Rent At Midtown - Need Info

[williams_birne]

Hello everyone!

Our family is moving to Houston soon, for at least 2 years. We plan to rent 2 bedroom townhose/condo at the Midtown area. Our budget is $1000

[themidtownguy]

yeah. ill get back you before this weekend is over.

[posey15]

Have you considered renting an apartment? Try www.gables.com and take a look at Gables Piney Point. This property has a resident make up very similar to your situation. good luck!

Hello everyone!

Our family is moving to Houston soon, for at least 2 years. We plan to rent 2 bedroom townhose/condo at the Midtown area. Our budget is $1000

[RayLSU]

Try zip codes 77002 and 77004. That will get you Midtown.

Try this link for Midtown Apartments: http://www.houstonmidtown.com/midtown.cfm?a=cms,c,38,1

You'll be hard pressed to find a townhouse for < 1500 per month in Midtown. The apartments will probably be your best bet. Try Oakwood (www.oakwood.com) for some potential better monthly apartment rates.

Here is a good site for houses/townhomes for lease:

http://www.har.com/cs_forlease.htm

Good luck.

[RayLSU]

Another big question: it

[editor]

Try zip codes 77002 and 77004.  That will get you Midtown. 

Try this link for Midtown Apartments: http://www.houstonmidtown.com/midtown.cfm?a=cms,c,38,1

You'll be hard pressed to find a townhouse for < 1500 per month in Midtown.  The apartments will probably be your best bet.  Try Oakwood (www.oakwood.com) for some potential better monthly apartment rates. 

Here is a good site for houses/townhomes for lease:

http://www.har.com/cs_forlease.htm

Good luck.

I wouldn't recommend Oakwood in Houston right now. I used to live at Oakwood's Midtown property. It was great when it first opened under a different company. But when Oakwood bought it, it went downhill fast. My apartment's ceiling fan was making grinding noises like an angry monster was inside. The maintenance guy came by and said, yep, it's broken. But all he could do is replace it with a less broken fan because Oakwood cut off the repair budget for the rest of the year. It was April at the time, so he was expected to patch things up with duct tape until the next year rolled around.

Later I noticed that my kitchen floor was staining and the bottom cabinets were warping. A different maintenance guy determined that my dishwasher wasn't properly hooked up and had been spewing drainwater inside my walls for a year. He fixed the hose that was never attached, but when I asked him about the walls, cabinets, and floors he said there was nothing he could do. There was clearly mold growing behind the dishwasher, but he said they didn't have any money to fix it this year, maybe next.

The final straw came a couple of months later when they raised the rent on my 1-bedroom 620-square-foot apartment from $820/month to $1,300! I finally said, "no way" and I never looked back.

[williams_birne]

Thanx for guidelines and oppinions!

I have posted the same message under "Real estate" forum, so there are some replies there as well.

I liked gables.com, didn't come across that place before.

[volvo99]

I work as an apartment locator. My services are FREE to you...

HaroldRAranda@aol.com

[Trophy Property]

I wouldn't recommend Oakwood in Houston right now.  I used to live at Oakwood's Midtown property.  It was great when it first opened under a different company.  But when Oakwood bought it, it went downhill fast.  My apartment's ceiling fan was making grinding noises like an angry monster was inside.  The maintenance guy came by and said, yep, it's broken.  But all he could do is replace it with a less broken fan because Oakwood cut off the repair budget for the rest of the year.  It was April at the time, so he was expected to patch things up with duct tape until the next year rolled around.

Later I noticed that my kitchen floor was staining and the bottom cabinets were warping.  A different maintenance guy determined that my dishwasher wasn't properly hooked up and had been spewing drainwater inside my walls for a year.  He fixed the hose that was never attached, but when I asked him about the walls, cabinets, and floors he said there was nothing he could do.  There was clearly mold growing behind the dishwasher, but he said they didn't have any money to fix it this year, maybe next.

The final straw came a couple of months later when they raised the rent on my 1-bedroom 620-square-foot apartment from $820/month to $1,300!  I finally said, "no way" and I never looked back.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would agree with this assesment. I was one of the first residents to move into Oakwood (origianally called Live Oak Apts). The first 6-7 months were great as the place was brand new. But once Oakwood bought the property things went way downhill. I would say that I lived there for a total or 2 years. In that time I saw the quality of maintenance substantially diminish. I used to have to call in a maintenance request 2-3 times before getting a response. The managers were not very nice. I am not sure how well those apts were constructed, because I have heard of many similar problems with plumbing and fixtures. The raise in rent was horrible too. I think we originally paid $1100 for a two bedroom and by the time we left it had been bumped twice to nearly $1400. I wish I would lived in the Red Stucko property across the street (An AMLI property I believe)

[Trophy Property]

I work as an apartment locator. My services are FREE to you...

HaroldRAranda@aol.com

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That brings up a question I was asked last week. Why is there even a need for apt locators in Houston?

My response was that is was a great service for out of town people, but I could not really see the need for an apt locator if you already know the area you want to live in.

In cities like NYC and other Northeast cities there is a huge need for apt locators as so many of the apt buildings are 5-10 units, but here where we have massive 300-500 unit complexes it seems like choices are pretty easy. You pick an area, find 2-5 complexes, search the net and go for it.

Please don't take this post as a slight on your services, I was just wondering how much demand there is for apt. locators in the Houston market.

[volvo99]

That brings up a question I was asked last week. Why is there even a need for apt locators in Houston?

My response was that is was a great service for out of town people, but I could not really see the need for an apt locator if you already know the area you want to live in.

In cities like NYC and other Northeast cities there is a huge need for apt locators as so many of the apt buildings are 5-10 units, but here where we have massive 300-500 unit complexes it seems like choices are pretty easy. You pick an area, find 2-5 complexes, search the net and go for it.

Please don't take this post as a slight on your services, I was just wondering how much demand there is for apt. locators in the Houston market.

No problem.

Quite simply, there are three kinds of people who choose my services. Those who are 1) too lazy, 2) too busy, or 3) have problems and need help.

In some aspects of the Houston market, particularly the low to mid range properties, the only real difference in properties is the paint on the building. You will find an amazing similarity in amenities, unit size, lease terms, and rental rates. After getting feedback from fellow agents and clients, I've narrowed my property list to places that have good management staff, low crime, good maintenance, and that work well with me and pay my commission on time. Those aspects, you will not find in any apartment guide.

Also, many clients have issues regarding broken leases and legal problems. They simply can't afford to apply to places that won't work with their situation. My expertise in knowing properties that do will save them time and effort.

I've since moved from a mass-market locator to a private company, filling vacancies at properties that mostly are not in your supermarket directory. Quite simply, it is a more upscale market (more commision) and the client base is more desireable to work with.

In short, my expertise in how leasing agents work the public, my knowledge of the houston leasing market, and which properties are best avoided are things you would be hard pressed to discover on your own.

haroldraranda@aol.com