Apartment Finders Service

I just signed a lease with the help of AFS. Norice was the agent that helped me and I am so glad I found him! I had tried working with two or three «realtors» before finding Norice and they were just fresh off the assembly line — not so knowledgable and not sticking with my budget/​criteria.
Norice drove me around and showed me four different places in two hours. I had already seen multiple places before this and nothing had impressed me at all. I very quickly narrowed the four great properties down to two. I kept in contact by text with Norice through the decision making process and he was very helpful and accessible whenever I needed him.
He got me a great deal and didn’t bother me with places he knew I couldn’t afford or complexes with bad reputations. He is very to-​the-​point and I thought that was great. I am just beyond pleased with my experience and will be recommending AFS to anyone I know is apartment hunting in the area.

DISCLAIMER: This Review will focus on my experience with Sunday Taylor, alone, as she was the only person who helped me to locate my current home, and did not associate with any of the other realtors at Apartment Finders.
Background: I moved here last August, from California, and knew nothing about the neighborhoods or what I should expect to pay here in Austin. I am a student at UT and so I knew I wanted to be relatively close to the campus and not pay an arm and a leg.
I emailed Sunday several days before my visit, letting her know what I was looking for in a home. She was not only incredibly prompt in writing back to me, enthusiastic in wanting to help, but also suggested several options that fit my needs.
Once I arrived, she was more than willing to drive my boyfriend and I around to tour the several apartment complexes that she thought would fit our needs, all along pointing out details about the town and the expectation of the neighborhoods and how they differ.
I felt like I was getting a true testimony from a local, and she was nothing but sweet to top it all off.
It’s been six months now (I don’t know why I waited so long to write a review) that my boyfriend and I are living in the home that Sunday helped us to select, and we ARE IN LOVE!
I really cannot say enough good things about this woman!
–So informational
–So sweet and genuine
–Very attentive to one’s requests
–The service of driving us around and giving us great advice was all FREE!

I was looking at moving around March, so I filled out a form in December. After talking with the Claudia, the agent who contacted me, she said she would call me the first weekend in January after she had received the updated price lists. That weekend came and went and I didn’t hear a word from her. I wrote her an email Sunday evening about the incident and how displeased I was about the situation.
I gave two stars because I did receive an apology, however instead of offering assistance, I was told «You are free to use anyone else at the office».
Yes this service is free, however I do expect the same level of professionalism that is expected of me from my job.

A little background on my situation: I was moving to Austin from San Diego for grad school at UT and I had never been to TX before… so, obviously, I had zero experience with the renting market in Austin nor was I sure where to live.
In an «I’m going to end up homeless in grad school» frenzy in mid-​July, I, by chance, ended up calling Norice (the manager at AFS) based on a Craigslist ad that I saw for an apartment close to the UT campus. Norice paired me up with one of his locators, Melodie King, to help me with my search.
Melodie was great! She really listened to what it was that I was looking for in an apartment and neighborhood. Additionally, she was very respectful of my budget as a full-​time student. Melodie had contacts with every apartment complex that I saw on Craigslist AND THEN SOME! She was highly responsive to all my phone calls, texts, and emails! Over 3 days, Melodie met with me several times to drive me around to different properties and she gave me the scoop on all the neighborhoods. The time that Melodie put in to helping me find an apartment was more than I could have ever expected. Needless to say, when I found out that AFS was doing all this work an no expense to me, I was floored…
Full disclosure: I will say that my review is mainly based upon my experience working with Melodie, but I will say this based on what I have seen about the rest of the AFS office. The manager, Norice, seems a little salty over the phone and in person, but heck, the guy has a great staff and he knows what is what when it comes to renting in the UT area. He was never unfriendly, just very matter of fact, and he maintains a HUGE list of available apartments for his clients. The office is conveniently located right near the university and the staff was welcoming every time I arrived.
In summary, I had a great experience and my stressful situation was made pleasant by working with Melodie.
I would HIGHLY recommend working with Melodie King @ AFS!

I cancelled my appointment before even using this service because of the lack of communication and professionalism. Two stars only because there is an actual human being answering their phone, not an automated message.
I first submitted a contact form — no one called me back. I then called the office and was told I’d receive an email with additional info about some properties — that didn’t happen either. Then, I called back to make an appointment, and the agent rather rudely told me that it’s impossible to find an apartment in the neighborhoods I like for the budget that I gave her.
My friend Craig and his handy list beg to differ. So did several other apartment finding services in Austin.

I don’t normally write reviews but my experience with this company was so bad I had to write a review. Our application process has taken over a month a half and we cannot get the employee to email or return our phone calls. When we were looking for a place he would answer emails at midnight and now weeks go by and we hear nothing, and get no responses. If you have a choice, chose another apartment finding service.

Marion is no longer with AFS. Sad panda.

I am writing this based on my experience looking for an apartment for ²⁰¹²⁄₂₀₁₃. This year was a crazy year as all the good places were already snapped up. Students are coming in droves to live off campus and most agent’s don’t need advertising anymore. Most things go by word of mouth I believe. I tried two. West Campus Living and AFS. Both were very good. AFS was wonderful in that they really help you look for places based on what you wanted. However, I did wish that they update the list daily as leases go by daily. This same issue happened with WCL, but I don’t blame them, the situation was crazy. However, to stand above the rest, it would be great if they kept the inventory updated. AFS also doesn’t try to sell you with the more expensive places. They showed me a good deal of decent places and really communicate well. I like how Terri texted me and checked up with me to see if I needed anything. She was also quick to respond to emails, calls, texts and she’s such a sweet lady! I have given several referrals to this lady and I trust that she will help them find ideal places!

These positive reviews are shocking. There are several apartment locators that service the West Campus area. I used three of them: Campus Condos, UT Home Search, and, unfortunately, Apartment Finders Service.
The guy from UT Home Search wasn’t exactly friendly and seemed to believe he was wasting his time helping four college students. The woman with Campus Condos was the best out of all three. She was nice, kept us updated on all the properties, and best of all, she wasn’t awkward to ride around with. But because we still hadn’t found anything we liked, we went to Apartment Finders Service.
Very quickly, we found a place that had just dropped their prices. It was exactly what we wanted, so the four of us signed immediately, for two different apartments right next door to each other. One day before we move in, we go to get the keys to our new apartments. That’s when we found out how exactly Apartment Finders Service had screwed us over. We told them from the beginning that parking was an important issue for us. We all wanted to have our own parking spots in West Campus, which is why the other locators had trouble finding us a place and why we immediately signed when one was available. So, we get the keys and ask them where we park. They tell us there is only one parking space per apartment. I flipped out. I called AFS to see what they were willing to do correct their mistake. «We told you there was one spot for you,» they said. «You said that when two of us were in the room, meaning one for each of us. We told you that we all had cars, and all needed parking spaces,» I argued. After screaming over the phone at Sunday, the woman who mislead us into signing a lease, the owner of the company was finally put on the phone. Almost immediately he said «Are you stupid and can’t understand what Sunday told you?»
Yes, he said that. To me. His customer. So, when you’re looking for someone to help you find an apartment in West Campus, keep those words in mind. Preferably as you go to another company.

I’ve used them twice and loved both places. Both times, I was certain by the end of the day where I would soon be living. Trying to find a place to rent can be extremely stressful. Back in 2000, I moved out of an old garage apartment. I rented it from a little old lady in west Austin, but she sold it to Campus & Central Properties. Nick the Dick was a terrible landlord and had a special way of screwing people who gave him money. I didn’t have high hopes of having a good referral from him, but the agent at Apartment Finders was extremely helpful. I told them what I needed and that’s what I got — not shown a bunch of stuff I couldn’t afford.

I have little basis for comparison but it’s hard to imagine such a service being any better:
– It’s FREE
– They drive you to see the different apartments
– They go over the criteria most important to you and then make great suggestions
– They will steer you away from places they wouldn’t want to live
– More options than craigslist, newspaper listings, etc.
– They’re extremely nice and helpful
My agent, Marion, was especially helpful; she showed me around ten different apartments and was still cheerful when I’d find some small deal breaker which she never could have anticipated. She really worked for her commission.
I would, and have, recommended them to someone looking for an apartment in Austin.

I thought this service was great, partly because it was free, and partly because I don’t have time to run around to a bunch of different apartments to see how much they are, and if they’re nice, etc. AFS has a database of apartments that they can search through for you, to find you whatever you need. My agent was Terri, and she was really friendly. She drove us around to see apartments that we were interested in, and even showed us apartments on a weekend. I would definitely use them again to find a place to live.