Landlords in Austin - is this true?

Question

My sister just accepted a job in Austin, Texas.  She's starting on June 1st.

She was told that in Austin, it's not possible to look for a house to rent in advance.  The advice was to come down a couple of days ahead of time and go to rental open houses.  She'd be able to fill out an application and take possession within 24 hours.

This doesn't make any sense to me.  I advertise my properties well in advance.  Can anyone with knowledge of Austin tell me if this is true?  Should she just go down there and try to grab the first place she sees?

Any advice on how to get a decent place?

Thanks in advance!

(And if anyone has a charming house for rent in Austin for a recent Ph.D. and her software engineer husband, let me know :-)  )

Kelby K. · Answer

I would agree with that as well. We listed a SFR and it was leased after the first showing and deposit was paid within 36 hours. This particular property was a recent build and in a higher net worth area with top schools. It  sounds like  your sister and her husband may be looking for a younger and more hip vibe since she's a recent PhD grad, and I would imagine the rentals in those types of areas may go just as fast or faster.

I have seen quite a few properties in neighborhoods further from downtown (12-15 min) that have 3-4 bedroom homes that have been on the market for months.

Michael Bishop · Answer

That's a good point, @Kelby K. - a lot of owners will list 2-3 months before their current resident's lease is up. Just a heads up though @Jennifer Streamer, as in any market this is the hot time of the year and a good private lease deal typically won't stand a chance at staying on the market longer than a week. Am I right, @Kassidy Hulen?

Kelby K. · Answer

I agree with Michael. There's plenty of privately owned single family homes that individuals are putting on the market 1.5-3 months in advance.

Michael Bishop · Answer

This is not true, my girlfriend is a realtor and works with plenty of private leases (aka privately owned homes for lease). While Austins hot market does make it pretty hard to lock down a private lease a few months in advance, it's not impossible; she actually has a client moving in to a property in a desirable area today who were accepted in the beginning of March. If your sister would like to work with a local realtor (no charge to her) you can message me and I'll pass you on!

Roy Oliphant · Answer

@Jennifer Streamer

Austin is a pretty hot market.  Summer rental can be affected due to the university schedule but long term properties are in short supply as over 1000 people move to Austin every week.  Owners may be reluctant to pre-lease as they don't know how much the market will move up in the interim.  Hot markets may also be scam friendly so try to make sure who you are dealing with.

Good luck!

Ron Tafoya · Answer

doesn't make sence to me.

Beware though.  My son looked at a house to rent on CL and turned out to be a scam.  Somebody took picture of a house and put it up for rent.  Wanted him to wire money to hold property.

Eric Guiltinan · Answer

I moved here in the summer to begin a PhD program at UT and found there was a lot of availability near the university for short term summer rentals.  This is somewhat true all over town as UT is a big pool of renters. My wife and I secured a place sight unseen a month ahead of my move and then found a more permanent place after getting to know the area.  We got a great deal on it, too.  Finding a place sight unseen can be dangerous though.  I suggest dealing with professional listings to avoid scams.