet ask them to estimate how many people they have leased in their time doing this. Anyone with less than 2 yrs experience simply is not going to be as efficient as one of us old timers. I have been in the business for a little over 8 years and have leased thousands of people. Another thing to look out for when choosing an apartment locator is the fact that 90% of the local firms are small mom and pop shops do not even have a searchable database in order to review your options. My company plugs your criteria into a database containing the most accurate pricing info in the city, and all of your options come up. Then I narrow those down to the most fitting and begin to contact them. Just because they are in your area, pricerange and you like them does not mean they have an apartment available for your timeframe. You have to call them.

Another problem with these small apartment locating companies is that many of them have a numbered amount of places that they can work with. This business is a contract based business. If you do not retain a Broker’s agreement with these properties in order to ensure payment then you have no reason to work with them. If that happens then for the consumer their options are limited to only places that pay their crappy apartment locating firm. Effectively they will only show you options out of the 40% of places that pay them and that may cut out alot of other places that would have been your options, immediatley. I know it’s not fair. But that’s the real deal. Our company works with 90% of the available properties for rent in the Austin Metro plex area. The other percentage would cover complete crap and/or private owner listings, rooms for rent etc. Apartment locators are not miracle workers although I have performed a few for some tough clients, and we do not set the market. We have nothing to do with pricing availability etc. We simply have the tools to analyze the market and hopefully the knowledge to find you the best place possible. If you would like more info on apartment options in the Austin Texas area or just more info in general regarding the leasing process or how apartment locators work then let us know we’d love to help you out. You can contact me (Austin Apartment Guy) @ www.austinapartmentguy.comhttp://www.austinapartmentguy.com/ anytime. Take care and good luck!!


Watch the video related to apartment

A new song that makes part of Fifa 08… Fall into Place – Apartment

Help answer the question about apartment

Apartment manager goes inside apartment several times when I am away. How normal is this?
I've been living in my apartment complex for about 1 year now and the apartment manager seems to make an excuse to go inside the place while I'm at
wo
rk at least once every two months.

He has gone in for such reasons as: Checking water pressure, need to paint balcony even though it was newly painted, need to show to prospective renters of similar apartments, need to show to prospective mortgagers.

Is this normal or excessive?

I feel a little infringed upon.

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Austin Apartment Guy / Online Apartment Search
Free Apartment Locating Online for Apartments, Condos, and Townhomes in Austin Texas. Austin Apartment Guy is “THE EASY WAY TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE!!” in Austin Texas

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18 Responses to “Free Apartment Locating Vs. Free Apartment Magazine Publications- the Real Lowdown”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Me too. Well I heard it before that but I didn’t know what it was.

  2. IT´S A NICE SONG IT´S COOL

  3. Narrow down to what you only NEED for that month only. Since you will be in very close quarters you don't want your stuff getting on everyones nerves. (no pictures, etc.) Maybe get a sleeping bag once you are over there (don't bring it with you on the plane…just added stuff you have to carry through the airport). Then you can unroll it and use that to define your space. Maybe get light fabric that can hang with velcro from the ceiling and seperate your space even more, but make sure the velcro can come off the ceiling without ruining the ceiling because you don't want your parents to have to pay for any damages. Good luck, and enjoy your time in Prague!!!

  4. Eno says:

    Your rights are clearly being infringed – the apartment manager generally doesn't have a right to go into your apartment without notice, except in case of an obvious emergency (fire, water leak, etc.) The apartment manager should be giving you at least 24 hours notice before entering your apartment. I'd check your state and local laws – here in California, we have very strong renter's rights, detailed at <http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml>. I'd search for "renter's rights" for your state and city – and then have a discussion with your apartment manager. I'd ask for 48 hours notice before they enter your apartment.

  5. As you box everything up, wash it down very very well, then as soon as you close up the box, take it out to your car so that it is out of the appartment. When you do your laundry, wash it well (use a laundromat and wash it again once you have moved) put it in bags/boxes and do not bring it back into the apartment. Getting rid of your furnature will help, but make sure that everything is CLEAN before you move. Good luck hun.

  6. away we go, i heard this song on there and have been searching for it ever since!

    thank fuck i found it

  7. Midnight0000 says:

    Realistic up there is a freaking idiot and just trying to get some points on Yahoo Answers. How could she possibly make the determination that your air conditioner is out of "freon"???

    Call the land lord. I am a commercial refrigeration mechanic and I rented an apartment for 10 years. I never once messed with the air conditioner because that is what I pay rent for.

    That being said it probably needs to be taken out of the window and be thoroughly cleaned. It's probably cycling on a thermal or pressure safety because it's dirty. On a cooler day or at night it will work fine, but when it's really hot outside, the dirt on the coils prevents good heat transfer. It's just not going to keep up with the demand if it's even a little bit dirty when the temp outside is 104°. CLEAN IT CLEAN IT CLEAN IT

  8. good times on fifa(:

  9. ?skyblue says:

    If you want to get warm why not try setting a fire in the house?

  10. Scouting for girls could never compose music like this if they tried for 1000yrs. They are talentless!! Apartment have real musical talent as this brilliant song proves.

  11. one of best fifa 08 songs!!!

  12. Mrs. Omarion says:

    Some places will let you get the apartment while others wont the best solution is the contact the apartment u are willing to get and ask the this question in person or by phone.

  13. elgüero says:

    No, if that's where your regular job is. If it's a temporary assignment, maybe.

  14. SAL H says:

    Well lets see. My dad has rented condos and homes for 30 years and has never checked a credit score. When I got my first apartment they never checked my credit score.

    The larget the complex the more likely they are to check and base a decsion your credit. Mainly because they have set guidelines they have to follow. Even if they do check you credit and it comes out bad, normally they will just make you put down a larger security deposit, or come up with a couple months rent off the bat. And if for some reason they reject you still from there, just try someone else. There are thousands of desperate landlords out there just waiting for tenents.

    Just like lenders, some landlords are more robotic and go by a pass/fail system. And some are more realistic and just use there best judgement and extra security deposits. Dont worry if this one fails you there are still plenty out there that will take you.

  15. Reminds me of that film trailer..

  16. Amanda S says:

    Find a student who wants to go home for the summer, and can sub-let their apartment to you. Inquire at some of the university offices or place an ad in that paper, asking for a sub-let.

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